Researchers reporting online in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have for the first time shown that they can control the behavior of monkeys by using pulses of blue light to very specifically activate particular brain cells. The findings represent a key advance for optogenetics, a...
Neuroscientists recently discovered a new area of the brain that uniquely specializes in peripheral vision. This area could potentially be targeted in future treatments for Alzheimer's disease and panic disorders. A team of researchers, led by Dr. Hsin-Hao Yu and Professor Marcello Rosa from...
The use of the synthetic stimulants collectively known as "bath salts" have gained popularity among recreational drug users over the last five years, largely because they were readily available and unrestricted via the Internet and at convenience stores, and were virtually unregulated. Recent...
Drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do not appear to have long-term effects on the brain, according to new animal research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. As many as five to seven percent of elementary school children are diagnosed with ADHD, a behavioral...
Activity lingers longer in certain areas of the brain in those with Alzheimer's than it does in healthy people, Mayo Clinic researchers who created a map of the brain found. The results suggest varying brain activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The study, "Non-stationarity in the...
Communication between the brain and muscle must be strong for us to eat, breathe or walk. Now scientists have found that a protein known to be on the surface of muscle cells must be present in both tissues to ensure the conversation is robust. Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at...
Feeling full involves more than just the uncomfortable sensation that your waistband is getting tight. Investigators reporting online in the Cell Press journal Cell have now mapped out the signals that travel between your gut and your brain to generate the feeling of satiety after eating a...
The discovery is an important step toward therapies that aim to repair the brain not by introducing new stem cells but rather by spurring those that are already present into action, says the study's lead author Freda Miller of the University of Toronto-affiliated Hospital for Sick Children. The...
According to a study published online in Nature Genetics, researchers have identified three new mutations associated with megalencephaly (enlarged brain size), cancer, autism, hydrocephalus, skin growth disorders, epilepsy, and vascular anomalies. The study, led by Seattle Children's Research...
Rhode Island Hospital researcher Suzanne de la Monte, M.D., has found a link between brain insulin resistance (diabetes) and two other key mediators of neuronal injury that help Alzheimer's disease (AD) to propagate. The research found that once AD is established, therapeutic efforts must also...
SCIENTISTS in Sheffield will investigate the cause of the most common form of childhood brain tumour following a £200,000 award from Yorkshire Cancer Research. The three-year study will concentrate on medulloblastomas, which make up 20 per cent of brain tumour cases in children and mainly...
The NFL has been hit with several lawsuits in recent years by former football players accusing the League of hiding the long-term brain injury risks, including dementia and chronic depression. But yesterday, lawyers for more than 2,300 retired players in 86 suits joined forces to file a single...
Sheryl Crow casually mentioned that she has a brain tumor in an interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal posted earlier today, sending the internet into a tizzy worrying about the breast cancer survivor's health. But she and her rep insist that it's really not a big deal: Her tumor—called a...
New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison explains why the incurable brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is highly resistant to current chemotherapies. The study, from the brain-tumor research lab of Dr. John Kuo, assistant professor of neurological surgery and human...
The brains of people with depression, even in remission, respond differently to feelings of guilt, suggesting Freud was right, said researchers from the University of Manchester in the UK who compared magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of people with a history of depression to those of...
A human's self-awareness is controlled by a small region in the brain called the anterior insular cortex (insula). Within the insula lies a unique cell type - the von Economo neuron (VEN) - believed to be unique to humans, elephants, whales and great apes. Now, German researchers have found...
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children normalizes disturbances in the neuronal network responsible for attention and executive function, according to a new study. "OSA is known to be associated with deficits in attention, cognition, and executive function," said lead author Ann...
Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease. The first-in-humans achievement may also be helpful for more common diseases such as Parkinson's...
A sugary diet won't just put on pounds, it could also slow down your brain. A new study from UCLA researchers shows for the first time how a diet high in high-fructose corn syrup can hamper your ability to learn and remember information. But*Omega-3s (which are pretty much goddamn magic, right?)...