Brain

Even before they learn to speak, babies are organizing information about numbers, space and time in more complex ways than previously realized, a study led by Emory University psychologist Stella Lourenco finds.

"We've shown that 9-month-olds are sensitive to 'more than' or 'less than' relations across the number, size and duration of objects. And what's really remarkable is they only need experience with one of these quantitative concepts in order to guess what the other quantities should look like," Lourenco says.

A Florida State University researcher has identified the important role that a key protein plays in cell division, and that discovery could lead to a greater understanding of stem cells.

There may be a biological reason why depression and other stress-related psychiatric disorders are more common among women compared to men. Studying stress signaling systems in animal brains, neuroscience researchers found that females are more sensitive to low levels of an important stress hormone and less able to adapt to high levels than males.

Researchers of the University of Granada have demonstrated that patients who have damage to the right prefrontal cortex of the brain –the part involved in anticipation and quick reaction to stimuli- present a deficit in intentional anticipation (for example, when we put the vehicle in gear before the light turns green). However, these patients keep unintentional anticipation functions intact, which could help develop new therapies.

BACKGROUND

The ability to tell time is fundamental to how humans interact with each other and the world. Timing plays an important role, for example, in our ability to recognize speech patterns and to create music.

Patterns are an essential part of timing. The human brain easily learns patterns, allowing us to recognize familiar patterns of shapes, like faces, and timed patterns, like the rhythm of a song. But exactly how the brain keeps time and learns patterns remains a mystery.

FINDINGS

The study, by researchers at the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds, showed that the construction and phrasing of 'lawyerese' questions can inhibit processes in the brain that impact on how a witness responds under cross-examination. The use of complex questions, containing multiple parts, double-negatives and advanced vocabulary may affect the brain's ability to filter and streamline information effectively.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 14, 2010 – Although effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been slow to emerge, there has been substantial progress in identifying AD risk factors and developing treatments that might delay or prevent onset of the disease. In a Special Issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, "Basics of Alzheimer's Disease Prevention," researchers report on key findings that point towards possible significant interventions.

CHAPEL HILL – Focusing on certain PTSD symptoms may be key to treating anger among Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans, according to a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Veterans Affairs researchers.

"Most returning veterans don't have PTSD or difficulty with anger or aggressiveness, but for the small subset who do, this study helps to identify related risk factors," said Eric Elbogen, PhD, lead author of the study, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine and a staff psychologist at the VA Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new study shows that a mentally active lifestyle may protect against the memory and learning problems that often occur in multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is published in the June 15, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

STANFORD, Calif. — Antibodies — warrior proteins the immune system makes to defend the body against invading pathogens such as viruses and bacteria — have a gentler side nobody knew about until now: They function not only as soldiers but also as nurses. And researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine now think antibodies' absence in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) may be a key part of the reason why nerve damage there doesn't get naturally repaired in humans. That insight could someday lead to new treatments for stroke and spinal-cord trauma.

Our brains contain a highly distorted model of our own bodies, according to new research by scientists at UCL (University College London).

A study published today, which focussed on the brain's representation of the hand, found that our model of our bodies is out of sync with reality – with a strong tendency to think that the hands are shorter and fatter than their true shape.

DALLAS – June 14, 2010 – A molecule implicated in Alzheimer's disease interferes with brain cells by making them unable to "recycle" the surface receptors that respond to incoming signals, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

The harmful molecule, called APOE4, is present in about one out of every six people, the researchers said. Those with the gene for APOE4 have up to 10 times the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease earlier in life than average.

Astrocytes are the most common type of cell in the brain and play an important role in the function of neurons – nerve cells. New research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that they are also directly involved in the regulation of signalling between neurons.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Young men who attempt suicide before age 18 are much more likely as adults to be aggressive toward their girlfriends or wives, including hitting and injuring their partners, according to a new study.

This groundbreaking new research provides further evidence of the need for intervention with suicidal teens. It is based on data from 153 males from higher-crime neighborhoods who were assessed yearly from ages 10 to 32, and their romantic partners who participated when the men were ages 18 to 25.

Pediatricians whose patients undergo "routine" brain MRIs need a plan to deal with findings that commonly reveal unexpected-but-benign anomalies that are unlikely to cause any problem, reports a research team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators.

"Doctors need to figure out what, if anything, they want to share with patients about such findings because they seldom require urgent follow-up," says senior investigator John Strouse, M.D., Ph.D., a hematologist at Hopkins Children's.