http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. By monitoring the behavior of a class of cells in the brains of living mice, neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins discovered that these cells remain highly dynamic in the adult brain, where they transform into cells that insulate nerve fibers and help form scars that aid in tissue repair. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-dynamic-behavior-progenitor-cells-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 09 May 2013 15:50:11 EST news287333402 How do organisms evolve into individuals that are distinguished from others by their own personal brain structure and behavior? Scientists in Dresden, Berlin, Münster, and Saarbrücken have now taken a decisive step towards clarifying this question. Using mice as an animal model, they were able to show that individual experiences influence the development of new neurons, leading to measurable changes in the brain. The results of this study are published in Science on May 10, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-individuality-growth-brain-cells.html Neuroscience Thu, 09 May 2013 14:00:05 EST news287313261 Research from King's College London reveals the detailed mechanism behind how stress hormones reduce the number of new brain cells - a process considered to be linked to depression. The researchers identified a key protein responsible for the long-term detrimental effect of stress on cells, and importantly, successfully used a drug compound to block this effect, offering a potential new avenue for drug discovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-effects-stress-brain-cells-clues.html Neuroscience Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:15 EST news287057827 A team of researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have discovered that adult brain cell production might be determined, in part, by the early parental environment. The study suggests that dual parenting may be more beneficial than single parenting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brain-parents.html Medical research Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:02 EST news286628529 Improving neurone production in elderly persons presenting with a decline in cognition is a major challenge facing an ageing society and the emergence of neuro-degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. INSERM and CEA researchers recently showed that the pharmacological blocking of the TGFβ molecule improves the production of new neurones in the mouse model. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-neurones-circumstances-mouse.html Medical research Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:08:56 EST news284728128 Researchers have found new evidence that insulating cells, the cells that protect our nerves, can be made and added to the central nervous system throughout our lifetime. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alzheimer-disease-treatment.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:40:01 EST news282817291 The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-flip-molecular-brain-young.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:11 EST news281792897 We should reconsider how we use antidepressants more effectively. The latest studies have shown that antidepressants restore the capacity of certain areas of the brain to repair abnormal neural pathways. According to neuroscientist Eero Castrén, the recipient of EUR 2.5 million of ERC funding, recovery requires redirection of these pathways through practice, rehabilitation or therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-antidepressants.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:38:20 EST news280748191 (Medical Xpress)—A new study by Columbia Engineering researchers finds that the infant brain does not control its blood flow in the same way as the adult brain. The paper, which the scientists say could change the way researchers study brain development in infants and children, is published in the February 18 Early Online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-infant-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:00:08 EST news280415163 Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature. In addition, the researchers say, these experiments raise the possibility of predicting individual people's response to depression therapy, and fine-tuning treatment accordingly. Reports on separate aspects of the research were published in December on the Molecular Psychiatry website, and will also appear in the Feb. 7 issue of Cell Stem Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-uncovers-key-antidepressant-response.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news279448470 Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain's ability to be plastic – that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute – The Neuro, McGill University, reveals that DCC, the receptor for a crucial protein in the nervous system known as netrin, plays a key role in regulating the plasticity of nerve cell connections in the brain. The absence of DCC leads to the type of memory loss experienced by Dr. Brenda Milner's famous subject HM. Although HM's memory loss resulted from the removal of an entire brain structure, this study shows that just removing DCC causes the same type of memory deficit. The finding published in this week's issue of Cell Reports, extends Dr. Milner's seminal finding to another level, revealing a key part of the molecular basis for learning and memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-memory-guidance-proteins-brain-plasticity.html Neuroscience Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:03:48 EST news279216219 A new study out today in the journal Science turns two decades of understanding about how brain cells communicate on its head. The study demonstrates that the tripartite synapse – a model long accepted by the scientific community and one in which multiple cells collaborate to move signals in the central nervous system – does not exist in the adult brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-flawed.html Neuroscience Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:00:19 EST news277045517 (Medical Xpress)—Neural stem cells in the adult brain boost their levels of lipid metabolism to grow and generate new neurons. This new finding may open novel therapeutic avenues to treat age- or disease-associated loss of brain cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-lipid-metabolism-adult-neural-stem.html Medical research Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:23:02 EST news273824574 Professor Jose Miguel Soria, a member of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, has co-directed with Professor Manuel Monleón of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia a study on the compatibility of polymeric biomaterials in the brain and its effectiveness to favour neuroregeneration in areas with some kind of damage or brain injury.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-biomaterials-neuroregeneration-brain-injury.html Neuroscience Thu, 29 Nov 2012 08:04:38 EST news273398649 (Medical Xpress)—Newly generated, or newborn neurons in the adult hippocampus are critical for memory retrieval, according to a study led by Stony Brook University researchers to be published in the November 11 advanced online edition of Nature Neuroscience. The functional role of newborn neurons in the brain is controversial, but in "Optical controlling reveals time-dependent roles for adult-born dentate granule cells," the researchers detail that by 'silencing' newborn neurons, memory retrieval was impaired. The findings support the idea that the generation of new neurons in the brain may be crucial to normal learning and memory processes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-reveals-silencing-newborn-neurons-impaired.