Brain

MINNEAPOLIS – A new study suggests that Chinese people may be at higher risk for stroke than Caucasians. The research is published in the July 16, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have used vascular precursor cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to generate, in an animal model, functional blood vessels that lasted as long as nine months. In their report being published in PNAS Early Edition, the investigators describe using iPSCs – reprogrammed adult cells that have many of the characteristics of embryonic stem cells – from both healthy adults and from individuals with type 1 diabetes to generate blood vessels on the outer surface of the brain or under the skin of mice.

A little bit of learned fear is a good thing, keeping us from making risky, stupid decisions or falling over and over again into the same trap. But new research from neuroscientists and molecular biologists at USC shows that a missing brain protein may be the culprit in cases of severe over-worry, where the fear perseveres even when there's nothing of which to be afraid.

Parents may not be very savvy with social media, but new research shows they shouldn't shy away from sending their teen a friend request on Facebook or engaging them on Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms.

Brigham Young University professors Sarah Coyne and Laura Padilla-Walker found that teenagers who are connected to their parents on social media feel closer to their parents in real life.

Ryan compared the phenomenon to what's called a "continuity illusion" in humans. If loud enough white noise is played in between a pair of beeps, humans will begin to perceive the beeps as a continuous tone. It's not fully understood why this happens, but it's probably a byproduct of our brains' useful ability to filter out background noise.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2013 -- In a study released last week, education researchers found that personifying energy allowed students to grapple with difficult ideas about how energy works. Contrasted with more traditional lectures and graphs, this innovative instructional technique may be useful for teaching about other ideas in physical science, which commonly deals with things that change form over time.

DETROIT — A new study from neuroscientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the first novel insights into the neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women in years. The study may inform and eventually lead to new treatments for those who experience the sudden but temporary episodes of body warmth, flushing and sweating.

If you want teams of students to stay engaged while playing educational games, you might want them to switch seats pretty often. That's one finding from a pilot study that evaluated how well middle school students were able to pay attention to game-based learning tasks.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The discovery of brain impairment in mice may eventually lead to better therapies for people with schizophrenia and major depression.

Studying rodents that have a gene associated with mental illness, Michigan State University neuroscientist Alexander Johnson and colleagues found a link between a specific area of the prefrontal cortex, and learning and behavioral deficits.

PHILADELPHIA—The trajectory of amyloid plaque buildup—clumps of abnormal proteins in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease—may serve as a more powerful biomarker for early detection of cognitive decline rather than using the total amount to gauge risk, researchers from Penn Medicine's Department of Radiology suggest in a new study published online July 15 in Neurobiology of Aging.

With the help of a robotic frog, biologists at The University of Texas at Austin and Salisbury University have discovered that two wrong mating calls can make a right for female túngara frogs.

The "rather bizarre" result may be evidence not of a defect in the frog brain, but of how well frogs have evolved to extract meaning from noise, much the way humans have. The research, which was published last month in Science, may also provide insight into how complex traits evolve by hooking together much simpler traits.

The best way to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change is through the use of market forces, according to a new study.

Researchers who monitored the effectiveness of the European Climate Exchange (ECX) - the world's biggest carbon trading platform – found it to be as efficient as Europe's two biggest exchanges, the London Stock Exchange and the Euronext Paris.

Using free market platforms like the ECX to combat climate change could provide the basis for the introduction of a mandatory emissions cap and trade scheme worldwide.

Increasing evidence has revealed that the activation of the JNK pathway participates in apoptosis of nerve cells and neurological function recovery after traumatic brain injury. However, which genes in the JNK family are activated and their role in traumatic brain injury remain unclear. Dr. Jiang Long and colleagues from the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, China found that JNK3 expression was downregulated at early stages of brain injury, which may be associated with apoptosis of nerve cells.

Microglial cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Chronic activation of microglial cells endangers neuronal survival through the release of various proinflammatory and neurotoxic factors, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. According to a study reported in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No.

Chemotherapy is one of the primary treatments for cancer. However, one of the most disturbing findings of recent studies of cancer survivors is the apparent prevalence of chemotherapy-associated adverse neurological effects, including vascular complications, seizures, mood disorders, cognitive dysfunctions, and peripheral neuropathies. In addition, chemotherapy triggers changes in ion channels on dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn neurons that generate secondary changes resulting in neuropathic pains.