Poor reading skills have both physical, environmental causes
...Magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine the brains of 39 sixth grade children who were representative of the public school population in Alachua County, Florida. The researchers gave the study participants verbal tests, including tests of their ability to pronounce unfamiliar words, to determine mis...Optical technique studies brain activity without surgery on skull
...e light penetrates the skull where it assesses the brains oxygen level and blood volume. The scattered ligh...thods were used to generate functional maps of the brains motor cortex during a periodic sequence of stimulation by finger motion and rest," Gratton said. "W...Individual neurons reveal complexity of memory within the brain
... cells during the act of memory indicates that the brains nerve cells are even more specialized than many people think no pun intended. Although nerve cells that change activity during the use of memory are widely distributed in the brain, individual neurons generally respond to specific aspects of memory......ive functions. The researchers believe this is the brains attempt to maintain normal function as the neurons that form communication lines to the brains memory center die. Strengthening their finding are autopsy results showing more than 60 percent of p...Researchers observe abnormalities in brains of autism patients
...hers have identified structural differences in the brains of autism patients that might explain the behavor....asing total cortical surface area, which in larger brains has resulted in more columns per brain and thus more processing units and increased complexity, Casa...'Bird brains' take heart-our feathered friends are no slouch at cognition
...hat dolphins and other cetaceans, with their large brains and often human-like behavior, are as well. Birds... findings have given Bingman an idea of how birds' brains might be organized to remember large amounts of spatial information. Bingman investigated the pigeon...Using cocaine during pregnancy may damage developing fetuses, causing lifelong learning disabilities
...e exposed to cocaine. The researchers examined the brains of animals exposed to cocaine in the womb and found that the medial prefrontal cortex showed dramatic activation not seen in other cortical regions. The product of a gene, FOS, was used to measure this activation. Fos, a protein, is made in an excite...Gene linked to accelerated brain aging in healthy adults
... of nerve cell functioning." In other words, their brains showed signs of aging faster than those without th..., the researchers compared the level of NAA in the brains of 165 healthy study participants who ranged in age from 55 to 85. Of these, 84 participants were po...Folic acid possibly a key factor in Alzheimers disease prevention
...roup of mice with Alzheimers-like plaques in their brains a diet that included normal amounts of folate, whi...D in people. They develop AD-like plaques in their brains that kill neurons. The NIA team counted neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for le...NIAAA steps up search for brain mechanisms of alcohol abuse, alcoholism
...amygdala, a brain region that makes up part of the brains reward circuitry. Entitled "The Neurobiological Basis of Excessive Drinking," this consortium will test the hypothesis that genetic differences and other changes in the neurobiological processes within the amygdala are responsible for variation in vu...Reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting
... on the vagus nerve, which has a connection to the brains nausea and vomiting center. By assessing all these potential risk factors both from the patient and the surgical sides we cantailor a plan to reduce the incidence of PONV, Gan said. It takes input from the patient and all membersof the medical team...Second patient with multiple sclerosis undergoes groundbreaking surgery at Yale
... multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks the brains nerve fibers and strips away the protective myelin sheath around nerve fibers in the spinal cord and brain. The resulting lesions make it difficult for the nerves to transmit messages. In the first procedure on March 6, the surgical team ha...Late-onset schizophrenia found to be distinct condition
...d Congress on Schizophrenia. The work examined the brains of 64 schizophrenics and 18 control patients from the Corsellis Collection housed at West London Hospital, comparing schizophrenics diagnosed before age 40 to those diagnosed after age 40 as well as the control patients. The average age of onset for ...Different parts of the brain handle fantasy and reality
...more than once for similar problems in the way our brains work, adds Tarr. They look very similar behaviorally, but it turns out they use completely different neural circuits and the brain doesnt know how to put them together....Brookhaven lab scientist wins Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry
...monoamine oxidase [MAO] found to be reduced in the brains of smokers. PET is a research and diagnostic tool that enables researchers to see images of the brain as it functions. In studies with her colleagues using PET, Fowler has made major contributions to the understanding of biochemical processes in add...Brain center searches for patterns
...e experiments, the scientists imaged the subjects' brains using a high-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) mach...way when they saw these occasional patterns, their brains still reacted when the patterns were violated. So, their brains couldn't help but look for these pat...Psychologists hunt for new ways to detect precursors to Alzheimer's Disease
...ion of acetylcholine, a key brain chemical, to the brains posterior parietal cortex. This multi-function area helps manage spatial attention (shifting attention to different locations in the visual field), which is disrupted in AD. The authors suggest that studying attention and brain function in carrier...Retinal cell implantation shows promise and improvement in advanced Parkinsons disease patients
...edure, in which retinal cells are implanted in the brains of patients with advanced Parkinsons disease (PD),...) cells attached to gelatin microcarriers into the brains of six patients with advanced PD. RPE cells, normally found in the back of the eye, are cultured in...Reducing antiepileptics in VNS (TM) patients does not impair seizure control
...n-normal activity and transport of messages by the brains nerve cells. Such storms, in turn, affect the bodys functions. The severity of seizures ranges from finger twitching to unrecognizable speech to convulsions and unconsciousness. Currently, available treatments, either drugs or surgery, control seiz...Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy (TM) more effective in epilepsy patients when used earlier
...re caused by faster-than-normal activity among the brains nerve cells, affect many of the bodys functions and can cause more than 30 different types of seizures. The severity of seizures ranges from finger twitching to unrecognizable speech to convulsions and unconsciousness. Available treatments, either ...