Brain

An average of 30 years had passed since the traumatic events that had left them depressed, anxious, irritable, hypervigilant, unable to sleep well and prone to nightmares.

But for 12 people who were involved in a UCLA-led study -- survivors of rape, car accidents, domestic abuse and other traumas -- an unobtrusive patch on the forehead provided considerable relief from post-traumatic stress disorder.

MINNEAPOLIS - People who take the drug natalizumab for multiple sclerosis may have up to a 10 times greater risk of developing a risk biomarker for activity of a virus that can lead to an often fatal brain disease, according to a study published in the January 27, 2016, online issue of Neurology® Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Scientists have pinpointed the cells that are likely to trigger common brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and intellectual disabilities.

It is the first time researchers have been able to identify the particular cell types that malfunction in a wide range of brain diseases.

Scientists say the findings offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target the conditions.

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 27, 2015 -- Moths sniff out others of their own species using specific pheromone blends. So if you transplant an antenna -- the nose, essentially -- from one species to another, which blend of pheromones does the moth respond to? The donor species', or the recipients'? The answer is neither.

Researchers have identified the cells that likely give rise to the brain tumor subtype Group 4 medulloblastoma. The finding removes a barrier to developing more effective targeted therapies against the brain tumor's most common subtype. A St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientist helped lead the international research, results of which appear online today in advance of publication in the scientific journal Nature.

A landmark study, based on genetic analysis of nearly 65,000 people, has revealed that a person's risk of schizophrenia is increased if they inherit specific variants in a gene related to "synaptic pruning" -- the elimination of connections between neurons. The findings represent the first time that the origin of this devastating psychiatric disease has been causally linked to specific gene variants and a biological process.

Women who take antidepressants during pregnancy do not appear to be at greater risk of giving birth to children with congenital heart defects compared to women who are not exposed to the drugs, according to new research from UCL.

Versions of a gene linked to schizophrenia may trigger runaway pruning of the teenage brain's still-maturing communications infrastructure, NIH-funded researchers have discovered. People with the illness show fewer such connections between neurons, or synapses. The gene switched on more in people with the suspect versions, who faced a higher risk of developing the disorder, characterized by hallucinations, delusions and impaired thinking and emotions.

CINCINNATI--New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine suggests that prenatal exposure to flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) commonly found in the environment may have a lasting effect on a child's cognitive and behavioral development, known as executive function.

Nearly a quarter of Division I college athletes reported depressive symptoms while enrolled at a liberal arts university on the East Coast, says a new study published in the February issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Women were almost two times more likely to experience symptoms than their male peers.

Researchers at Drexel University and Kean University collected data over three consecutive years from 465 undergraduate athletes who attended a NCAA Division I private university.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new Northwestern University and UCLA study has found for the first time that young people who are high on the personality trait of neuroticism are highly likely to develop both anxiety and depression disorders.

"Neuroticism was an especially strong predictor of the particularly pernicious state of developing both anxiety and depressive disorders," said Richard Zinbarg, lead author of the study and professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.

Military personnel in Canada were more likely to have had exposure to child abuse than individuals in the general population and that exposure was associated with an increased risk of suicidal behavior that had a stronger effect on the general population than military personnel, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.Suicide is an important public health problem among both military and civilian populations. The ability to accurately anticipate who will think about, plan, and attempt suicide is a difficult task.

A new study published online by JAMA Psychiatry examined psychopathological features associated with the early expression of genetic risk for schizophrenia during adolescence in the general population. The work by Hannah J. Jones, Ph.D., of the University of Bristol, England, and coauthors used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

To read the full article and an editorial by Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, please visit the For The Media website.

January 27, 2016 - Emerging evidence suggests that the central nervous system (CNS) is a key contributor to the problem of painful peripheral nerve disease in people with diabetes, according to a special article in the February issue of PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).

If new U of T research on the brains of an ancient rodent tells us anything, it's that bigger does not necessarily mean better.

U of T Scarborough PhD candidate Ornella Bertrand along with Associate Professor Mary Silcox and undergraduate student Farrah Amador-Mughal recently reconstructed two endocasts of Paramys, the oldest and best-preserved rodent skulls on record. What they found was surprising.