Brain

Using a laser to treat cells in the brain did not significantly reduce stroke disability, according to results of the first major clinical trial of laser therapy presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.

The full study will be simultaneously published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association and is presented in the "Sample of the Best Science of the ISC" session during the conference.

Working memory (also known as short term memory) is our ability to keep a small amount of information active in our mind. This is useful for information we need to know on-the-fly, such as a phone number or the few items we need to pick up from the grocery store. We hang on to the information for a brief period of time, just long enough to make a phone call or get through the checkout line, and then we forget it forever. We receive much of our information through our visual system, but it was unknown how much of this visual information is actively involved in short term memory.

»The heart of iPoint 3D is a recognition device, not much larger than a keyboard, that can be suspended from the ceiling above the user or integrated in a coffee table. Its two built-in cameras detect hands and fingers in real time and transmit the information to a computer,« says Paul Chojecki, a research scientist at the HHI, explaining the technology. The system responds instantly, as soon as someone in front of the screen moves their hands. No physical contact or special markers are involved.

We engage in numerous discussions throughout the day, about a variety of topics, from work assignments to the Super Bowl to what we are having for dinner that evening. We effortlessly move from conversation to conversation, probably not thinking twice about our brain's ability to understand everything that is being said to us. How does the brain turn seemingly random sounds and letters into sentences with clear meaning? In a new report in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Jos J.A.

Researchers have known for decades that the brain has a remarkable ability to "reprogram" itself to compensate for problems such as traumatic injury. Now, a research article published in the February 2009 issue of the journal Genetics (http://www.genetics.org) suggests that the brain may also be able to compensate for problems with key neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL – February 20, 2009 – A follow-up study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer-Sheva has determined that the once prevalent custom of female genital mutilation (FGM) among Israel's Bedouin population in the Negev has virtually disappeared. The findings were reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine 2009; 6:70-73.

A study from the Buck Institute for Age Research offers a revolutionary new model for Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder which afflicts 24 million people worldwide. In an effort to unravel the normal function of a protein implicated in AD, scientists in California and France have discovered a naturally occurring protein that provides a new therapeutic target for the disease.

The risk of stroke increases with the number of fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.After statistically controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors, researchers found:

A nationwide study of first grade classrooms finds that while many teachers create positive social environments in the classroom, most provide inadequate instructional support. The report is published in the March issue of The Elementary School Journal.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Violent video games and movies make people numb to the pain and suffering of others, according to a research report published in the March 2009 issue of Psychological Science.

The report details the findings of two studies conducted by University of Michigan professor Brad Bushman and Iowa State University professor Craig Anderson.

New results from a multicenter study led by Johns Hopkins show that patients who got an experimental clot-busting treatment for a particularly lethal form of stroke were not only dramatically more likely to survive but also continued to shed lingering disabilities six months later. The findings, announced at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego on Feb. 19, are likely to build support for the use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in patients with intracranial hemorrhage, a treatment-resistant form of stroke marked by brain bleeding.

The findings are being published in an Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.

"We found several microscopic pathologies and behavioral traits that are hallmarks of schizophrenia, says Ulrich Mueller, Ph.D., a professor at Scripps Research who was senior author of the study. "These findings in mice may help shed light on how schizophrenia, an often severe and debilitating disease, emerges in humans."

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Women are 30 percent less likely than men to receive a critical clot-busting drug than can limit brain damage after a stroke, according to a Michigan State University study.

The study findings were presented Feb. 19 in San Diego at the International Stroke Conference, organized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An experimental therapy using tiny bubbles activated by transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound combined with the clot busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is more effective than tPA alone in treating patients suffering from ischemic stroke, according to new research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in San Diego.

Durham, N.C. - Scientists at Duke University Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University have discovered mutations in two genes that could become therapeutic targets in malignant glioma, a dangerous class of brain tumors.