Researchers have discovered a mechanism that allows neural stem cells to stay relatively free of aging-related damage: A diffusion barrier regulates the sorting of damaged proteins during cell division. A group of scientists led by Sebastian Jessberger of the Brain Research Institute of the University of Zurich showed that the stem cells of the adult… Continue reading How Some Brain Cells Escape Aging
Tag: brain
Stroke: What You Need to Know
A stroke could cause anyone lasting physical and mental problems, or even death, and older people are at higher risk. You can take steps to lower your chance of having a stroke. Knowing the symptoms of a stroke and acting quickly could mean the difference between life and disability or death. Here, from the experts… Continue reading Stroke: What You Need to Know
Memories Can Be Lost – And Found
Scientists have identified a process in the brain that may eventually lead to new treatments for people with memory problems. The finding, published in the journal Nature Communications, was made by a team of researchers from Cardiff University in the UK. The investigators found that reminders could reverse the amnesia caused by methods previously thought… Continue reading Memories Can Be Lost – And Found
Dogs Can Recognize Faces
Dogs have a specialized region in their brains for processing faces, according to a new study. The finding, published in the journal PeerJ, provides the first ever evidence of a face-selective region in the temporal cortex of dogs, and it could explain dogs’ sensitivity to human social cues. “Our findings show that dogs have an… Continue reading Dogs Can Recognize Faces
Positive Memories May Cure Stress-Induced Depression
Artificial reactivation of positive memories can suppress the effects of depression induced by stress, according to scientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics, a joint collaboration of RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and MIT. The research, published in the journal Nature, shows how positive and negative memories interact in mood disorders, and… Continue reading Positive Memories May Cure Stress-Induced Depression
A New Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
Women who have fibromyalgia appear to benefit from treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, according to researchers at Rice University and institutes in Israel. The painful condition improved in every one of the 48 women who completed two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the researchers said. Brain scans of the women before and after treatment… Continue reading A New Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
Brain Circuits and Decision-Making
A discovery by scientists at MIT could point the way toward possible therapies for mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression, that are characterized by difficulty in decision-making. “In order to create a treatment for these types of disorders, we need to understand how the decision-making process is working,” said Alexander Friedman, a research scientist… Continue reading Brain Circuits and Decision-Making
New Hope for Treating Brain Diseases
Researchers have found that an antiviral compound may protect the brain from invading pathogens. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, demonstrated that the compound, interferon-lambda, tightens the blood-barrier, making it harder for the virus to invade. The blood-brain barrier is a natural defense system that is supposed to keep pathogens out… Continue reading New Hope for Treating Brain Diseases
Aging of Brain May Be Related to Blood-Vessel Activity
Older brains may be more similar to younger brains than previously thought, researchers say. Researchers from Cambridge University, UK, and the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show that changes in the aging brain may be due to changes in blood vessels, not to neurological activity. The… Continue reading Aging of Brain May Be Related to Blood-Vessel Activity
Meditation May Help Fight Brain Aging
Researchers from UCLA have founded that meditation seems to help preserve the brain’s “gray matter” – i.e. tissue that contains neurons. The scientists looked specifically at the association between age and gray matter, according to a news release from the university, comparing 50 people who had meditated for an average of 20 years and 50… Continue reading Meditation May Help Fight Brain Aging
Gene Variant Linked to Cognitive Skills
People with a gene variant linked to longevity also have also have a larger volume in a part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making, according to researchers. The finding, by researchers from the University of California San Francisco, builds on the team’s earlier discovery that middle-aged and older people who carry the variant,… Continue reading Gene Variant Linked to Cognitive Skills
Coma Patients Helped by Family Storytelling
Sometimes, it seems, love can do what medicine can’t: Researchers have found that loved ones who talk to a patient in a coma can help him or her recover faster. The study, from Northwestern Medicine and Hines VA Hospital, shows that telling the patient familiar stories stored in long-term memory can help awaken the unconscious… Continue reading Coma Patients Helped by Family Storytelling
Salt May Have A Bad Effect on The Brain
Researchers have found that consuming large amounts of salt can cause changes in key brain circuits. The scientists, from McGill University in Montreal, discovered that high salt intake disables a natural safety mechanism and allows blood pressure to rise because of a high, long-term consumption of salt. A team led by Prof. Charles Bourque of… Continue reading Salt May Have A Bad Effect on The Brain
A New Clue to Anxiety
Researchers have discovered a new pathway in the brain that controls “fear memories and behavior” – and that may be good news for the nearly 40 million adults who suffer from anxiety disorder. Scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory had already discovered that “fear learning and memory are orchestrated by neurons in the central amygdala,”… Continue reading A New Clue to Anxiety
The Brain and “Social Pain”
When it comes to physical vs. emotional pain, the brain seems to have a separate area to process each, new research shows. Until now, experts have believed that the different kinds of pain went through the same circuits. But investigators from the University of Colorado Boulder have demonstrated that the two kinds of pain are… Continue reading The Brain and “Social Pain”
Liver and Brain Communicate to Regulate Appetite
The liver stores excess glucose, which is later released to cover body energy requirements. Diabetic patients do not accumulate glucose well in the liver and this is one of the reasons why they suffer from hyperglycemia or high blood sugar. A study led by Joan J. Guinovart at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in… Continue reading Liver and Brain Communicate to Regulate Appetite
The Brain’s Dilemma: Fear or Reward?
When it comes to learning tricky tasks, it seems we’re motivated more by avoiding punishment than by getting a reward. The discovery indicates that circuits in the frontal cortex of the brain, which calculate the degree of conflict, effort and difficulty of actions, are connected with another part of the brain that govern perceptions of… Continue reading The Brain’s Dilemma: Fear or Reward?
Battling “Chemo Brain”
Scientists have identified a culprit in the condition known as “chemo brain,” a decrease in mental sharpness attributed to chemotherapy. The researchers, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, made the discovery in a study of an animal memory model. It has been estimated that up to half of patients taking cancer… Continue reading Battling “Chemo Brain”