Brain

BALTIMORE, MD, October 25, 2013 – New research published in JAMA Psychiatry reveals that topiramate, a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat epilepsy and migraine headaches, also could be the first reliable medication to help treat cocaine dependence.

Researchers at the Biosciences Unit of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with the UAB Institute of Neurosciences (INc), have conducted trials with mice by injecting a specific antibody fragment against soluble aggregates of the A peptide, responsible for the toxicity and cell death characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. The beneficial effects were seen at the behavioural, cellular and molecular levels five days after an intraperitoneal dose was administered.

Brain infarction or stroke is caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain, which leads to interruption of blood flow and shortage of oxygen. Now a reserach group at Lund University, Sweden, has taken an important step towards a treatment for stroke using stem cells.

Salvianolic acid B, also called salvia magnesium acetate, is a phenolic acid compound composed of three Danshensu units and one molecule of caffeic acid. Salvianolic acid B exerts strong resistance to oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction, and improves energy metabolism against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injuries. Dr.

Memory about a core item (such as a word, object, or picture) is called item memory while memory about the context or related features of a core item is defined as source memory. What determines which sources within an episode are successfully remembered is of particular interest to researchers. Behavioral evidence suggests that the orientation of a memory task influences whether the related source of the item will be remembered later. A study by Prof.

Ursolic acid (chemical name 3-hydroxy-12- ursen-28-oic acid) is a triterpenoid extracted from natural plant-based drugs, and has anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-scarring effects, and it regulates the immune system and promotes the repair of injured neurons.However, no reports have explored its role in peripheral nerve injury. A recent study by Prof. Jiajun Chen and team from China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, China established mouse models of sciatic nerve injury through unilateral sciatic nerve complete transection and microscopic anastomosis.

An experimental drug called 3K3A-APC appears to reduce brain damage, eliminate brain hemorrhaging and improve motor skills in older stroke-afflicted mice and stroke-afflicted rats with comorbid conditions such as hypertension, according to a new study from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

ORLANDO, Fla. —Adults with head injuries are known to be at high risk for depression, and yet little research had been done on the topic related to children. In the abstract, "Depression in Children Diagnosed with Brain Injury or Concussion," presented Oct. 25 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, researchers sought to identify the prevalence of depression in children with brain injuries, including concussions, in the U.S.

(WASHINGTON – October 24, 2013) – New research ties preparative procedures and complications associated with blood or bone marrow transplantation (stem cell transplantation, SCT) with diminished sexual health in both men and women who have undergone the lifesaving procedure.

The painful, potentially deadly stings of bark scorpions are nothing more than a slight nuisance to grasshopper mice, which voraciously kill and consume their prey with ease. When stung, the mice briefly lick their paws and move in again for the kill.

The grasshopper mice are essentially numb to the pain, scientists have found, because the scorpion toxin acts as an analgesic rather than a pain stimulant.

The scientists published their research this week in Science.

HOUSTON – (Oct. 24, 2013) – A study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) showed that a hands-free ultrasound device combined with a clot-busting drug was safe for ischemic stroke patients.

Teacher well-being, efficacy, burnout-related stress, time-related stress and mindfulness significantly improve when teachers participate in the CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) for Teachers program, according to Penn State researchers.

The Junior Professor for Social and Media Psychology Dr. Kai Kaspar from the University of Cologne has examined how physical cleansing affects us after failure. The result: test subjects who washed their hands after a task were more optimistic than those who did not wash their hands, but it hampered their future performance in the same task domain. The findings of the study were published in the renowned journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. For his experiment, Kaspar took 98 subjects in three groups.

How do humans and other mammals get so brainy? USC researcher Wange Lu, PhD, and his colleagues shed new light on this question in a paper that will be published in Cell Reports on October 24.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Imagine the brain's delight when experiencing the sounds of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" while simultaneously taking in a light show produced by a visualizer.

A new Northwestern University study did much more than that.

To understand how the brain responds to highly complex auditory-visual stimuli like music and moving images, the study tracked parts of the auditory system involved in the perceptual processing of "Moonlight Sonata" while it was synchronized with the light show made by the iTunes Jelly visualizer.