http://medicalxpress.com/neuroscience-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on neuroscience Inside each of us is our own internal timing device. It drives everything from sleep cycles to metabolism, but the inner-workings of this so-called "circadian clock" are complex, and the molecular processes behind it have long eluded scientists. But now, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how one important protein falls under direct instructions from the body's circadian clock. Furthermore, they uncover how this protein regulates fundamental circadian processes—and how disrupting its normal function can throw this critical system out of sync. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-key-protein-linked-circadian-clocks.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:00:06 EST news290760608 Behind the common expression "you can't compare apples to oranges" lies a fundamental question of neuroscience: How does the brain recognize that apples and oranges are different? A group of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has published new research that provides some answers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-discerning-fruit-linking-brain-cell-behavior.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:00:03 EST news290785629 Scientists are scrambling to gather data for the FDA to support the need for a blood test to diagnose brain injury in the United States. The University of Rochester Medical Center just added significant evidence by reporting in the Journal of Neurotrauma that it might be clinically useful to measure two brain biomarkers instead of one. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-concussion-biomarkers.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:03:56 EST news290775829 A study, led by Royal Holloway University researcher Carolyn McGettigan, has identified the brain regions and interactions involved in impersonations and accents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-em-brain-accents-impersonations.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:36:50 EST news290774204 For less than $100, University of Washington researchers have designed a computer-interfaced drawing pad that helps scientists see inside the brains of children with learning disabilities while they read and write. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fiber-optic-pen-brains-children-disabilities.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:02 EST news290755723 The distribution of white matter brain abnormalities in some patients after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) closely resembles that found in early Alzheimer's dementia, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-concussion-patients-alzheimer-like-brain-abnormalities.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:08 EST news290711302 The lipidation states (or modifications) in certain proteins in the brain that are related to the development of Alzheimer disease appear to differ depending on genotype and cognitive diseases, and levels of these protein and peptides appear to be influenced by diet, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-dietary-intervention-proteins-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:00:03 EST news290695554 Memory improves in older, overweight women after they lose weight by dieting, and their brain activity actually changes in the regions of the brain that are important for memory tasks, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-weight-loss-memory-brain-overweight.html Neuroscience Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:02:50 EST news290689364 Researchers have discovered a pathway by which the brain controls a molecule critical to forming long-term memories and connected with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-psychiatric-disorders-linked-protein-involved.html Neuroscience Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:03:55 EST news290657025 Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a novel transgenic system which allows them to remotely activate individual brain cells in the model organism Drosophila using ambient temperature. This powerful new tool for identifying and characterizing neural circuitry has lead to the identification of a pair of neurons – now called Fdg neurons – in the fruit fly that decide when to eat and initiate the subsequent feeding action. Discovery of these neurons may help neurobiologists better understand how the brain uses memory and stimuli to produce classically conditioned responses, such as those often associated with phobias or drug tolerance. The study appears in the journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-scientists-neurons-behavior-drosophila.html Neuroscience Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:19:37 EST news290434694 (Medical Xpress)—Locating a car that's blowing its horn in heavy traffic, channel-hopping between football and a thriller on TV without losing the plot, and not forgetting the start of a sentence by the time we have read to the end – we consider all of these to be normal everyday functions. They enable us to react to fast-changing circumstances and to carry out even complex activities correctly. For this to work, the neuron circuits in our brain have to be very flexible. Scientists working under the leadership of neurobiologists Nils Brose and Erwin Neher at the Max Planck Institutes of Experimental Medicine and Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have now discovered an important molecular mechanism that turns neurons into true masters of adaptation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-scientists-key-mechanism-boosts-function.html Neuroscience Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:30:52 EST news290417445 Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have proved in a so far unique multicenter study that clinical functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRI), in the area in which the MedUni Vienna has a leading role internationally, is a safe method in brain surgery. With the aid of fMRI imaging can pinpoint to the millimetre where critical nerve fibres (e.g. vital for speech or hand function) lie and which have to be avoided – in operations on brain tumours for example. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-functional-mri-brain.html Neuroscience Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:29:32 EST news290417351 (HealthDay)—For the first time, researchers have shown that implanting electrodes in the brain's "feeding center" can be safely done—in a bid to develop a new treatment option for severely obese people who fail to shed pounds even after weight-loss surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-deep-brain-last-ditch-obesity-treatment.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:22:23 EST news290362936 (Medical Xpress)—A medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, offering a potential tool to reduce symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-method-spinal-cord-injuries-multiple.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:04:29 EST news290361851 Arthritis is a debilitating disorder affecting one in 10 Canadians, with pain caused by inflammation and damage to joints. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-role-nervous-arthritis.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:05:35 EST news290340326 (Medical Xpress)—A structure called "the microtubule network" is a crucial part of our nervous system. It acts as a transportation system within nerve cells, carrying essential proteins and enabling cell-to-cell communications. But in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, ALS, and Parkinson's, this network breaks down, hindering motor abilities and cognitive function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-protein-nerve-cell.