Newsline — Monday, January 26, 2015 9:01
Re-Regulation of Reward System After Opioid Dependence
Brain Imaging May Help Predict Future Behavior
Friday, January 23, 2015 9:58
An article published in the journal Neuron highlights a number of recent studies showing that brain imaging can help predict an individual’s future learning, criminality, health-related behaviors and response to drug or behavioral treatments. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge describe the predictive power of brain imaging across a variety of different future behaviors, including infants’ later performance in reading; students’ later performance in math; criminals’ likelihood of becoming repeat offenders; adolescents’ future drug and alcohol use; and addicts’ likelihood of relapse. “Presently, we often wait for failure, in school or in mental health, to prompt attempts to help but by then a lot of harm has occurred,” said one of the study’s researchers. “If we can use neuroimaging to identify individuals at high risk for future failure, we may be able to help those individuals avoid such failure altogether.” To read more about this study, click here.
Brain Scientists Figure Out How a Protein Crucial To Learning And Memory Works
Thursday, January 22, 2015 14:39
A critical stage in the cellular process of learning has been discovered by researchers from John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Previously, the full understanding of how brains learn and form memory cells has been limited to the knowledge that a rush of calcium ions flow into the synapse area; however, further details have eluded modern science. The study, published in the journal Neuron, details how researchers chemically enhanced lab-grown neurons to form stronger, more visible bonds. This revealed how the process functioned following the calcium rush. A protein known as SynGAP was found concentrated on dendritic spines which form synapses with other cells, which was then flooded out of the spines during the synapse-binding process — limiting development of the connections. Mutations in the gene for SynGAP have been associated with intellectual disability and autism, implying that malfunctions in this process lead to structural issues which manifest in well-known neurological problems. “This gives us a much clearer idea of how some SynGAP mutations cause problems in the brain,” said the author of the study. Future…
Read More…
Research Finds Gut Microbiome Has Powerful Influence on the Brain
Thursday, January 22, 2015 8:42
The trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body, collectively called the microbiome, are estimated to weigh two to six pounds — up to twice the weight of the average human brain. Most of them live in the gut and intestines, helping to digest food, ward off infection, etc. Studies have previously linked the gut microbiome to a range of complex behaviors, such as mood, emotion, appetite and satiety. Recent research conducted by The Kavli Foundation suggests that not only does the gut microbiome appear to help maintain brain function, but it may also influence the risk of psychiatric and neurological disorders — including anxiety, depression and autism. Researchers discovered the gut microbiome communicates with the brain via molecules that are produced by gut bacteria and then enter the bloodstream; these metabolites were powerful enough to change the behavior in mice. The study raises the possibility that brain disorders, including anxiety, depression and autism, may be treated through the gut — which is a much easier target for drug delivery than the brain. To read…
Read More…
Behavioral and Intellectual Disabilities in Pediatric Epilepsy Examined
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 13:00
Three studies were presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) 68th Annual Meeting regarding childhood epilepsy and its effects on psychological and intellectual development (ID). The first study, by Dalhousie University, analyzed 30 years of data regarding a sample of epileptic children from Nova Scotia, who were also diagnosed with ID. Researchers found that mild ID had solid chances of full remission from epilepsy, showing that milder disability cases were not indicators of long-term prognosis. Researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine studied the connection between childhood epilepsy and psychiatric disorders. Epileptic children were measured as being more problematic for parents based on typical behavioral reports, as well as scoring lower on IQ testing. The University of Wisconsin Madison sought to determine if established epileptic children would have higher rates of psychological disorders compared to non-epileptics. Final conclusions indicated that epileptics had higher rates of depression, anxiety and ADHD two years after diagnosis. “This study indicates that rates of psychological disorders are higher in children with epilepsy compared to children without seizures. This study also indicates that there…
Read More…
Can Exercise Help People with Parkinson’s Disease?
