Newsline — Monday, September 9, 2013 13:00
Intracerebral Injections of Bone Marrow-Based Stem Cells May Reduce Cognitive Deficits After Stroke
Researchers Uncover Promising Treatment Target for Meningioma
Monday, September 9, 2013 9:44
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a specific protein in almost 100 percent of high-grade meningiomas. The finding suggests a new therapy target for this common brain tumor, a type that does not respond to chemotherapy. The protein, NY-ESO-1, is the focus of a National Cancer Institute clinical trial that activate the immune systems of patients with tumors that express the protein, training the body to attack it. Click here to read the full story.
Study Reveals How the Brain Recalls Pleasure, Hints at Implications for Addiction
Friday, September 6, 2013 13:00
A study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham revealed how the brain recalls pleasure and what it means for drug addiction. See video below or click here to read the full article.
Study: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy May Affect Mood, Memory
Friday, September 6, 2013 9:39
A new study suggests that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may affect a patient’s behavior, mood or memory and thinking skills. CTE is commonly associatedwith repeat brain trauma, including concussions in athletes. For the study, researchers studied the brains of 36 male athletes who were diagnosed with CTE posthumously and had no other brain disease. Researchers also studied each subject’s medical records. Of these, 22 of the athletes had mood and behavior issues as their first signs of CTE, and 11 had memory and thinking problems as their first symptoms. Click here to read the full article.
Immune Cells Called to Brain in Stress Response Influence Mood
Thursday, September 5, 2013 13:00
A mouse model study at Ohio State University found that during periods of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are sent to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety. The results suggest that stress can lead to mood disorders and may identify immune cells, known as moncytes, to be targeted by drugs to treat the disorders. Click here to read the full story.
Report Chronicles Unique Form of Musical Hallucination
Thursday, September 5, 2013 10:04
As she was trying to sleep, a 60-year-old woman began hearing music, as if there were a radio playing. But the music was playing in her mind, and she did not know the tunes, ones that her husband noted were popular when she sang or hummed them. This unique situation, chronicled in the journal Frontiers of Neurology, is the first known case of a patient hallucinating music that people around her recognized but that she found unfamiliar. The patient was treated with an anti-seizure drug and saw improvement in her condition. The case prompts researchers to study the processes of memory and forgetfulness since the songs in the patient’s mind were buried in her memory, but she could not access them during a hallucination episode. Click here to read the full article.
One Man Controls Another’s Hand Motions in the First Human Brain-to-Brain Interface
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 13:00
Using electrical brain recordings and a type of magnetic stimulation, scientists at the University of Washington believe that have performed the first non-invasive human-to-human brain interface by enabling one researcher to send a brain signal via the internet to control the hand motions of another. “The Internet was a way to connect computers, and now it can be a way to connect brains,” the researcher said. “We want to take the knowledge of a brain and transmit it directly from brain to brain.” Click here to read the full article. View video of the study below.
‘United States of Football’ Documentary Highlights Head Injury Dangers, from Pee Wee to the Pros
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 9:12
For many student-athletes and their parents, autumn signals the beginning of a new school year and a fresh football season . A new documentary, The United States of Football, highlights the dangers of the nation’s number one sport, from the pee wee leagues to the pros. The film also contends that the sport is most dangerous in youth leagues touting players that range between the ages of five to 14. Click here to read the article in The Atlantic.
Study Findings Could Mean Night-Night for Sleep Disorders
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 13:00
New research from Concordia University and McGill University may put sleep disorders such as stress-induced insomnia to bed. Study findings have identified how a basic biological process is contolled by the body’s circadian clock. By determining this process, treatments for jet lag, shift work disorders and other neurological ailments like depression and Parkinson’s disease may be on the horizon. “A stronger clock function may help improve many physiological processes, such as aging,” says a researcher. Click here to read the full story.
Study: Human Brains Are Hardwired for Empathy
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 9:00
A new study from the University of Virginia suggests that human brains are hardwired for empathy, and that we often empathize with those to whom we are the closest because we associate them with ourselves. Twenty-two study partcipants underwent fMRI brain scans to detect activity while under the threat of receiving mild electrical shocks to themselves, a friend or a stranger. The regions of the brain linked to threat response were active under the threat of shock to the participant and to a friend. There was little activity when a stranger was under the threat of an electrical shock. “If a friend is under threat, it becomes the same as if we ourselves are under threat. We can understand the pain or difficulty they may be going through in the same way we understand our own pain,” a researcher said. Click here to read the full story.