http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Natural lubricants play an important role in health, including a well-known effect to help prevent osteoarthritis in knee and ankle joints. However, much is still unknown about their role and function in other areas of the body. Researchers for the first time have discovered that the surface of the eye produces "lubricin," the same substance that protects the joints, and have explained its role in this sensory organ. These findings provide new hope for the millions suffering from dry eye disease and complications from contact lens wear and refractive surgery. Dry eye disease is one of the most frequent causes of patient visits to eye care practitioners and occurs predominantly in women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-treatments-range-women-health-issues.html Ophthalmology Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:00:04 EST news285518498 Despite many remarkable discoveries in the field of neuroscience during the past several decades, researchers have not been able to fully crack the brain's "neural code." The neural code details how the brain's roughly 100 billion neurons turn raw sensory inputs into information we can use to see, hear and feel things in our environment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-neural-synchrony-key-human-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:40:28 EST news282310821 The skin is a human being's largest sensory organ, helping to distinguish between a pleasant contact, like a caress, and a negative sensation, like a pinch or a burn. Previous studies have shown that these sensations are carried to the brain by different types of sensory neurons that have nerve endings in the skin. Only a few of those neuron types have been identified, however, and most of those detect painful stimuli. Now biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have identified in mice a specific class of skin sensory neurons that reacts to an apparently pleasurable stimulus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-sensations-biologists-individual-neurons-skin.html Neuroscience Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:04:59 EST news278780662 Johns Hopkins scientists have created stunning images of the branching patterns of individual sensory nerve cells. Their report, published online in the journal eLife on Dec. 18, details the arrangement of these branches in skin from the backs of mice. The branching patterns define ten distinct groups that, the researchers say, likely correspond to differences in what the nerves do and could hold clues for pain management and other areas of neurological study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-braille-scientists-sensory-nerves-mouse.html Medical research Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:21:37 EST news275156489 After years of basic research, scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are increasingly able to understand the mechanisms underlying the human Usher syndrome and are coming ever closer to finding a successful treatment approach. The scientists in the Usher research group of Professor Dr. Uwe Wolfrum are evaluating two different strategies. These involve either the repair of mutated genes or the deactivation of the genetic defects using agents. Based on results obtained to date, both options seem promising. Usher syndrome is a congenital disorder that causes the loss of both hearing and vision. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-biologists-read-through-mutations-responsible-usher.html Genetics Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:44:48 EST news273840275 Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. In addition, the study found that this rewiring involves fibers that supply the primary input to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for sensory perception, motor control and cognition. These findings promise to open new avenues of research on brain remodeling and aging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-persistent-sensory-good-aging-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 24 May 2012 12:04:48 EST news257079879 Compared to our other senses, scientists don't know much about how our skin is wired for the sensation of touch. Now, research reported in the December 23rd issue of the journal Cell provides the first picture of how specialized neurons feel light touches, like a brush of movement or a vibration, are organized in hairy skin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-skin-wired.html Neuroscience Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:03 EST news243777381 The thalamus is the central translator in the brain: Specialized nerve cells (neurons) receive information from the sensory organs, process it, and transmit it deep into the brain. Researchers from the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics of KIT have now identified the genetic factors Lhx2 and Lhx9 responsible for the development of these neurons. Their results contribute to understanding the development of the thalamus. In the long term, they are to help healing thalamic strokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-major-results-thalamus-relay-center.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:15:13 EST news243079990 The fact that certain smells cause us pleasure or disgust would seem to be a matter of personal taste. But new research at the Weizmann Institute shows that odors can be rated on a scale of pleasantness, and this turns out to be an organizing principle for the way we experience smell. The findings, which appeared today in Nature Neuroscience, reveal a correlation between the response of certain nerves to particular scents and the pleasantness of those scents. Based on this correlation, the researchers could tell by measuring the nerve responses whether a subject found a smell pleasant or unpleasant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-scientists-principle.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:11:06 EST news236250654 The latest Perspectives in General Physiology series examines the mechanisms of visual, aural, olfactory, and tactile processes that inform us about the environment. The series appears in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of General Physiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-perspectives-sensory-mechanisms.html Medical research Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:15:51 EST news233842530 Lying in bed at night, one of the worst sounds a person can hear is the buzz of a nearby mosquito. Concentrating on the buzzing might keep you from falling asleep, but it also seems to heighten the awareness of your skin to that inevitable moment when the critter actually lands. Scientists have now gathered information about why our sense of touch can be influenced by our sense of hearing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-evolved.html Neuroscience Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:32:21 EST news226254712