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cogntive decline

The image shows amyloid plaques in a mouse's hippocampus. The caption best explains the image.

·February 5, 2013·5 min read

Damaged Blood Vessels Loaded with Amyloid Worsen Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers have discovered that amyloid peptides are harmful to the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood in Alzheimer's disease, thus accelerating cognitive decline by limiting oxygen-rich blood and nutrients.

Featured Neurology

·January 15, 2013·2 min read

Major Step Toward an Alzheimer’s Vaccine

Researchers discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defense mechanisms in mice with Alzheimer's disease symptoms. This major breakthrough opens the door to the development of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and a vaccine to prevent the illness.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 14, 2012·3 min read

Scientists Use Prosthetic Device to Restore and Improve Impaired Decision Making Ability in Animals

Scientists used an electronic prosthetic system to tap into existing circuitry in the brain at the cellular level and record the firing patterns of multiple neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in decision-making. They then “played” that recording back to the same brain area to electrically stimulate decision-based neural activity. Not only did it restore function, in some cases, it also improved it.

Featured Psychology

·September 13, 2012·3 min read

How Early Social Deprivation Impairs Long-Term Cognitive Function

A study shows social isolation during early life prevents the cells that make up the brain's white matter from maturing and producing the right amount of myelin, the fatty "insulation" on nerve fibers that helps them transmit long-distance messages within the brain.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·August 30, 2012·4 min read

Potential Treatment for Cognitive Effects of Stress-Related Disorders, Including PTSD

Researchers identified a potential medical treatment for cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders.

Featured Neurology

·August 30, 2012·3 min read

New Diagnostic Biomarkers Offer Ray of Hope for Alzheimer’s Disease

Investigators report on the development of imaging-based biomarkers that will have an impact on diagnosis before the Alzheimer's disease process is set in motion.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2012·2 min read

Math Ability Requires Crosstalk in the Brain

A new study finds strength of communication between the left and right brain hemispheres predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems. Findings shed light on the neural basis of human math abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from dyscalculia - an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.

Autism Featured Neurology

·August 22, 2012·6 min read

Low-dose Sedative Alleviates Autistic-like Behavior in Mice with Dravet Syndrome Mutation

A low dose of the sedative clonazepam alleviated autistic-like behavior in mice with a mutation that causes Dravet syndrome in humans.

Featured Neurology

·August 20, 2012·4 min read

Stroke Disrupts How Brain Controls Muscle Synergies

A new study finds that after a stroke, muscle synergies are activated in altered ways. Furthermore, those disruptions follow specific patterns depending on the severity of the stroke and the amount of time that has passed since the stroke. Distinctive patterns could allow doctors to develop better rehab programs for stroke patients.

Featured Neurology

·August 20, 2012·2 min read

Brain Enzyme is Double Whammy for Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers discover that an enzyme known for generating toxic brain plaques in Alzheimer's disease also causes additional memory and cognitive deficits via a separate mechanism. They found that BACE1 disrupts the cell's production of other molecules required for PKA function. By that mechanism, BACE1 inactivates PKA and therefore inhibits memory formation in mice, even in the absence of neurotoxic β-amyloid.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 17, 2012·4 min read

Why Are Elderly Duped?

Researchers report they’ve pinpointed the precise location in the human brain, called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that controls belief and doubt, and which explains why some of us are more gullible than others.

Featured Neurology

·August 9, 2012·3 min read

Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Gaining Ground

Scientists have taken a step toward developing a blood test for Alzheimer's, finding a group of markers that hold up in statistical analyses in three independent groups of patients.