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 9:00
According to a study published in the journal Neurology, exercise may help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance, ability to move around and quality of life, even if it does not reduce their risk of falling. Falling is a common problem for people with Parkinson’s disease, with 60 percent falling each year, and two-thirds of those falling repeatedly. During the study, 231 people with Parkinson’s disease either received their usual care, or took part in an exercise program of 40 to 60 minutes of balance and leg strengthening exercises three times per week for six months. The minimally-supervised exercise program was prescribed and monitored by a physical therapist with participants performing most of the exercises at home. Compared to those in the control group, the number of falls by participants who exercised was reduced in those with less severe Parkinson’s disease, but not in those with the more severe. For those with a less severe disease, a 70-percent reduction in falls was reported in those who exercised compared to those who did not. “These…
Read More…
Carotid Stenting Linked to High Real-world Mortality
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 13:00
Analysis following carotid stenting in Medicare patients revealed a notably high mortality rate, which draws into question if the procedure may be shortening the lifespan of elderly patients. The study was conducted by researchers from the Duke Clinical Research Institute and published in JAMA Neurology. Building on smaller studies, wide-scale Medicare data was observed and quantified. Overall, higher mortality rates were found throughout all categories. Nearly one-third of subjects over the age of 80 did not survive a two-year period, but due to the advanced ages and financial status of the patients this was ruled to be inconclusive. “However, we should be open to other possibilities. Perhaps the process of stenting a large vessel triggers the release of various factors (inflammatory, proliferative, and toxic) that initiates a cascade of processes that leads to higher rates of cardiovascular disease events, including death.” Researchers declared the need to study broader categories of patients, citing their findings as too narrow and subjective to be accurate. To learn more about this study, click here.
Help with Balance for People with Multiple Sclerosis
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 9:05
A new pilot study conducted by the University of Massachusetts will investigate how sensation in the feet while standing relates to balance ability in people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), and whether vibrating insoles might aid walking and improve balance. Researchers will test sensation in two areas on the soles of the feet of people with and without MS as they stand and sit, using data to determine how this relates to their balance abilities. “There is a lot of evidence that the somatosensory system, that is the skin’s sensation and body awareness or proprioception, is affected in people with MS, who often report periphery sensory loss, for example,” said one of the study’s research assistants. During the study, small devices called “tactors” placed in the subject’s shoes will produce slight vibrations. Each subject will be tested to find the most sensitive parts of their sole. With tactors in place, each subject will take a blinded test, without knowing whether the vibration is on or off, during five different postural conditions. Then after a five-minute…
Read More…
Study Quantifies the Effect of Depressive Thoughts on Memory
Monday, January 19, 2015 15:41
Depressive thinking has been linked to a hindered ability to remember information, according to a study published in the journal Cognition and Emotion, conducted by the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. Researchers analyzed 157 undergraduate participants who were given a battery of self-evaluations to determine base levels of depressive behavior and attitude. Participants were then given memory tests in which either neutral or emotionally negative statements were followed by numbers to be memorized and repeated. It was found that notably depressed subjects showed a 12-percent loss in memorization ability following emotionally negative statements. The author explained, “Depression is an interference phenomenon. Rumination and negative thought-loops interfere with a person’s ability to think. We hypothesize that when individuals with depressed mood are exposed to stimuli, such as a meaningful song or a place that evokes sad feelings, the brain fixates on that and can’t focus on daily tasks such as a phone conversation or completing a grocery list.” This method will next be applied to participants who have been clinically diagnosed…
Read More…
Epigenetic Changes Tied to Autism Spectrum Disorder
Monday, January 19, 2015 9:00
According to a recent study published in the journal Nature, chemical modifications to DNA’s packaging — known as epigenetic changes — can activate or repress genes involved in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and early brain development. Biochemists from NYU Langone Medical Center found that these epigenetic changes in mice remove the blocking mechanism of a protein complex long known for gene suppression, and it transitions the protein complex to a gene-activating role instead. Researchers say their findings represent the first link between this role reversal and the presence of an important protein whose encoding gene — autism susceptibility candidate gene 2, or AUTS2 — has long been tied to ASDs. Additionally, researchers say their study offers a new theory about how ASDs develop through widespread unraveling of traditional brain pathways. According to the study’s senior investigator, the findings “offer strong supporting evidence that if ASDs can be tired to widespread disruption of gene networks from multiple genetic lesions, then finding potential therapies could rest on research into repairing these gene network interruptions.” To read more…
Read More…