Brain

DURHAM, N.C. -- Given a choice between spending a token to get their absolute favorite food or spending it to have a choice from a buffet of options, capuchin monkeys will opt for variety.

In fact, they'll even eat a less-preferred food from that buffet when the favorite food is on it. They choose variety for variety's sake.

The choices made by these captive-bred monkeys in an Italian research facility seem to show some innate desire to seek variety, said Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Today's youth are generally not the self-centered, antisocial slackers that previous research has made them out to be, according to a provocative new study co-authored by a Michigan State University psychologist.

In a scientific analysis of nearly a half-million high-school seniors spread over three decades, MSU's Brent Donnellan and Kali Trzesniewski of the University of Western Ontario argue teens today are no more egotistical – and just as happy and satisfied – as previous generations.

Philadelphia, PA, 15 March 2010 - The emergence of multiple new brain imaging technologies and the combined application of these new approaches is helping to create new insights into aging and Alzheimer's disease. One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the deposition of amyloid beta protein in clumps or "plaques" within the brain. These plaques can be measured in humans with PET scans that use a chemical marker or radiotracer called 11C-PIB.

An international team led by scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich,UK, have transferred broad spectrum resistance against some important plant diseases across different plant families. This breakthrough provides a new way to produce crops with sustainable resistance to economically important diseases.

The brains of psychopaths appear to be wired to keep seeking a reward at any cost, new research from Vanderbilt University finds. The research uncovers the role of the brain's reward system in psychopathy and opens a new area of study for understanding what drives these individuals.

"This study underscores the importance of neurological research as it relates to behavior," Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said. "The findings may help us find new ways to intervene before a personality trait becomes antisocial behavior."

PORTLAND, Ore. — One of the oldest available anti-seizure medications, ethosuximide, is the most effective treatment for childhood absence epilepsy, according to initial outcomes published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital is one of 32 comprehensive pediatric epilepsy centers nationwide selected to participate in this landmark clinical trial as part of the NIH Childhood Absence Epilepsy Study Group.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (March 11, 2010) — The hippocampus, a part of the brain essential for memory, has long been known to "replay" recently experienced events. Previously, replay was believed to be a simple process of reviewing recent experiences in order to help consolidate them into long-term memory. However, University of Minnesota Medical School researcher A. David Redish, Ph.D., along with his colleagues Anoopum Gupta and David S.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry (www.ohsu.edu/sod) have discovered that nitric oxide is a powerful regulator of a molecule that plays a critical role in the development and function of the nervous system. The finding could someday play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure, which affects about one in three adults in the United States.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cancer cells in rapidly growing brain tumors must adjust to periods of low energy or die. When energy levels are high, tumor cells grow and proliferate. When levels are low, the cells grow less and migrate more.

Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute have discovered the switch responsible for this grow-or-go behavior.

PITTSBURGH—Replaying recent events in the area of the brain called the hippocampus may have less to do with creating long-term memories, as scientists have suspected, than with an active decision-making process, suggests a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Minnesota Medical School.

New evidence suggests that researchers can tell which memory of a past event a person is recalling from the pattern of their brain activity alone.

Computer programs have been able to predict which of three short films a person is thinking about, just by looking at their brain activity. The research, conducted by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London), provides further insight into how our memories are recorded.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (March 11, 2010) — The hippocampus, a part of the brain essential for memory, has long been known to "replay" recently experienced events. Previously, replay was believed to be a simple process of reviewing recent experiences in order to help consolidate them into long-term memory. However, University of Minnesota Medical School researcher A. David Redish, Ph.D., along with his colleagues Anoopum Gupta and David S.

CHAPEL HILL – Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

BATON ROUGE – According to a study recently completed by an LSU group charged with conducting studies on improving hurricane crisis communication in coastal communities, many families have a well-developed hurricane response plan of their own but have little faith in the preparation developed at higher government levels.