Brain

A group of women in a new study seemed unlikely to have body image issues – at least their responses on a tried-and-true psychological screening presented no red flags.

That assessment changed when Brigham Young University researchers used MRI technology to observe what happened in the brain when people viewed images of complete strangers.

If the stranger happened to be overweight and female, it surprisingly activated in women's brains an area that processes identity and self-reflection. Men did not show signs of any self-reflection in similar situations.

CHICAGO (April 13, 2010) – Tooth decay affects children in the United States more than any other chronic infectious disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC states that tooth decay, if left untreated, can cause pain and infections that hinder eating, speaking, playing and learning.

Glioblastoma is a guileful enemy. While most of the brain tumor can often be removed surgically, in virtually every case the tumor reappears. One reason for this is that sporadic, infiltrative tumor cells will remain in the brain even after most careful surgery. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now subjected these 'forgotten' cells to closer scrutiny for the first time. While doing this, they were able to show that many of the fundamental properties of these tumor cells were substantially different from the cells in the midst of the tumor mass.

A research project of the Neuroscience Center of the University of Helsinki sheds light on the neuronal mechanisms sustaining memory traces of visual stimuli in the human brain. The results show that the maintenance of working memory is associated with synchronisation of neurons, which facilitates communication between different parts of the brain. On the basis of interaction between the brain areas, it was even possible to predict the subject's individual working memory capacity. The results were published last week in the online version of the renowned journal PNAS.

Mirror neurons, many say, are what make us human. They are the cells in the brain that fire not only when we perform a particular action but also when we watch someone else perform that same action.

Neuroscientists believe this "mirroring" is the mechanism by which we can "read" the minds of others and empathize with them. It's how we "feel" someone's pain, how we discern a grimace from a grin, a smirk from a smile.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The percentage of clinicians who meet criteria for depression appears to increase significantly during medical internship, according to a report posted online that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Increased work hours, medical errors, genetic predisposition and receiving a medical education in the United States are among factors that appear to be associated with depressive symptoms among medical interns.

Lean mass—the weight of an individual's bones, muscles and organs without body fat—appears to decline among patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. These decreases may be associated with declines in brain volume and function.

Scientists at The University of Western Ontario have discovered the biological link between stress, anxiety and depression. By identifying the connecting mechanism in the brain, this high impact research led by Stephen Ferguson of Robarts Research Institute shows exactly how stress and anxiety could lead to depression. The study also reveals a small molecule inhibitor developed by Ferguson, which may provide a new and better way to treat anxiety, depression and other related disorders. The findings are published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

A study at the Buck Institute for Age Research suggests a new strategy for the treatment of stroke. Research in rodents shows the growth of new neurons, also known as neurogenesis, lessens the severity of stroke and dramatically improves function following a stroke. The research suggests that drugs shown to promote neurogenesis in rodents could have benefits for human stroke victims and that those drugs–which include antidepressants and mood stabilizers such as lithium–may be suitable for study in human clinical trials.

A new University of Iowa study offers some good news for caregivers and loved ones of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Patients might forget a joke or a meaningful conversation -- but even so, the warm feelings associated with the experience can stick around and boost their mood.

Children with the genetic condition known as Williams syndrome have unusually friendly natures because they lack the sense of fear that the rest of us feel in many social situations. Now, a study reported in the April 13th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, suggests that children with Williams Syndrome are missing something else the rest of us have from a very tender age: the proclivity to stereotype others based on their race.

STANFORD, Calif. — Diagnostic cutoffs for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa may be too strict, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has found. Many patients who do not meet full criteria for these diseases are nevertheless quite ill, and the diagnosis they now receive, "Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified," may delay their ability to get treatment.

"There's mounting evidence that we should reconsider the EDNOS categorization for young people," said Rebecka Peebles, MD, the study's primary author.

Palaeoanthropologist Prof. Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, has discovered a new species of early human ancestor in one of the best-preserved skeletons of an early hominid, dated around 1.9 million years old, in the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site. This discovery was published on 9 April 2010 in Science, a leading international scientific journal.

MADISON, WI, April 12, 2010-What do obesity trends in China, barriers to export markets facing small farmers in Kenya, or alternative soil conservation strategies in Peru have in common? They are case studies on global food and agriculture issues, and represent the world's interdependence on food and populations issues. Students attending colleges expect to build experiences of a broad and diverse world, but lecture-based passive learning is not the best way to teach higher order thinking, motivate students, or inspire changes in attitude.