Brain

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells. The receptor is one of several NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor variants, and the subunit in question is that which specifically binds with excitatory neurotransmitters, most notably glutamate, the brain's most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter.

London - 26 April, 2011 – A study, completed by researchers from Trinity College and the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, Dublin, Ireland, compares former smokers to current smokers, and obtains insight into how to quit smoking might be discovered by studying the brains of those who have successfully managed to do so.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – American companies and organizations spend billions of dollars every year on leadership training for their managers. To improve job performance they ought instead to focus on what managers believe about their employees, a study by the University of California, Riverside shows.

How leaders view their employees tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, concludes Thomas Sy, assistant professor of psychology at UC Riverside and a longtime business leadership consultant.

If you want to keep your brain healthy, it turns out that visiting friends, attending parties, and even going to church might be just as good for you as crossword puzzles.

According to research conducted at Rush University Medical Center, frequent social activity may help to prevent or delay cognitive decline in old age. The study has just been posted online in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Monday, April 25, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Unintentional overdose deaths in teens and adults have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. In some 20 states in 2007 the number of unintentional drug poisoning deaths exceeded either motor vehicle crashes or suicides, two of the leading causes of injury death. Prescription opioid pain medications are driving this overdose epidemic. Opioid pain medications were also involved in about 36 percent of all poisoning suicides in the U.S. in 2007.

Psychologists have found that people may make economic and trust decisions based on unconscious or unintentional racial biases. The study, conducted in the laboratory of New York University Professor Elizabeth Phelps, is published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—April 25, 2011—A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has made two significant stem-cell discoveries that advance medicine and human health by creating powerful new approaches for using stem cells and stem-cell-like technology.

It is safe to say that we are all guilty of these at some point in our day – stifling a yawn in the middle of the work day, eyelids growing heavy and having the strong urge for caffeine when 3pm rolls around. While most of us have experienced fatigue and lethargy on the job, spare a thought for those who hold the fate of people's lives in their hands.

Researchers at Queen's University have found a strong association between computer and Internet use in adolescents and engagement in multiple-risk behaviours (MRB), including illicit drug use, drunkenness and unprotected sex.

The nation's feral pig population continues to expand, increasing the potential for interaction with humans and domestic swine - and for spreading diseases. Researchers at North Carolina State University examined feral pigs from eastern North Carolina to determine exposure to two parasites that can be transmitted from animals to people – Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Trichinella.

The study found that wild pigs host a significant number of these parasites.

Latinos are the fastest growing population in the United States and have relatively high rates of domestic violence coupled with social and linguistic barriers that can make it difficult for Latino families to access relevant social services. But a new study from North Carolina State University finds Latino religious leaders willing to help address the problem, and identifies cultural factors that may help social-service providers and others form partnerships with these leaders.

Thinking happy thoughts, focusing on the good and downplaying the bad is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis and improve overall mental health. But a new study by University of Washington psychologists reveals that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures.

Walking and thinking at the same time can be especially difficult for persons who've suffered concussions, and scientists hope to use that multitasking challenge -- measured by a simple radar system -- to quickly screen individuals who may have suffered brain injuries.

Adults with post-traumatic stress disorder and a history of childhood trauma had significantly shorter telomere length than those with PTSD but without childhood trauma, in a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

Telomeres are DNA-protein complexes that cap the ends of chromosomes and protect them from damage and mutations. Short telomere length is associated with an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as early death.

PHILADELPHIA—Reporting in Nature Immunology, Jefferson neuroscientists have identified a driving force behind autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), and suggest that blocking this cell-signaling molecule is the first step in developing new treatments to eradicate these diseases.