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 Nov 2012 06:40:08 EST news272009353 (Medical Xpress)—In many pathologies of the nervous system, there is a common event - cells called microglia are activated from surveillant watchmen into fighters.  Microglia are the immune cells of the nervous system, ingesting and destroying pathogens and damaged nerve cells. Until now little was known about the molecular mechanisms of microglia activation despite this being a critical process in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-role-microglial-cells-defenders-fighters.html Neuroscience Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:13:08 EST news269590368 New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today. The work, presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health, shows scientists making progress toward using stem cell therapies to repair neurological damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-potential-stem-cell-therapy.html Neuroscience Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:52:45 EST news269538757 Creating the next generation of football stars may be down to understanding the teenage brain, according to new research from the University of Bristol. The study, published in the FA [Football Association] journal The Boot Room, suggests that to unlock the full potential of talented players coaches need to be aware that the decision-making process in the teenage brain operates significantly differently to the adult brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-football-tailored-teenage-brains.html Health Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:42:28 EST news268987338 Is sleep learning possible? A new Weizmann Institute study appearing today in Nature Neuroscience has found that if certain odors are presented after tones during sleep, people will start sniffing when they hear the tones alone – even when no odor is present – both during sleep and, later, when awake. In other words, people can learn new information while they sleep, and this can unconsciously modify their waking behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-lesson.html Neuroscience Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:00:01 EST news265186197 A little music training in childhood goes a long way in improving how the brain functions in adulthood when it comes to listening and the complex processing of sound, according to a new Northwestern University study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-music-years-childhood-adult-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:00:01 EST news264782324 (Medical Xpress) -- New NeuRA research shows that the brains of people with schizophrenia may attempt to repair damage caused by the disease, in another example of the adult brain’s capacity to change and grow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-brains-people-schizophrenia-disease.html Neuroscience Wed, 08 Aug 2012 08:51:39 EST news263634691 Determining when a teenage brain becomes an adult brain is not an exact science but it's getting closer, according to an expert in adolescent developmental psychology, speaking at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-psychology-courts-policymakers-evidence-adolescents.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:30:27 EST news263230044 The ability for substances to pass through the blood-brain barrier is increased after adult stroke, but not after neonatal stroke, according to a new study the UCSF that will be published July 11 in the Journal of Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-blood-brain-barrier-permeable-newborns-adults.html Neuroscience Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:00:22 EST news261155926 (Medical Xpress) -- A recent study from scientists at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research has identified a novel target for the treatment of malignant brain tumors. The scientists found that the Mer receptor tyrosine kinase (MerTK) is highly expressed in human brain tumors but absent from normal adult brain tissue. MerTK not only increases the invasive potential of brain tumor-derived cells but also promotes their survival when treated with chemotherapeutics. Conversely, the authors demonstrate that loss of MerTK strongly reduces the invasive capacity of tumor cells, making it an attractive target for future brain tumor therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-identification-glioblastoma-treatment.html Cancer Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:00:01 EST news259225943 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS have recently identified in mice the role played by neo-neurons formed in the adult brain. By using selective stimulation the researchers were able to show that these neo-neurons increase the ability to learn and memorize difficult cognitive tasks. This newly discovered characteristic of neo-neurons to assimilate complex information could open up new avenues in the treatment of some neurodegenerative diseases. This publication is available online on the Nature Neuroscience journal's website. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-memory-role-neo-neurons-revealed.html Neuroscience Tue, 22 May 2012 10:19:56 EST news256900775 They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Fortunately, this is not always true. Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have now discovered how the adult brain can adapt to new situations. The Dutch researchers' findings are published on Wednesday in the prestigious journal Neuron. Their study may be significant in the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mechanism-adult-brain-revealed.html Neuroscience Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:48:33 EST news254663260 Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-stem-cell-brain.html Medical research Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:30:01 EST news254136349 Spanish researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) identified the fundamental role played by the Nurr1 gene in neuron survival associated with synaptic activity. The discovery, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, allows scientists to study a new target that could help to understand the relationship between alterations in neural connections, which are known to cause early cognitive deficit, and the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gene-key-role-neuronal-survival.html Neuroscience Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:19:58 EST news253790390 New research explains how speaking more than one language may translate to better mental health. A paper published by Cell Press in the March 29th issue of the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences examines how being bilingual can offer protection from the symptoms of dementia, and also suggests that the increasing diversity in our world populations may have an unexpected positive impact on the resiliency of the adult brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bilingual-wards-symptoms-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:00:04 EST news252239962 How we perceive the world tells us a lot about how the brain processes sensory information. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-gaming-eyesight.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:40:10 EST news248704797