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Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·September 30, 2010·2 min read

Breast Cancer Patients’ Brain Tissue Altered by Chemotherapy

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.

Featured Genetics Most Popular Neurology Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos

·September 29, 2010·3 min read

First Direct Evidence That ADHD is a Genetic Disorder Found

Neuroscience researchers from Cardiff University have found the first direct evidence that ADHD is a genetic disorder.

Featured Genetics

·September 28, 2010·2 min read

Early Life Stresses Could Have Lasting Effects On GAD1 Gene

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.

Featured Genetics

·September 28, 2010·2 min read

Carbonated Drinks Affect Pain Sensors In Nasal Cavity

Neuroscientists at USC have discovered that carbonated drinks set off the same pain sensors in the nasal cavity as mustard, albeit at a lower intensity. During experimentation, researchers flowed carbonated saline over a dish containing nerve cells taken from the sensory circuits in the nose and mouth. They discovered that the gas activated a specific cell which serve as general pain sensors and expresses the TRPA1 gene.

Featured Neurology

·September 27, 2010·3 min read

Changing Right Handers To Left Handers

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.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 24, 2010·2 min read

Gamers Have Advantage In Performing Visuomotor Tasks

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.

Featured Neurology

·September 22, 2010·3 min read

Can Career Choices Influence Dementia?

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.

Electrophysiology Featured

·September 21, 2010·2 min read

The Rapid Speed Of Brain Cell Communication

Neuroscience researchers have studied the organic protein complexes linking vesicles and membranes before fusion, in order to understand the rapidity of transmission.

Featured Neurology

·September 21, 2010·1 min read

Area Of Brain Responsible For Controlling Impulses Discovered

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.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 20, 2010·3 min read

Children’s Intellectual Abilities Affected By Manganese In Drinking Water

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.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 17, 2010·3 min read

Disabling The RGS14 Gene Makes Mice Smarter

Researchers have discovered that disabling the RGS14 gene in mice can make them smarter. When the RGS14 gene was disabled within the CA2 region of the hippocampus, researchers found that mice were better able to remember objects they had explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 17, 2010·4 min read

Introspective People Have Larger Prefrontal Cortex

Neuroscience researchers have discovered the anterior prefrontal cortex appears to be larger in people with strong introspective abilities. Additionally, the structure of white matter within this area of the brain is also linked to the process of introspection.