Brain

Dartmouth researchers demonstrate in a new study that a previously understudied part of the brain, the retrosplenial cortex, is essential for forming the basis for contextual memories, which help you to recall events ranging from global disasters to where you parked your car.

The findings appear in the journal The Journal of Neuroscience. A PDF of the study is available on request.

This news release is available in French.

Montreal, August 12, 2014 — Does a baby know that a dog can jump a fence while a school bus can't? Can a toddler grasp that a cat can avoid colliding with a wall, while a table being pushed into a wall can't?

A new study from Concordia shows that infants as young as 10-months old can tell the difference between the kinds of paths naturally taken by a walking animal, compared to a moving car or piece of furniture.

West Orange, NJ. August 12, 2014. Kessler Foundation scientists have identified predictors of prospective memory impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Findings were epublished on July 28 by the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. The article, "Rule monitoring ability predicts event-based prospective memory performance in individuals with TBI," is authored by Jessica Paxton, PhD, and Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, of Kessler Foundation. This is the first study to examine the role of rule monitoring, an executive function, post-TBI.

MONTREAL, August 12, 2014 – An analysis of autism research covering genetics, brain imaging, and cognition led by Laurent Mottron of the University of Montreal has overhauled our understanding of why autism potentially occurs, develops and results in a diversity of symptoms. The team of senior academics involved in the project calls it the "Trigger-Threshold-Target'' model. Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to respond and remodel itself, and this model is based on the idea that autism is a genetically induced plastic reaction.

Boston, MA – Decline in daily functioning associated with Alzheimer's disease is related to alterations in activity in certain regions of the brain, according to a study published in the August 2014 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Researchers have found a link between digital literacy and a reduction in cognitive decline, according to a study published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Medical Sciences on July 8th.Led by Andre Junqueira Xavier at the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, this is the first major study to show that digital literacy, or the ability to engage, plan and execute digital actions such as web browsing and exchanging emails, can improve memory.Drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, the study followed 6442 participants in the UK between the ages of 50 and 89 for 8

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Dangerous brain tumors hijack the brain's existing blood supply throughout their progression, by growing only within narrow potential spaces between and along the brain's thousands of small blood vessels, new research shows for the first time.

The findings contradict the concept that brain tumors need to grow their own blood vessels to keep themselves growing – and help explain why drugs that aim to stop growth of the new blood vessels have failed in clinical trials to extend the lives of patients with the worst brain tumors.

Researchers at the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre have traced the origins of ADHD, substance abuse and conduct disorder, and found that they develop from the same neurocognitive deficits, which in turn explains why they often occur together. "Psychopathology exists on multiple continua of brain function. Some of these dimensions contribute to a multitude of problems, others contribute to specific problems.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Researchers who looked at the impact of discrimination, poverty and stigma on the mental health and relationship quality of transgender women and their male romantic partners found that social and economic marginalization not only takes a psychological toll on each person individually but also appears to undermine them as a couple.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Dangerous brain tumors hijack the brain's existing blood supply throughout their progression, by growing only within narrow potential spaces between and along the brain's thousands of small blood vessels, new research shows for the first time.

The findings contradict the concept that brain tumors need to grow their own blood vessels to keep themselves growing – and help explain why drugs that aim to stop growth of the new blood vessels have failed in clinical trials to extend the lives of patients with the worst brain tumors.

Tongxinluo has been widely used in China for the treatment of acute stroke and for neuroprotection. Research group at Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China intragastrically administered Tongxinluo superfine powder suspension or its vehicle to rats for 5 successive days before middle cerebral artery occlusion. There are many advantages of using small animal PET for drug research.

A team of researchers from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences have developed a new way of using electricity to open the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). The Vascular Enabled Integrated Nanosecond pulse (VEIN pulse) procedure consists of inserting minimally invasive needle electrodes into the diseased tissue and applying multiple bursts of nanosecond pulses with alternating polarity. It is thought that the bursts disrupt tight junction proteins responsible for maintaining the integrity of the BBB without causing damage to the surrounding tissue.

(NEW YORK – August 11) Blood expression levels of genes targeted by the stress hormones called glucocorticoids could be a physical measure, or biomarker, of risk for developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), according to a study conducted in rats by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published August 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). That also makes the steroid hormones' receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor, a potential target for new drugs.

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Hawaii demonstrates a new approach to measuring early brain development of infants, resulting in more accurate whole brain growth charts and providing the first estimates for growth trajectories of subcortical areas during the first three months after birth. Assessing the size, asymmetry and rate of growth of different brain regions could be key in detecting and treating the earliest signs of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism or perinatal brain injury.

A 40-year-old California man exhibits normal cognitive function although he has no apolipoprotein E (apoE), which is believed to be important for brain function but a mutation of which is also a known risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD). Researchers suggest this could mean that therapies to reduce apoE in the central nervous system may one day help treat neurodegenerative disorders such as AD.

The study was authored by Angel C. Y. Mak, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.