Brain

• Alcohol abuse is highly disruptive of circadian rhythms, which refers to the timing of daily rhythms.
• A new animal study has used hamsters to test for the influence of wheel-running on alcohol intake.
• Results indicate that exercise, perhaps through stimulation of brain reward pathways, may be able to reduce alcohol intake in humans.

• A new study has created a preliminary neurobehavioral profile of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).
• Researchers selected 22 of 547 neuropsychological variables for analysis based on their ability to distinguish children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) from unexposed children.
• Results suggest that executive functioning and spatial processing are especially sensitive in children with suspected or known PAE.

• Alcohol is known to disrupt sleep, but little is known about alcohol use and sleep problems during adolescence.
• A new study has found that puberty is related to sleep problems and later bedtimes, which were in turn associated with alcohol use.

Veterans with substance use disorders who die by suicide are more likely to use violent means (such as a firearm) rather than nonviolent means (such as a drug overdose), new research suggests.

In a study of more than 5,000 Veterans Affairs (VA) patients with substance use disorders, researchers found that, despite having access to potentially lethal substances, 70% of those who died by suicide used violent means. The study was reported in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

A study published today in the journal Addiction reveals that drunkenness increases the risk for violent behaviour, but only for individuals with a strong inclination to suppress anger.

CHAPEL HILL – Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder affecting one in 100 people worldwide. Most cases aren't detected until a person starts experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations as a teenager or adult. By that time, the disease has often progressed so far that it can be difficult to treat.

The use of Omega-3 supplements is effective among patients with major depression who do not have anxiety disorders, according to a study directed by Dr. François Lespérance of the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier at the Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), head of CHUM's Department of Psychiatry and a professor at the Université de Montréal. The study was published June 15 in the online Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Philadelphia, PA, 21 June, 2010 - In a new Biological Psychiatry article, Dr. Regina Sullivan and colleagues have dissected the behavior of mother rats and their infant pups, modeling nurturing by stroking and abuse with electric shock. In this animal model of infant abuse, they took into consideration the unique infant neurobehavioral learning attachment system that ensures infant rats' attachment to their caregiver regardless of the quality of care received.

The "hunger" hormone ghrelin, which acts in the brain to stimulate hunger and increase food intake, heightens the appeal of high-calorie foods over low-calorie foods, according to a study that will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

"It raises the possibility that drugs that block the action of ghrelin may help reduce cravings for high-calorie foods and so help people lose weight," said lead author Tony Goldstone, MD, PhD, a consultant endocrinologist with the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London in the U.K.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The recovery time and cost of brain-tumor surgery might both be reduced if surgery is performed while patients are awake during part of the procedure, according to a new study conducted at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

Simon Cowell may appear to relish arguing with his fellow judges when they disagree with him, but new research out today suggests that – at least at a neuronal level – he would find their agreement much more satisfying.

Two researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) have studied the relationship between teenagers' goals and antisocial behaviour. The results show that the principal goal of young people is to finish their studies and leave home. The most antisocial among them place greater importance on popularity with others.

The first trial of a new model for testing Alzheimer's treatments has reassured researchers that a promising class of drugs does not exacerbate the disease if treatment is interrupted.

Sense of direction is represented in the brains of newborn rats before they have explored their environment, according to new research by scientists at UCL.

Published today in the journal Science, the results of a new study reveal that the brain's representations of the sense of place and direction appear extremely early in the animal's development – within two weeks of being born - and seemingly independently of any experience of the world.