Brain

Homo floresiensis, a pygmy-sized small-brained hominin popularly known as 'the Hobbit' was discovered five years ago, but controversy continues over whether the small brain is actually due to a pathological condition. How can its tiny brain size be explained? Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology have tackled this question in the context of a comprehensive assessment of the evolution of brain and body size throughout the larger primate family.

Women experiencing an early onset of menopause could develop dementia at a younger age. Research by Tonnie Coppus of Erasmus MC has indicated this. She studied women with Down Syndrome, who are known to have an early onset of menopause. The results of her research can be translated to apply to the general population. Her results will be published in the Journal of Alzheimer Disease today.

Scientists at the Brain Research Centre and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics have uncovered a key cellular mechanism that alters brain cell function in Huntington's disease, and identified a possible treatment for the disease.

The results of the study were published online today and will appear in the January 28 edition of the journal Neuron.

Huntington's disease is an inherited degenerative brain disease that causes cognitive and motor impairment, and eventually death. One in 10,000 Canadians suffers from Huntington's disease.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Neuroscientists at MIT and Tsinghua University in Beijing show that increasing brain magnesium with a new compound enhanced learning abilities, working memory, and short- and long-term memory in rats. The dietary supplement also boosted older rats' ability to perform a variety of learning tests.

Our memories are strengthened during periods of rest while we are awake, researchers at New York University have found. The findings, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Neuron, expand our understanding of how memories are boosted—previous studies had shown this process occurs during sleep, but not during times of awake rest.

New research finds that an increase in brain magnesium improves learning and memory in young and old rats. The study, published by Cell Press in the January 28th issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that increasing magnesium intake may be a valid strategy to enhance cognitive abilities and supports speculation that inadequate levels of magnesium impair cognitive function, leading to faster deterioration of memory in aging humans.

A new study demonstrates that cooperation between the hippocampus, best known for its critical role in learning and memory, and a principal downstream cortical target modulates anxiety-related behaviors in mice. The research, published by Cell Press in the January 28th issue of the journal Neuron, provides intriguing insight into how anxiety is processed in the brain and may help to explain what governs anxiety-related behaviors.

Only a few anti-spasticity medications used for children with cerebral palsy are backed by sufficient research to justify their use, according to a new review of scientific literature headed by a UT Southwestern Medical Center neurologist and conducted by a national panel of interdisciplinary experts nationwide.

There is some discrepancy among the scientific community as to the situation of reservoirs in Spain, one of the countries with the greatest water stress in Europe. For this purpose, a team of researchers has surveyed experts and has determined which basins in Spain have the most water problems.

BOSTON (January 27, 2010) — Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts have developed a new tool for gene therapy that significantly increases gene delivery to cells in the retina compared to other carriers and DNA alone, according to a study published in the January issue of The Journal of Gene Medicine.

Philadelphia, PA, 27 January 2010 - Chronic and severely stressful situations, like those connected to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, have been associated with smaller volumes in "stress sensitive" brain regions, such as the cingulate region of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory formation. A new study, published by Elsevier in Biological Psychiatry, suggests that chronic insomnia may be another condition associated with reduced cortical volume.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that change is the only constant. People change, organizations change, the way people and institutions interact changes over time. Change affects social interactions and the natural world, and it even plays a role in how networks such as air traffic control and banking systems function.

University of Washington research has developed a formula to examine just what sorts of changes occur over time among complex and integrated structures. A key to understanding what's happening is to think of the relationships as networks.

Children as young as five months old will follow the gaze of an adult towards an object and engage in joint attention, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. The findings, published today in the Royal Society's journal Biology Letters, suggests that the human brain develops this important social skill surprisingly early in infancy.

Montreal, January 26, 2010 – Caucasians and Asians don't examine faces in the same way, according to new research. PhD student Caroline Blais, of the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology, has published two studies on the subject: one in Current Biology and the other in PLoS One.

Previous studies have shown that people collect information by mostly studying the eyes as well as the mouth of a face. "The problem is that these studies always used Caucasian test subjects," says Blais.

Researchers trying to restore vision damaged by disease have found promise in a tiny implant that sows seeds of new cells in the eye.

The diseases macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa lay waste to photoreceptors, the cells in the retina that turn light into electrical signals carried to the brain. The damage leaves millions of people worldwide with debilitating sight loss.

The nerves behind the light-switching cells, however, remain intact, meaning that with new photoreceptors, a patient could see again.