Brain

USC scientists have discovered a population of neurons in the brains of juvenile songbirds that are necessary for allowing the birds to recognize the vocal sounds they are learning to imitate.

These neurons encode a memory of learned vocal sounds and form a crucial (and hitherto only theorized) part of the neural system that allows songbirds to hear, imitate, and learn its species' songs – just as human infants acquire speech sounds.

Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound, is synthesized in several plants and possesses beneficial biological effects, which include anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. Resveratrol exhibits neuroprotective effects in models of many diseases, such as cerebral ischemia, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. However, there is a lack of data evaluating the effect of resveratrol in vascular dementia.

Expression of soluble CD40L has been shown to increase sig-nificantly in conditions such as stroke, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, high cholesterol, or other cardiovascular events. 95% of the circulating CD40L exists in activated platelets. However, the specific pathway of the transition of CD40L is not elucidated, and whether Golgi apparatus is involved in the expression of platelet CD40L still needs to be proven. Dr.

Many American parents yell or shout at their teenagers. A new longitudinal study has found that using such harsh verbal discipline in early adolescence can be harmful to teens later. Instead of minimizing teens' problematic behavior, harsh verbal discipline may actually aggravate it.

The study, from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan, appears in the journal Child Development.

Washington, DC — Sleep increases the reproduction of the cells that go on to form the insulating material on nerve cell projections in the brain and spinal cord known as myelin, according to an animal study published in the September 4 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings could one day lead scientists to new insights about sleep's role in brain repair and growth.

DURHAM, N.C. -- During a normal conversation, your brain is constantly adjusting the volume to soften the sound of your own voice and boost the voices of others in the room.

This ability to distinguish between the sounds generated from your own movements and those coming from the outside world is important not only for catching up on water cooler gossip, but also for learning how to speak or play a musical instrument.

A new study in Frontiers in Physiology claims that bats catch insects by sonar because it is far more efficient than using vision, even during twilight.

Bats have eyes and may not have evolved their ultrasonic sonar from the earliest time of their existence on earth. Approximately 1000 species of bats use sonar to detect prey, despite showing considerable variation in the preferred size of their prey and their mode of hunting.

Ischemic stroke is characterized by an interruption of the blood supply to the brain, which can lead to brain damage and even death. Excess amounts of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate are released during stroke events and further exacerbate brain cell death. Currently, there are no effective strategies for combatting the effects ischemic stroke.

Among scientists, the role of proteins called sirtuins in enhancing longevity has been hotly debated, driven by contradictory results from many different scientists. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may settle the dispute.

Reporting Sept. 3 in Cell Metabolism, Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, and his colleagues have identified the mechanism by which a specific sirtuin protein called Sirt1 operates in the brain to bring about a significant delay in aging and an increase in longevity. Both have been associated with a low-calorie diet.

MAYWOOD, Il. -- Fifteen percent of the most common type of strokes occur in adolescents and young adults, and more young people are showing risk factors for such strokes, according to a report in the journal Neurology.

Neurologist Jose Biller of Loyola University Medical Center is a co-author of the report, a consensus statement developed by the American Academy of Neurology.

People with epilepsy could be helped by new research into the way a key molecule controls brain activity during a seizure.

Researchers have identified the role played by of a protein – called BDNF – and say the discovery could lead to new drugs that calm the symptoms of epileptic seizures.

Scientists analysed the way cells communicate when the brain is most active – such as in epileptic seizures – when electrical signalling by the brain's neurons is increased.

New drugs which may have the potential to stop faulty brain cells dying and slow down the progression of Parkinson's, have been identified by scientists in a pioneering study which is the first of its kind.

Experts from the world leading Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) conducted a large scale drugs trial in the lab using skin cells from people with this progressive neurological condition which affects one in every 500 people in the UK.

An antihistamine discovered in the 1950s to treat itching may also prevent seizures in an intractable form of childhood epilepsy, according to researchers at UC San Francisco who tested it in zebrafish bred to mimic the disease.

The researchers said their unexpected discovery offers a glimmer of hope for families of children with Dravet Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that manifests in early childhood with disabling, lifelong consequences. These include dozens, if not hundreds, of daily seizures, as well as profound cognitive and social deficits.

According to new research on epilepsy, zebrafish have certainly earned their stripes. Results of a study in Nature Communications suggest that zebrafish carrying a specific mutation may help researchers discover treatments for Dravet syndrome (DS), a severe form of pediatric epilepsy that results in drug-resistant seizures and developmental delays.

PHILADELPHIA -- People in East Asian countries seem to strike the best balance between liking action and inaction, whereas someone from the Mediterranean area of the world are far less likely to have achieved the same balance.

This balance between action and inaction is best displayed in Asia, where Labor Day is not observed until May.