Brain

People aren't the only ones who've got rhythm. Two reports published online on April 30th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveal that birds – and parrots in particular – can also bob their heads, tap their feet, and sway their bodies along to a musical beat. The findings show that a very basic aspect of the human response to music is shared with other species, according to the researchers.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren't the only ones who can groove to a beat -- some other species can dance, too. This capability was previously believed to be specific to humans. The research team found that only species that can mimic sound seem to be able to keep a beat, implying an evolutionary link between the two capacities.

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that pictures allow patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) to better recognize and identify a subject as compared to using just words. In addition, the researchers found that these patients can rely on a general sense of knowing or familiarity but not recollection to support successful recognition. These findings appear in the current issue of the journal Neuropsychologia.

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.

Autoimmune disease is a condition in which the immune system attacks the body's own material just as aggressively as it would attack a foreign pathogen. Multiple sclerosis, MS for short, is just one such autoimmune disease, and is one of the most common neurological diseases in the 20 to 30 years age group. The disease can have very severe consequences for those afflicted, since the body's defenses attack the central nervous system. It has long been assumed that myelin is the most important target for the misdirected immune response.

A new UCSF study examining the mechanism of a novel therapy that uses magnetic pulses to treat chronic migraine sufferers showed the treatment to be a promising alternative to medication.

The therapy is called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. Study findings were presented today (April 29, 2009) during the annual American Academy of Neurology scientific meeting in Seattle.

April 30, 2009 – An unlikely multidisciplinary scientific collaboration has discovered that an electronic nose developed for air quality monitoring on Space Shuttle Endeavour can also be used to detect odour differences in normal and cancerous brain cells. The results of the pilot study open up new possibilities for neurosurgeons in the fight against brain cancer.

A new drug for multiple sclerosis can dramatically reduce the chances of a relapse or a deterioration of the condition, according to a new study from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London.

The results of a major trial presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle show that taking a course of cladribine tablets just a few times a year can reduce the chances of a relapse by well over 50 per cent. And patients who took part in the study suffered very few side effects.

UCSF researchers have identified a correlation between higher levels of glutamate, which occurs naturally in the brain as a byproduct of metabolism, and greater disease burden in multiple sclerosis patients. The study is the first to measure glutamate toxicity in the brain over time and suggests an improved method for tracking the disease and predicting its course.

A new UCSF study examining the mechanism of a novel therapy that uses magnetic pulses to treat chronic migraine sufferers showed the treatment to be a promising alternative to medication.

The therapy is called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. Study findings were presented today (April 29, 2009) during the annual American Academy of Neurology scientific meeting in Seattle.

(Baltimore, MD) — In the first neuroimaging study to examine motor execution in children with autism, researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute have uncovered important new insight into the neurological basis of autism. The study, published online in the journal Brain's April 23 Brain Advanced Access, compared the brain activity of children with high functioning autism and their typically developing peers while performing a simple motor task—tapping their fingers in sequence.

NEW YORK – In a study that reveals the clearest picture to date of neuron death in Parkinson's disease, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have found that a trio of culprits acting in concert is responsible for killing the brain cells.

The study, published in the April 30 issue of Neuron, showed that three molecules – the neurotransmitter dopamine, a calcium channel, and a protein called alpha-synuclein – act together to kill the neurons.

A new study provides direct experimental evidence that a brain region important for reading and word recognition contains neurons that are highly selective for individual real words. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 30th issue of the journal Neuron, provides important insight into brain mechanisms associated with reading and may lead to a better understanding of reading disabilities.

New research finds that a complex interaction between separate factors underlies the pathology associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), reinforcing the concept that multiple therapeutic targets should be considered when designing treatment strategies. The findings, published by Cell Press in the April 30th issue of the journal Neuron, also help to explain why known risk factors do not predict PD in a straightforward manner.

Washington, DC – Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have found that an area known to be important for reading in the left visual cortex contains neurons that are specialized to process written words as whole word units. Although some theories of reading as well as neuropsychological and experimental data have argued for the existence of a neural representation for whole written real words (an "orthographic lexicon"), evidence for this has been elusive.