Human embryonic stem cell therapy is being tried on a human for the first time in a new clinical trial....
Neuroscientists have provided an insight into the neuronal mechanisms involved in prosocial behavior, and how they are modulated by perceived group membership. Researchers suggest that there is a neurobiological basis of whether people chose to help, or withdraw help, based on positive or negative identification of the person in pain.
Researchers genetically altered mesenchymal stem cells to create new stem cell lines that showed no signs of aging in culture, did not increase tumor production in animal studies and functioned as healthy mesenchymal cells do.
Brain imaging studies of women with breast cancer before and after chemotherapy treatments show grey matter is being affected during the chemotherapy treatments. Brain areas believed to be critical for multi-tasking, memory and other cognitive functions were seen to change during the chemotherapy.
Neuroscience researchers from Cardiff University have found the first direct evidence that ADHD is a genetic disorder.
Neuroscience research published in September's Journal of Neuroscience suggests early life stresses may modify the GAD1 gene, which controls the production of GABA. Through their research on rats, researchers were able to note that those who experienced a lack of affection showed an obstruction within the DNA which controls the GAD1 gene. As it is believed that GABA deficits might be apparent within schizophrenic patients, researchers propose that the modification of GAD1 might determine a child's predisposition to mental illness.
Neuroscientists at UC Berkeley have discovered that stimulation of a certain area of the brain can cause a change in which hand a person favors to perform a task. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation on right handed test subjects, researchers discovered that stimulating the posterior parietal cortex on the left side caused an increase in the use of the left hand. Researchers suggested this finding might be useful in discovering methods to help patients overcome learned limb disuse.
A study published in October's Cortex has shown young people who regularly play video games have an advantage in performing tasks which require visuomotor skills. The study also found that gamers show increased activity in the prefrontal cortex when asked to perform visuomotor tasks. By contrast, non-gamers had more reliant use of the parietal cortex, an area which involves hand-eye coordination, when performing visuomotor tasks.
Correlating data from 588 patients diagnosed with frontotemporal lobe degeneration (FTLD), researchers found that subjects with professions which related highly for verbal skills had greater tissue loss on the right hand side of the brain. By contrast, those whose professions required less aptitude for verbal skills, for example flight engineers, had more tissue damage to the left hand side of the brain.
Neuroscience researchers have studied the organic protein complexes linking vesicles and membranes before fusion, in order to understand the rapidity of transmission.
Neuroscientists have identified an area within the brain which controls impulsive behavior and have discovered the mechanisms that affect how impulsive behavior is learned. Training rats to control impulsive responses, neuroscientists discovered electrical signals between cells in the frontal lobe grew stronger when impulses were controlled. These findings could eventually help to help diagnose and treat impulse behavior problems such as addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD.
Researchers have discovered that children exposed to high levels of manganese in drinking water perform poorly on cognitive tests. The research stated that, on average, children who drink water with more concentrated levels of manganese have an IQ score 6 points lower than children whose drinking water contained little to no manganese.