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:03:39 EST news290340212 Many disorders of the inner hear which affect both hearing and balance can be hugely debilitating and are currently largely incurable. Cochlear implants have been used for many years to replace lost hearing resulting from inner ear damage. However, to date, there has not been an analogous treatment for balance disorders resulting from inner ear disease. One potential new treatment is an implantable vestibular prosthesis which would directly activate the vestibular nerve by electrical stimulation. This prosthetic treatment is tested in a new study by Christopher Phillips and his colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. Their findings are published in the Springer journal Experimental Brain Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-ear-disorder.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:02:18 EST news290340120 A new University of Florida study suggests a promising brain-imaging technique has the potential to improve diagnoses for the millions of people with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-brain-imaging-technique-movement-disorders.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:48:04 EST news290338792 (Medical Xpress)—Sleep researchers from University of California campuses in Riverside and San Diego have identified the sleep mechanism that enables the brain to consolidate emotional memory and found that a popular prescription sleep aid heightens the recollection of and response to negative memories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-mechanism-role-emotional-memory.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:56:30 EST news290328919 The human brain is the most complex biological structure on Earth. It has about 100 billion neurons—each of which has thousands of connections to other neurons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-prying-black-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:35:03 EST news290327692 Men who experience restless legs syndrome (RLS) may have a higher risk of dying earlier, according to research that appears in the June 12, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The disorder is characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs and often causes leg sensations of burning, creeping, and tugging, which are usually worse at night. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-men-restless-legs-syndrome-higher.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:33:33 EST news290273602 Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that detects the telltale signs of multiple sclerosis in finer detail than ever before – providing a more powerful tool for evaluating new treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-imaging-technique-ms.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:31:47 EST news290273496 (Medical Xpress)—Sensory adaptation is a familiar phenomenon. Whether jumping into a cold pool, or driving through manure-laden air as you pass by a recently fertilized farm, an initially strong sensory experience generally tends to decrease over time. The same kind of adaption we perceive at the conscious level also occurs at the level of the individual neuron, and networks of neurons. In a paper just published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers from the EPFL in Switzerland seek to uncover some of the mechanisms of adaption in cortical pyramidal cells. Based on their electrophysiological recordings, they developed a model that describes spike-frequency adaption (SFA) in terms of a power-law decay. They attribute at least part of this adaptation to the effects of increased firing thresholds and lower membrane potentials. As many current network models ignore, or only include the effects of rapid SFA, the authors call attention to the fact that this adaption is significant on timescales of at least 20 seconds. They therefore conclude that SFA is a critical factor for maintaining the energetic efficiency of networks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-spike-frequency-efficiency-networks-neurons.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:30:01 EST news290272570 Motivated by extraordinary requirements for neuroscience, IBM Research, EPFL, and ETH Zürich through the Swiss National Supercomputing Center CSCS, are exploring how to combine different types of memory – DRAM, which is standard for computer memory, and flash memory that is akin to USB sticks – for less expensive and optimal supercomputing performance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-neuroscience-benefit-hybrid-supercomputer-memory.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:39:33 EST news290270367 Sperm doesn't appear to forget anything. Stress felt by dad—whether as a preadolescent or adult—leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, a response linked to several mental disorders. The findings, published in a new preclinical study in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, point to a never-before-seen epigenetic link to stress-related diseases such as anxiety and depression passed from father to child. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-dad-life-stress-exposure-affect.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:02:29 EST news290253741 (Medical Xpress)—A combination of brain stimulation and video games may be the key to speeding up treatment for tinnitus sufferers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-brain-aims-tinnitus-treatment.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:30:01 EST news290243791 (Medical Xpress)—Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and—as researchers have now shown—in the brain as well. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-beauty-brain-electrical.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:10:33 EST news290243422 Fever-induced childhood seizures, known as febrile seizures, can be terrifying for parents to witness. The full-body convulsions, which mostly affect children six months to five years old, can last from mere seconds up to more than 40 minutes. Currently, children are not treated with daily anticonvulsant medication to prevent these seizures even when they recur repeatedly because toxic side effects of existing treatments outweigh potential benefits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-therapy-kids-fever-induced-seizures.html Neuroscience Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:59:12 EST news290188744 (Medical Xpress)—A new study finds that stroke patients' brains show strong cortical motor activity when observing others performing physical tasks – a finding that offers new insight into stroke rehabilitation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-patients-brains.html Neuroscience Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:08:37 EST news290185709 (Medical Xpress)—The ability to infer emotion or intention in others from their outward appearance and behavior, has been called a "Theory of Mind" (TOM). While cognitive scientists have debated whether animals other than humans possess a TOM, many animals (like monkeys) clearly react to facial expression or body movements. One area of the human brain that has received considerable attention in discussions of TOM, is the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). If each half of the brain is viewed as a boxing glove, the TPA corresponds to the junction between the "thumb" and body of the glove. To explore whether the TPJ regions of humans and monkeys have similar "functional connectivity" profiles, a group of Oxford researchers turned to high resolution at-rest fMRI. The researchers generated correlation maps between each time series obtained for specific voxel regions of interest. Their results, just published in PNAS, show that the most similar TPJ connectivity profiles correspond to areas that process, among other things, faces and social stimuli within the temporal cortex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-similar-profiles-humans-monkeys-theory.html Neuroscience Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:33:15 EST news290169161