by Ohio State University Medical Center A new clinical trial at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and two other sites is testing an innovative procedure that may provide hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. The non-invasive procedure uses low-intensity focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier, a protective layer that protects the brain from infections or pathogens in the blood. However, this barrier also makes it nearly impossible to...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Mind-Machine Meld: How Computer-Assisted Telepathy Helps Humans Communicate
Communicating through your thoughts alone is possible — with a little technical assistance. Scientists at the University of Washington’s Center for Neurotechnology have figured out how to network human minds together to collaborate to move Tetris-like shapes on a computer screen using only thoughts. It works like this: Three players, including one main player, sit in separate rooms and...
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Why visual stimulation may work against Alzheimer’s
Several years ago, MIT neuroscientists showed that they could dramatically reduce the amyloid plaques seen Alzheimer’sdisease in mice simply by exposing the animals to light flickering at a specific frequency. In a new study, the researchers have found that this treatment has widespread effects at the cellular level, and it helps not just neurons but also...
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Broccoli sprout compound may restore brain chemistry imbalance linked to schizophrenia
JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE In a series of recently published studies using animals and people, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have further characterized a set of chemical imbalances in the brains of people with schizophrenia related to the chemical glutamate. And they figured out how to tweak the level using a compound derived from broccoli sprouts. They say the results advance...
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Like submicroscopic spacecrafts: graphene flakes to control neuron activity
Selective, safe and with a reversible effect: they are the nanomaterials, protagonists of a new study which has shed light on their ability to reach specific sites and affect the action of brain cells SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI Like in a science fiction novel, miniscule spacecrafts able to reach a specific site of the brain and...
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Newfound autoimmune syndrome causes muscle pain, weakness
by Tamara Bhandari, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis A previously unknown autoimmune muscle disease involving sudden onset of debilitating muscle pain and weakness has been identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The syndrome easily could be mistaken for other muscle diseases that require different treatment, so the findings are expected to help physicians treat patients appropriately, the researchers said....
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Sleep frees up the hippocampus for new memories
by Universitaet Tübingen Two regions of our brain are central for storing memories: the hippocampus and the neocortex. While the hippocampus is primarily responsible for learning new information and its short-term storage, the neocortex is able to store large amounts of information for a long time. Lea Himmer, Dr. Monika Schönauer and Professor Steffen Gais of the Institute of Medical Psychology at the...
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Hypnosis to tackle painkiller crisis
New research shows that hypnosis can reduce pain by up to 42% and may offer a genuine alternative to painkillers. A project led by psychologist Dr. Trevor Thompson of the University of Greenwich found that hypnosis is more effective with people who are especially amenable to suggestion. But it also found that those who are moderately suggestible – essentially...
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Trigger region found for absence epileptic seizures
by RIKEN Scientists have discovered a neurological origin for absence seizures—a type of seizure characterized by very short periods of lost consciousness in which people appear to stare blankly at nothing. Using a mouse model of childhood epilepsy, a team led by Kazuhiro Yamakawa at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan showed that absenceepilepsy can be...
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How cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disorders
by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum Bochum-based psychologists have studied how the application of the stress hormone cortisol affects exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. The researchers knew from earlier studies that extinction learning, which constitutes the foundation of exposuretherapy, can be reinforced by administering cortisol. However, the team headed by Professor Armin Zlomuzica at Zentrum für Psychotherapie (psychotherapy centre) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has demonstrated with a group of...