Brain

p>April 21, 2009, Cambridge, UK – Skeletal muscle disease and vision deficits might seem unrelated, but a frog model of muscular dystrophy shows it is not such a leap.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, is the world's third most common type of muscular dystrophy. It is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakening in the face, shoulders, and upper arms. Over half of FSHD patients (also known as Landouzy-Dejerine syndrome) also have abnormal blood vessels in the back of the eye, which can cause vision problems.

Lithium has been established for more than 50 years as one of the most effective treatments for bipolar mood disorder.

However, scientists have never been entirely sure exactly how it operates in the human brain.

Now, new research from Cardiff University scientists suggests a mechanism for how Lithium works, opening the door for potentially more effective treatments.

When we emerge from a supermarket laden down with bags and faced with a sea of vehicles, how do we remember where we've parked our car and translate the memory into the correct action to get back there? A paper in this week's PLoS Biology identifies the specific parts of the brain responsible for solving this everyday problem. The results could have implications for understanding the functional significance of a prominent brain abnormality observed in neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia.

Keeping warm isn't the only reason lizards and other cold-blooded critters bask in the sun. According to a study published in the May/June issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, chameleons alter their sunbathing behavior based on their need for vitamin D.

Research performed by Nicole Lauzon and Dr. Steven Laviolette of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario has found key processes in the brain that control the emotional significance of our experiences and how we form memories of them. A lack of proper brain function in this area is what lies beneath such conditions as Schizophrenia and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In people who suffer from these conditions emotional experiences can become distorted, causing the person to 'lose touch' with reality.

U.S. and Brazilian scientists have just proven that one of Bob Dylan's most famous lines—"everybody must get stoned"— is correct. That's because they've discovered that the brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana at specific receptors in the brain itself. This discovery, published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), may lead to new marijuana-like drugs for managing pain, stimulating appetite, and preventing marijuana abuse.

The eyes of nocturnal mammals contain particularly large numbers of the highly light-sensitive rods, the photoreceptor type used for night vision. This allows the detection of light levels millions of times lower than daylight.

A new study led by the University of Leicester has demonstrated that consuming alcohol did not affect how men judged the age of women. This has important legal implications if alcohol is cited as a cause of impairing judgement in cases of unlawful sex with a minor.

A research collaboration between Australia and Israel has identified a genetic variation that influences the severity of symptoms in Rett syndrome.

The finding is published in the latest edition of the international journal Neurology.

Dr Helen Leonard, who heads the Australian Rett Syndrome Study at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, said the finding was exciting in that it identifies a potential new target for treatment of the debilitating neurological disorder.

AMES, Iowa -- Parents have been saying for years that their kids are "addicted" to video games, but a new study by an Iowa State University psychology professor is the first to actually report that pathological patterns of video game addiction exist in a national sample of youth, aged 8 to 18.

Milan, Italy, 20 April 2009 - Our ability to use objects and tools to perform actions is essential to our daily activities, and it is developed to a level that is unique to our species.

A collaboration between more than 70 researchers across the globe has uncovered nine new genes on the X chromosome that, when knocked-out, lead to learning disabilities. The international team studied almost all X chromosome genes in 208 families with learning disabilities - the largest screen of this type ever reported.

New Orleans, LA – Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's. He will present these findings for the first time on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ernest N.

In earlier studies, researchers at Louisiana State University had found that estrogen – or more precisely, having ovaries – made adult rats exposed for the first time to THC, the primary ingredient in marijuana and hashish, less sensitive to THC's negative effects on tests of learning and memory.

p>New studies in pregnant mice using antibodies against fetal brains made by the mothers of autistic children show that immune cells can cross the placenta and trigger neurobehavioral changes similar to autism in the mouse pups.