http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Whether we run to catch a bus or reach for a pen: Activities that involve the use of muscles are related to very specific areas in the brain. Traditionally, their exact location has only been determined through electrical stimulation or unnatural, experimental tasks. A team of scientists in Freiburg has now succeeded for the first time in mapping the brain's surface using measurements of everyday movements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-natural-movements-brain-regions.html Neuroscience Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:40:01 EST news289810348 Scientific progress in Huntington's disease (HD) relies upon the availability of appropriate animal models that enable insights into the disease's genetics and/or pathophysiology. Large animal models, such as domesticated farm animals, offer some distinct advantages over rodent models, including a larger brain that is amenable to imaging and intracerebral therapy, longer lifespan, and a more human-like neuro-architecture. Three articles in the latest issue of the Journal of Huntington's Disease discuss the potential benefits of using large animal models in HD research and the implications for the development of gene therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-large-animal-huntington-disease-options.html Neuroscience Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:12:16 EST news285855128 Playing video games for an hour each day can improve subsequent performance on cognitive tasks that use similar mental processes to those involved in the game, according to research published March 13 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Adam Chie-Ming Oei and Michael Donald Patterson of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-video-game-hour-day-cognitive.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:28:23 EST news282414496 (HealthDay)—The days and weeks after hospital discharge are a vulnerable time for people, with one in five older Americans readmitted within a month—often for symptoms unrelated to the original illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hospital-discharge-ills-seniors.html Health Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:59:16 EST news276976721 Scientists have discovered for the first time how humans – and other mammals – have evolved to have intelligence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-intelligence-mental-illness-linked-ancient.html Neuroscience Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:00:23 EST news273667896 Can you bite into an apple? If so, you are more likely to maintain mental abilities, according to new research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-ability-linked-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 04 Oct 2012 10:25:49 EST news268565126 A study of stroke patients from Southern Ontario found those who smoke have more difficulty with problem-solving and decision-making than non-smokers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-clouds-brain.html Cardiology Tue, 02 Oct 2012 04:50:01 EST news268371632 Men and women clearly have different strategies for picking sexual partners, but the reason why differences exist is less clear. The classic explanation for these differences has been that men's and women's brains have evolved to make certain choices, but a new study in Psychological Science, a publication of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that evolution is only part of the answer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-gender-equality-people-partners.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:41:08 EST news266067656 Although the death toll is relatively low for people who suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), it can have severe, life-long consequences for brain function. TBI can impair a patient's mental abilities, impact memory and behavior, and lead to dramatic personality changes. And long-term medical treatment carries a high economic cost. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-diabetes-drug-therapy-traumatic-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 29 May 2012 12:40:34 EST news257514019 Medical schools that use the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) as part of their admissions process reduce the relative disadvantage faced by certain socioeconomic groups, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-aptitude-fairer-medical-school-candidates.html Other Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:30:03 EST news253891265 Alzheimer's disease patients who are taking a commonly prescribed drug can still benefit from it after they progress to moderate-to-severe illness, when it can be tough to tell whether it's doing any good, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-aricept-moderate-severe-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:40:01 EST news250402583 A new marker of Alzheimer's disease can predict how rapidly a patient's memory and other mental abilities will decline after the disorder is diagnosed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-alzheimer-marker-strongly-mental-decline.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:00:06 EST news250174495 (Medical Xpress) -- A study of schizophrenia patients has found profound disruptions in their sleep patterns, with half also having irregular body clocks that are out of synch with the pattern of night and day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-problems-important-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:52:41 EST news243759108 A new analysis has found that breast cancer survivors may experience problems with certain mental abilities several years after treatment, regardless of whether they were treated with chemotherapy plus radiation or radiation only. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that there may be common and treatment-specific ways that cancer therapies negatively affect cancer survivors' mental abilities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-breast-cancer-survivors-struggle-cognitive.html Cancer Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:00:09 EST news242884795 Obesity has been associated with cognitive decline, characterized by a deterioration of mental abilities that involve memory, language, and thought-processing speed. But in a study of 300 post-menopausal women included in the Cardiovascular Prevention Program "Corazón Sano," in Argentina, obese participants in the study performed better on three cognitive tests than participants of normal weight, leading researchers to speculate about the role of sex hormones and cognition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-association-menopause-obesity-cognitive-impairment.html Health Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:00:01 EST news237732978 The same artery-clogging process (atherosclerosis) that causes heart disease can also result in age-related vascular cognitive impairments (VCI), according to a new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement published online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-vascular-linked-dementia.html Cardiology Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:26:11 EST news230484354 Inherited forms of Alzheimer's disease may be detectable as many as 20 years before problems with memory and thinking develop, scientists will report July 20, 2011, at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-inherited-alzheimer-years-dementia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:48:52 EST news230356111 (AP) -- Preschoolers, even babies, need daily exercise, the British government says in its first-ever exercise advice for its youngest citizens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-obesity-babies.html Health Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:41:34 EST news229614075