Newsline — Tuesday, May 6, 2014 13:00
Research Finds Life Stressors Trigger Neurological Disorders
Self-expanding Activities May Help Smokers Quit
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 9:00
In a recent study published in PLOS ONE, smokers who are trying to quit should attempt to incorporate new, exciting “self-expanding” activities, which may help minimizing nicotine cravings. The research team based the study’s conclusions from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans that measured brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. The fMRI scanning, focused on the brains of nicotine-deprived smokers who engaged in a series of two-player cooperative games with their relationship partners during the actual time of scanning. The results revealed that engaging in self-expanding games such as puzzle-solving appeared to reduce cravings for nicotine. Compared to non-expanding activities, smokers who participated in self-expansion activities yielded significantly greater activation in a major reward region of the brain associated with addictive behaviors. Future research could focus of specific aspects of the self-expansion activities in order to potentially develop clinical intervention for smoking cessation. To read more about this study, click here.
Scans Reveal Artists Have Structurally Different Brains
Monday, May 5, 2014 13:00
A recent study published in NeuroImage, revealed that artists have increased neural matter in brain areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery. During the study, researchers analyzed the brain scans of 21 art students and compared them to 23 non-artists, using a scanning method called voxel-based morphometry. The detailed scans showed that the artist group had significantly more gray matter in an area of the brain called the precuneus, located in the parietal lobe. Additionally, those with better drawing skills had increased gray and white matter in the cerebellum and supplementary motor area — both areas involved with fine motor control and performance of routine actions. “It falls into line with evidence that focus of expertise really does change the brain,” said one of the study’s authors. The study should help put to rest the notions that artists are right-brain dominate, particularly because increased gray and white matter were found in both left and right structures. To read more about this study, click here.
Apathy May Signal Brain Shrinkage in Old Age
Monday, May 5, 2014 9:00
According to a recent study published in the journal Neurology, older people who exhibit signs of apathy, but not depression, may have smaller brain volumes than those without apathy. “Just as signs of memory loss may signal brain changes related to brain disease, apathy may indicate underlying changes,” said Lenore J. Launer, PhD, with the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During the study, the research team analyzed MRI scans of 4,354 people without dementia and with an average age of 76, using brain volume as a measure of accelerated brain aging. The study found that people with two or more apathy symptoms had 1.4 percent-smaller gray matter volume and 1.6 percent-less white matter volume compared to those who had less than two apathy symptoms. The research team says that if the findings from the study are confirmed, identifying people with apathy earlier may be one way to target an at-risk group. To read more about this study, click here.
Narrowing of Carotid Arteries May Lead to Problems with Memory, Thinking
Friday, May 2, 2014 13:00
According to research published in Neurology, problems with cognition, memory and decision-making could be linked to narrowing of the neck’s carotid artery — the first research to specifically link narrowing of the carotid arteries to cognitive impairment. When these arteries become narrowed, in addition to restricting the brain’s blood flow, little pieces of plaque can also be showered into the brain. In assessing patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS), as well as those with risk factors for ACS but without the condition, the patients who had ACS performed “significantly worse” on the memory and thinking tests — particularly on the tests for processing speed and language. To read the full article, click here.
Study: Nearly Half of Homeless Men Had TBI in Lifetime
Friday, May 2, 2014 9:52
In a study conducted at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, almost half of all homeless men who participated had suffered at least one traumatic brain injury (TBI) in their lifetimes, 87 percent of the injuries occurring prior to their losing their homes. With assault as the major cause of TBI, sports, recreation, vehicle accidents and falls also accounted for the injuries. In men under age 40, falls from drug/alcohol blackouts were the most common cause of traumatic brain injury, while assault was the most common in men over 40 years old. Recognition that a TBI sustained in childhood or early teenage years could predispose someone to homelessness may challenge some assumptions that homelessness is a conscious choice made by these individuals, or just the result of their addictions or mental illness, said Dr. Jane Topolovec-Vranic, a clinical researcher in the hospital’s Neuroscience Research Program, who led the study. To learn more about the study, click here.
Brain Stimulator Offers Hope for Those With Uncontrolled Epilepsy
Thursday, May 1, 2014 13:06
A recently FDA-approved device has been shown to reduce seizures in patients with medication-resistant epilepsy by as much as 50 percent. Rush University Medical Center is the first in the country to use the device along with a unique electrode placement planning system. When used in conjunction with an electrode placement planning system developed by physicians at Rush, the device facilitated the complete elimination of seizures in nearly half of the implanted Rush patients enrolled in the decade-long clinical trials. Surgically placed underneath the scalp within the skull and connected to electrodes that are strategically placed, the NeuroPace RNS System uses responsive or “on-demand” direct stimulation to detect abnormal electrical activity in the brain and deliver small amounts of electrical stimulation to suppress seizures before they begin. A programmed computer chip in the skull communicates with the system to record data and to help regulate responsive stimulation. To learn more, click here.
Higher Education Associated with Better Recovery from TBI
Thursday, May 1, 2014 9:41
New research from Johns Hopkins shows that better-educated people appear to be significantly more likely to recover from a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The findings, reported in the journal Neurology, suggest that the brain’s “cognitive reserve” may play a role in helping people get back to their previous lives. Researchers found that those with the equivalent of at least a college education are seven times more likely than those who didn’t finish high school to be disability-free one year after a TBI serious enough to warrant inpatient time. To learn more about the study, click here.
Study Examines Vitamin D Deficiency and Cognition Relationship
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 14:01
A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center suggests a connection between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment in older adults. Recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the study measured the cognitive function of well-functioning adults aged 70 to 79, and assessed them again four years later, with vitamin D levels taken at the 12-month follow-up. “This study provides increasing evidence that suggests there is an association between low vitamin D levels and cognitive decline over time,” said lead author Valerie Wilson, MD, assistant professor of geriatrics at Wake Forest Baptist. “Although this study cannot establish a direct cause and effect relationship, it would have a huge public health implication if vitamin D supplementation could be shown to improve cognitive performance over time because deficiency is so common in the population.” He indicated that randomized, controlled trials are needed to establish a causal relationship. To read more about the study, click here.
Sleep Behavior Disorder Linked to Brain Disease
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 9:00
According to researchers at the University of Toronto, rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is the best current predictor of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and forms of dementia. The disorder occurs during the rapid-eye-movement (REM) stage of sleep and causes people to act out their dreams, often resulting in injury to themselves and/or bed partner, while in healthy brains, muscles are temporarily paralyzed during sleep to prevent this from happening. Significantly, “[RBD] is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead to brain disease,” says associate professor and lead author Dr. John Peever, whose research is published in Trends in Neurosciences. “In fact, as many as 80 to 90 percent of people with RBD will develop a brain disease.” To read more about the study, click here.