http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The different effects on memory processes by chronic alcoholism and HIV infection likely reflect the specific neuropathology associated with each condition: frontocerebellar dysfunction in alcoholism and frontostriatal dysfunction in HIV infection. A study of the separate and combined contribution of injury related to chronic alcoholism and HIV infection has found they differently affect the processes involved in procedural learning and memory of visuomotor information. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alcoholism-hiv-infection-effects-visuomotor.html Addiction Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:00:02 EST news262268380 (Medical Xpress) -- Repeated concussions, even mild ones, can result in profound problems with learning and memory, suggests a study led by William Meehan, MD, director of the Sports Concussion Clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Michael Whalen, MD, director of the Acute Brain Injury Laboratory at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Using a mouse model, the study documents cumulative, long-lasting impairment of brain function after repeated mild concussions, especially when they occur in close succession. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-multiple-mild-concussions-cumulative-effect.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:46:06 EST news262248133 New treatments to lessen the severity of the more than 21,000 Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) cases that occur in Australia each year are on the horizon. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-traumatic-brain-injury.html Neuroscience Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:00:05 EST news261932619 Korean scientists have used tiny stars, squares and triangles as a toolkit to create live neural circuits in a dish. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-triangles-neural-circuits-dish.html Neuroscience Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:00:02 EST news261932412 One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-when-being-scared-twice-is.html Neuroscience Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:02:28 EST news258739339 (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 University of Iowa neuroscientist John Wemmie, M.D., Ph.D., is interested in the effect of acid in the brain. His studies suggest that increased acidity or low pH, in the brain is linked to panic disorders, anxiety, and depression. But his work also suggests that changes in acidity are important for normal brain activity too. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-acid-brain-team-function.html Neuroscience Fri, 18 May 2012 17:25:50 EST news256580741 (Medical Xpress) -- Scientists at University of Queensland's Brain Institute are one step closer to developing new therapies for treating dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-closer-dementia.html Neuroscience Thu, 10 May 2012 06:27:08 EST news255850017 (Medical Xpress) -- Having a fat head may not be a bad thing, according to new findings at The Johns Hopkins University. As reported in the February 9 issue of Neuron, Hopkins researchers have made a significant discovery as to how adding fat molecules to proteins can influence the brain circuitry controlling cognitive function, including learning and memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-memories.html Neuroscience Tue, 08 May 2012 05:40:17 EST news255674406 What happens at the level of individual neurons while we learn? This question intrigued the neuroscientist Daniel Huber, who recently arrived at the Department of Basic Neuroscience at the University of Geneva. During his stay in the United States, he and his team tried to unravel the network mechanisms underlying learning and memory at the level of the cerebral cortex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-neurons.html Neuroscience Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:29:48 EST news254577648 Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have unraveled a process by which depletion of a specific protein in the brain contributes to the memory problems associated with Alzheimer's disease. These findings provide new insights into the disease's development and may lead to new therapies that could benefit the millions of people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer's and other devastating neurological disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-mechanism-contribute-problems-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:35:50 EST news254662523 In an important test of one of the first drugs to target core symptoms of autism, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine are undertaking a pilot clinical trial to evaluate insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) in children who have SHANK3 deficiency (also known as 22q13 Deletion Syndrome or Phelan-McDermid Syndrome), a known cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-clinical-drug-subtype-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:47:17 EST news254497462 Soldiers in war zones and farmers tending their fields can have in common chronic exposure to chemicals that impact their nerves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-effect-chronic-exposure-chemicals-weapons.html Medical research Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:18:34 EST news253988303 A recent study finds that a new compound reverses many of the major symptoms associated with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and a leading cause of autism. The paper, published by Cell Press in the April 12 issue of the journal Neuron, describes the exciting observation that the FXS correction can occur in adult mice, after the symptoms of the condition have already been established. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-fragile-syndrome-reversed-adult-mouse.html Neuroscience Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:10 EST news253364173 Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-reveal-gene-mutation-uncontrolled-obesity.html Genetics Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:06 EST news251296225 The number of people with neurological and psychiatric disorders in Spanish-speaking countries has increased over the past two decades. The February issue of NeuroRehabilitation assesses important factors that should be considered in rehabilitating Spanish-speaking individuals suffering from these disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cultural-differences-impact-neurologic-psychiatric.