Newsline — Thursday, August 28, 2014 9:00
Common Infections Tied to Stroke Risk in Kids
Study Reveals Meditation Techniques Can Enhance Brain Performance
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 13:00
In a recent study conducted by the National University of Singapore (NUS), researchers demonstrated for the first time that different types of Buddhist meditation — namely the Vajrayana and Theravada styles of mediation — have the potential to elicit qualitatively different influences on human physiology and behavior, producing arousal and relaxation responses respectively. In particular, the research team found that Vajrayana meditation, which is associated with Tibetan Buddhism, can lead to enhancements in cognitive performance. During the study, researchers collected EKG and EEG responses to four different types of meditation while measuring behavioral performance on cognitive tasks. They observed that physiological responses during the Theravada mediation differed significantly from those during the Vajrayana meditation, with Theravada producing enhanced relaxation (parasympathetic activation) and Vajrayana not showing any relaxation effect, but instead showing enhanced activation of the sympathetic system. The researchers also observed an immediate, dramatic increase in performance on cognitive tasks following only Vajrayana styles of mediation. The results of the study show the Vajrayana and Theravada meditation styles are based on different neurophysiological mechanisms. To…
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Brain “Switchboard” Important in Attention and Sleep
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 9:00
In a recent study published in the journal Cell, researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center recorded the activity of individual nerve cells in a small part of the brain that works as a “switchboard,” directing signals coming from the outside world or internal memories. Because human brain disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and post-traumatic stress disorder typically show disturbances in that switchboard, the research team says the work suggests new strategies in understanding and treating them. During the study, the research team showed how neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) — also known as the switchboard — directs the sensory signals such as vision from the outside world, and internal information such as memories, to their appropriate destinations. “We have never been able to observe as precisely how this structure worked before,” said the study’s lead author. “This study shows us how information can be routed in the brain, giving us tremendous insight into how it might be broken in psychiatric disorders.” To read more about this study, click here.
Scientists Discover Area of Brain Responsible for Exercise Motivation
Tuesday, August 26, 2014 13:00
In a recent study published by the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists at Seattle Children’s Research Institute have discovered an area of the brain that could control a person’s motivation to exercise and participate in other rewarding activities — potentially leading to improved treatments for depression. During the study, scientists discovered that a tiny region of the brain — the dorsal medial habenula — controls the desire to exercise in mice. The structure of the habenula is similar in humans and rodents, and these basic functions in mood regulation and motivation are likely to be the same across species. Because exercise is one of the most effective non-pharmacological therapies for depression, determining that such a specific area of the brain may be responsible for motivation to exercise could help researchers develop more targeted, effective treatments. “Without a functional dorsal medial habenula, the mice became couch potatoes,” said one of the authors of the study. “They were physically capable of running but appeared unmotivated to do it.” During the study, scientists used groups of mice and activated…
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Children with Autism Have Extra Synapses in Brain
Tuesday, August 26, 2014 9:00
In a recent study published in the journal Neuron, scientists from Columbia University Medical Center found that children and adolescents with autism have a surplus of synapses in the brain due to a slowdown in a normal brain “pruning” process during development. Because synapses are the points where neurons connect and communicate with each other, the excessive synapses may have profound effects on how the brain functions. A drug that restores normal synaptic pruning can improve autistic-like behaviors in mice, researchers found, even when the drug is given after the behaviors appear. Although the drug, rapamycin, has side effects that may preclude its use in people with autism, “…The fact that we can see changes in behavior suggests that autism may still be treatable after a child is diagnosed,” said the study’s senior investigator. To read more about this study, click here.
