Brain

A brain stimulation technique, known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, boosts the language ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease, suggests preliminary research, published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS for short, is a non-invasive technique that involves the delivery of a rapid succession of magnetic pulses in frequencies of up to 100 Hz.

Previous research has shown that this can alter neuronal activity, depending on the frequency of the stimulation.

Blind people think about manipulating tools in the same regions of the brain as do people who can see, according to a new study. The researchers say this adds to evidence that the brain has a fairly defined organization, while still being able to adapt to unusual conditions, such as not having any vision.

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."— John Wanamaker, 19th-century U.S. department store pioneer

In a study with implications for the advertising industry and public health organizations, UCLA neuroscientists have shown they can use brain scanning to predict whether people will use sunscreen during a one-week period even better than the people themselves can.

Scientists at UCL (University College London) have explained Parkinson's patients' risky behaviour, a rare side effect of standard treatments for the disease. The finding has implications for future medication of patients.

The standard treatments for Parkinson's disease, which work by increasing dopamine signalling in the brain, can trigger highly risky behaviours, known as 'impulsive-compulsive spectrum behaviours' (ICBs) in approximately 5-10% of patients.

LOS ANGELES (June 23, 2010) – Typically, migraine is considered to be an episodic disorder with discrete attacks of headache. But new research by Dr. Till Sprenger and his team from UCSF Headache Group and Technische Universität München found increased network activity -- stronger functional connectivity -- bilaterally in the visual, auditory and sensorimotor network in migraineurs.

There is no association between risk of early childhood cancers and a mother's exposure to a mobile phone base station during pregnancy, concludes a new study published on bmj.com today.

This is the first study to look at phone masts in Britain as a whole and is the largest of its kind.

No link between early childhood cancers and living near mobile phone base station during pregnancy, says study

A new study looking at the patterns of early childhood cancers across Great Britain has found no association between a mother living near to a mobile phone base station during her pregnancy and the risk of that child developing cancer before reaching the age of five.

Personalities come in all kinds. Now psychological scientists have found that the size of different parts of people's brains correspond to their personalities; for example, conscientious people tend to have a bigger lateral prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in planning and controlling behavior.

TORONTO, June 22, 2010 – Gay men can recall familiar faces faster and more accurately than their heterosexual counterparts because, like women, they use both sides of their brains, according to a new study by York University researchers.

PHILADELPHIA — Data on the effects of coffee on cancer risk have been mixed. However, results of a recent study add to the brewing evidence that drinking coffee protects against cancer, this time against head and neck cancer.

Troy, N.Y. An organic compound found in red wine – resveratrol – has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier. The findings, published in the May 28 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, are a step toward understanding the large-scale death of brain cells seen in certain neurodegenerative diseases.

Benign vascular malformations known as cavernomas can occur in many tissues of the body. These abnormalities are characterized by enlarged, instable and unstructured blood vessels. Cavernomas of medical relevance are primarily those of the brain, which develop approximately in one out of two hundred people. In the brain, such growths often remain unnoticed and are typically found by chance in MRI scans. If they grow larger, they often cause unspecific symptoms such as headaches or dizziness.

June 21, 2010 -- Effective brain function depends on the efficient signaling from one neuron to the next, a lightning-fast process that depends on a quick release of neurotransmitters at synapses. Exposure to lead during early childhood and even later in life has long been known to affect the release of these critical neurotransmitters. However, the precise mechanism by which lead ions (Pb2+) impair this process has remained unknown.

In order to realize international health goals aiming to improve maternal health, recognition of women's full reproductive and sexual health rights is crucial. In an editorial published this week entitled "Maternal Health: Time to Deliver," the PLoS Medicine editors argue that action on maternal health must focus on increasing access to family planning resources as much as it does access to basic medical care.