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:10:10 EST news250517403 New research with monkeys sheds light on how the drug methylphenidate may affect learning and memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-effects-doses-adhd-drug-higher.html Attention deficit disorders Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:06:01 EST news250441490 (Medical Xpress) -- Max Planck researchers have succeeded in showing in experiments on mice that the anxiolytic substance neuropeptide S (NPS) can be absorbed through the nasal mucosa and unfold its effect in the brain. Having bound to its receptors, the neuropeptide S reaches particular neurons in the brain in this way. Just four hours after the administration of the drug, the tested mice showed less anxiety. Altered neuronal activity was also measured directly in the hippocampus, an important brain structure for learning and memory. These findings confirm that neuropeptide S is a promising new drug for the treatment of patients suffering from anxiety disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-nose-panic.html Neuroscience Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:54:28 EST news250159947 The association of the inhaled anesthetic isoflurane with Alzheimer's-disease-like changes in mammalian brains may by caused by the drug's effects on mitochondria, the structures in which most cellular energy is produced. In a study that will appear in Annals of Neurology and has received early online release, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report that administration of isoflurane impaired the performance of mice on a standard test of learning and memory – a result not seen when another anesthetic, desflurane, was administered. They also found evidence that the two drugs have significantly different effects on mitochondrial function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-reveals-anesthetic-isoflurane-alzheimer-like-mammalian.html Neuroscience Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:30:02 EST news249822803 A study recently published by the University of Kentucky's Scott Livingston shows that physiological problems stemming from a concussion may continue to present in the patient even after standard symptoms subside. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-effects-concussion-longer-symptoms.html Neuroscience Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:16:47 EST news249758195 In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, memory problems stem from an overactive enzyme that shuts off genes related to neuron communication, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-epigenetic-culprit-memory-decline.html Medical research Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:07 EST news249734266 There are a number of drugs and experimental conditions that can block cognitive function and impair learning and memory. However, scientists have recently shown that some drugs can actually improve cognitive function, which may have implications for our understanding of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The new research is reported 21 February in the open-access journal PLoS Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-mechanism-memory.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:00:02 EST news249054226 Treating brain tumors with whole brain radiation therapy can damage healthy brain tissue, but a new study in mice reveals that limiting the oxygen supply, or hypoxia, can alleviate some of the cognitive impairment caused by the radiation. The results are reported in the Jan. 18 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-radiation-induced-brain-tissue-reversed-oxygen.html Other Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:25:18 EST news246129911 Glia cells, named for the Greek word for "glue," hold the brain's neurons together and protect the cells that determine our thoughts and behaviors, but scientists have long puzzled over their prominence in the activities of the brain dedicated to learning and memory. Now Tel Aviv University researchers say that glia cells are central to the brain's plasticity — how the brain adapts, learns, and stores information. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-brain-cells-memory.html Medical research Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:10:02 EST news244386574 (Medical Xpress) -- Efforts to help people with learning impairments are being aided by a species of sea snail known as Aplysia californica. The mollusk, which is used by researchers to study the brain, has much in common with other species including humans. Research involving the snail has contributed to the understanding of learning and memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-sea-snails-explore-memory.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Dec 2011 06:20:38 EST news244102802 About half of newborns who have seizures go on to have long-term intellectual and memory deficits and cognitive disorders such as autism, but why this occurs has been unknown. In the December 14 Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston detail how early-life seizures disrupt normal brain development, and show in a rat model that it might be possible to reverse this pathology by giving certain drugs soon after the seizure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-dodging-cognitive-early-life-seizures.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:00:06 EST news243005693 Researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered that a chemical compound in the brain can weaken the synaptic connections between neurons in a region of the brain important for the formation of long-term memories. The findings, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, may also provide a potential explanation for the loss of memory associated with Alzheimer's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-potential-explanation-mechanisms-associative-memory.html Neuroscience Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:00:01 EST news243004672 The brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease contain protein aggregates called plaques and tangles, which interfere with normal communication between nerve cells and cause progressive learning and memory deficits. Now, a research team led by Takaomi Saido from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako has identified a particular fragment of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) that contributes to the formation of plaques in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-characterizing-toxic.html Neuroscience Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:50:02 EST news242635245 When the activity of a molecule that is normally elevated during viral infections is inhibited in the brain, mice learn and remember better, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reported in a recent article in the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-neuroscientists-boost-memory-genetics-memory-enhancing.html Neuroscience Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:00:42 EST news242571591 Drugs that affect the levels of an important brain protein involved in learning and memory reverse cellular changes in the brain seen during aging, according to an animal study in the December 7 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings could one day aid in the development of new drugs that enhance cognitive function in older adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-drug-reverses-aging-associated-brain-cells.html Neuroscience Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:20:00 EST news242482787