Research Team Successfully Targets Common Mutation in ALS and Dementia
Monday, August 25, 2014 13:00
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the Mayo Clinic have for the first time successfully designed a therapeutic strategy targeting a specific genetic mutation that causes a common form of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in addition to a type of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The research team developed small-molecule drug candidates and showed they interfere with the synthesis of an abnormal protein that plays a key role in causing both diseases. Additionally, the team developed biomarkers that can test the efficacy of this and other therapies. “Our small molecules target a genetic defect that is by far the most major cause of familial ALS, and if you have this defect you are assured of getting ALS or FTD,” said the study’s lead author. Currently, ALS is usually fatal two to five years after diagnosis, and there is no effective treatment for FTD, a neurodegenerative disease that destroys neurons in the frontal lobes of the brain. To read more about this study, click here.
Preterm Children’s Brains Can Catch Up Years Later
Monday, August 25, 2014 9:00
New research published in The Journal of Pediatrics found that the brains of preterm children can perform almost as well as those born at full term by the time they become teenagers. The study found that as long as preterm children don’t experience any brain injuries in early life, their cognitive abilities as teenagers can potentially be as good as their peers. However, the results of the study also found that the quality of the home environment at the time of the child’s birth plays an important role in their cognition later in life. “This study had some positive news. We looked at the factors that determine cognitive abilities in early adolescence, and found that whether or not you were born preterm appears to play a relatively minor role. Of significantly more importance is the degree of social disadvantage you experienced in your early life after birth, although genetics is important,” said one of the study’s lead authors. To read more about this study, click here.
Scientists Explore Neural Processes that Underlie Punishment
Friday, August 22, 2014 13:00
In a recent study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists identified the brain mechanisms that underlie our judgment of how severely a person who has harmed another should be punished. The study analyzed how that area of the brain determines whether a harmful act was intentional or unintentional, and how that effects the urge to punish the person. During the study, the brains of 30 volunteers were analyzed using fMRI imaging while they read a series of brief scenarios that described how the actions of a protagonist named John brought harm to either Steve or Mary. The scenarios depicted four different levels of harm: death, maiming, physical assault and property damage. In half of the scenarios, the harm was clearly identified as intentional and in the other half, it was clearly identified as unintentional. The results of the study showed that manipulations of gruesome language lead to a larger punishment, specifically when the actions were described as intentional. Additionally, the fMRI scans revealed that the amygdala responded most strongly to the graphic language condition…
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Brain Wiring Differences Found in Kids with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorders
Friday, August 22, 2014 9:00
Research recently published in the journal PLOS ONE found that children with sensory processing disorders (SPD) have decreased structural brain connections in specific sensory regions different than those in autism; further establishing SPD as a clinically important neurodevelopmental disorder. The study, conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, is the first to compare structural connectivity in the brains of children with an autism diagnosis versus those with an SPD diagnosis. “One of the most striking new findings is that the children with SPD show even greater brain disconnection than the kids with a full autism diagnosis in some sensory-based tracts,” said one of the study’s corresponding authors. During the study, researchers examined the structural connectivity of specific white matter tracts in 16 boys with SPD and 15 boys with autism between the ages of eight and 12, and then compared them with 23 typically developing boys of the same age range. The researchers found that both the SPD and autism groups showed decreased connectivity in multiple parieto-occipital tracts, the areas that handle…
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Analysis of Plant Reveals Possible Treatment for Aging Brain
Thursday, August 21, 2014 13:00
Scientists at the Balk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered that the compounds from the African cata-manginga leaf may protect cells from altered molecular pathways linked to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and neurodegeneration that often follows stroke. For hundreds of years, healers from São Tomé e Príncipe — an island off the western coast of Africa — have prescribed cata-manginga leaves and bark to their patients. These pickings from the Voacanga Africana tree have been said to decrease inflammation and ease the symptoms of mental disorders. “There was already a lot of descriptive information of particular plants that have potential effects on the nervous system,” said one of the study’s research associates. “We took that further to quantitatively document the real neuroprotective action of the compounds in these plants.” Results of the study showed that when researchers isolated different components of the plant, they found that the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of the plant were due to one particular molecule, called voacamine. The compound hasn’t yet been tested in animal models, but its performance in…
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