Brain

Smoking is a well-known risk factor for subsequent alcohol abuse, but the mechanisms underlying this link are unknown. Now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Neuron on July 18 show in a study conducted in rats that even a single exposure to nicotine temporarily changes how the brain's reward system responds to alcohol and increases the reinforcing properties of alcohol via stress hormones.

PENSACOLA, Fla.—Forthcoming research in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry analyzes the physiological effects of three separate pesticides on honey bees (Apis mellifera). An international research team ¬- Drs. Stephan Caravalho, Luc Belzunces and colleagues from Universidade Federal de Lavras in Brazil and Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique in France - concludes that the absence of mortality does not always indicate functional integrity.

NEW YORK, July 13, 2013 – Experts from the Comprehensive Center on Brain Aging at NYU Langone Medical Center will present new research at the 2013 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's disease to be held in Boston, MA from July 13th through 18th, 2013. From basic discovery to clinical applications, NYU Langone Medical Center has been at the forefront of the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease since the 1970s.

Boston, MA – Computerized cognitive testing is increasingly playing a key role in therapy development for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This week at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, Keith Wesnes Ph.D., Practice Leader of Bracket and founder of the CDR System™, discussed new data for novel therapies at two poster presentations at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

Poster Title: Cognitive evidence in Alzheimer's disease patients that compromised hippocampal neurogenesis is related both to APOE4 status and CSF Abeta42

SYDNEY -- The so-called trust hormone, oxytocin, may not improve the symptoms of children with autism, a large study led by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has found.

Professor Mark Dadds, of the UNSW School of Psychology, says previous research suggested that oxytocin -- a hormone with powerful effects on brain activity linked to the formation of social bonds -- could have benefits for children with the disorder.

The glial scar is the main inhibitor of axon regeneration and functional recovery in the central nervous system. Appropriate dose X-ray irradiation has been shown to inhibit the formation of glial cells, thereby promoting axonal regeneration. In addition, X-rays militate against the death and degeneration of neurons, and improve the recovery of locomotor function following spinal cord injury. However, the optimal treatment time window and dose of X-irradiation for spinal cord injury is still unknown. Prof.

A recent study published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 18, 2013) combined cognition tasks and functional MRI, and designed multiple repeated event-related tasks; additionally, using the International Affective Picture System-based event-related tasks, this study investigated brain functional characteristics of major depressive disorder patients exhibiting, negative bias brain imaging changes and cognitive dysfunction, as well as their relationship based on biased quantitative data.

Singing in a foreign language can significantly improve learning how to speak it, according to a new study.

Adults who listened to short Hungarian phrases and then sang them back performed better than those who spoke the phrases, researchers found.

People who sang the phrases back also fared better than those who repeated the phrases by speaking them rhythmically.

Three randomly assigned groups of twenty adults took part in a series of five tests as part of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Reid School of Music.

Children whose mothers took antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) while pregnant are at increased risk of early development issues, according to a new study published in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). Results of the study suggest that children exposed to AEDs in the womb were at risk for difficulties with motor development, language skills, social skills, and autistic traits compared to children whose mothers did not take anti-seizure medications.

PITTSBURGH, July 17, 2013 – Poor sleep quality and quantity during pregnancy can disrupt normal immune processes and lead to lower birth weights and other complications, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published today in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Women with depression also are more likely than non-depressed women to suffer from disturbed sleep and to experience immune system disruption and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

CHICAGO-Seafood continues to be a proven strong nutrient-rich food providing essential vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, but consumers and some toxicologists still keep a watchful eye on safety, according to a July 16 panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® held at McCormick Place.

It's common knowledge that high school can be a cruel environment where attractive students are considered "popular," and unattractive kids often get bullied. And, while that type of petty behavior is expected to vanish with adulthood, new research proves it does not.

Colleagues can be just as immature as classmates.

The study by Timothy Judge, professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, and Brent Scott from Michigan State University, is the first to link attractiveness to cruelty in the workplace.

• The blood-brain barrier protects the brain from poisons but also prevents drugs from reaching brain tumors; innovative new treatments are needed.
• This laboratory study shows that a nanotechnology drug called SapC-DOPS crosses that barrier and targets brain-tumor cells and retards growth of tumor blood vessels.
• The findings also show how the agent targets tumor cells and recommend its further development as a novel treatment for glioblastoma.

A researcher from Imperial College London and his colleagues have developed for the first time a map of a typical bird brain, showing how different regions are connected together to process information. By comparing it to brain diagrams for different mammals such as humans, the team discovered that areas important for high-level cognition such as long-term memory and problem solving are wired up to other regions of the brain in a similar way. This is despite the fact that both mammal and bird brains have been evolving down separate paths over hundreds of millions of years.

Scientists at Bonn University Hospital and at the Max Planck Institute for neurological research in Cologne have developed a method with which the chances of success of a surgical procedure for temporal lobe epilepsy can be accurately predicted. The rate of accurate predictions is more than 90%. The results are now being presented in the scientific journal "NeuroImage:Clinical."