Brain
Motor Symptoms Associated with Increased Risk for Parkinson’s Disease
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Elderly people who complain of stiffness, loss of balance and tremors may be at increased risk for future Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a study posted online today that will appear in the April 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
PD develops over time as neurons in certain areas of the brain that control muscle movement slowly waste away, according to background information in the article. The degeneration occurs in areas that produce a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Typical symptoms of PD-including severe tremors, rigidity and slow movements-begin when the brain loses more than half of its dopamine production ability.
Researchers discover how a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease can keep brain cells alive
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Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center’s School of Medicine have uncovered how a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease can keep brain cells alive. The results suggest the possibility for new drugs that might regulate the gene and protect Parkinson’s patients from further cell damage. The findings will be published in the Dec. 30 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that occurs when dopamine cells in the brain die or are damaged, making it increasingly difficult to relay movement messages from the brain to the body. CU School of Medicine scientists performed a detailed analysis of a gene known to be linked to Parkinson’s disease called DJ-1. The research showed that DJ-1, when functioning properly, can prevent dopamine cell death in the brain. If the DJ-1 gene is abnormal and doesn’t function properly, it can lead to the onset of neurodegeneration, particularly Parkinson’s disease.
Tips to Keep Your Mind in Top Shape
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Just when you’re old enough to be considered wise about the ways of the world, some days it’s awfully hard to find your glasses.
As you age, some brain cells may deteriorate or function less efficiently, potentially affecting your speed of mental processing and ability to retrieve information rapidly. Yet many factors besides aging affect mental ability. Depression, stress, sleep disorders, poor health and certain medications are among the most common.
Perk up that memory with some caffeine
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It seems brain scans confirm what coffee drinkers already know - that caffeine gives the brain a boost.
Austrian researchers say the scans show that caffeine found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate stimulates areas of the brain governing short-term memory and attention.
Music training may change the brain
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New research shows that the special training of music conductors seems to enhance the way their senses work together - enabling them to quickly tell who played a wrong note, for example. Scientists hope the research will lead to new discoveries about how music training may change the brain.
“Studies have shown that while students who get music training may sometimes do better academically, no research has explored whether this training actually causes changes in the brain,” said Jonathan Burdette, M.D., associate professor of radiology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
New Drug Target Identified for Fighting Parkinson’s Disease
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Researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Cell Engineering (ICE) have discovered a protein that could be the best new target in the fight against Parkinson’s disease since the brain-damaging condition was first tied to loss of the brain chemical dopamine.
Over the past year, the gene for this protein, called LRRK2 (pronounced “lark-2”), had emerged as perhaps the most common genetic cause of both familial and unpredictable cases of Parkinson’s disease. Until now, however, no one knew for sure what the LRRK2 protein did in brain cells or whether interfering with it would be possible.
Older Brains “Rise to the Challenge’’
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When the going gets tough, older adults’ brains get going, according to new research by a University of Michigan professor studying how key regions of the brain click on when needed.
Several regions in the brain, especially in the frontal cortex, are involved in helping people meet the demands of a constantly changing environment. While earlier research focused on older adults’ failures to activate these regions, the new U-M research found that older adults can activate these regions in response to a challenging task, and may also bring additional brain regions online to help their performance.
Meditation may slow down brain aging
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The regular practice of meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing.
An imaging study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers showed that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly practiced in the U.S. and other Western countries. The article appears in the Nov. 15 issue of NeuroReport, and the research also is being presented Nov. 14 at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, DC.
Autism ‘extreme male brain’ clue
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The brain structure of people with autism is an “exaggeration” of the normal male brain, researchers suggest.
It has long been suggested that autistic behaviour is an exaggeration of male habits such as making lists.
Alcohol may help preserve brain health
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Elderly men and women with a history of mild-to-moderate drinking may experience less mental decline over time than seniors who do not consume alcoholic drinks, study findings suggest. The findings imply that mild-to-moderate alcohol consumption may play a role in helping preserve cognitive function.
“Health professionals have generally paid more attention to alcohol abuse and dependence and their adverse consequences,” said study author Dr. Mary Ganguli, of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Snail memory boost seen promising for Alzheimer’s
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A cancer drug may stimulate the production of proteins needed for long-term memory, supporting interest in the compound as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said on Monday.
Scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and the Marine Biological Laboratory report that introducing bryostatin into a marine snail, days before a learning activity, caused a marked improvement in long-term memory.
PET Scans Predict Alzheimer’s in Cognitively Impaired Patients
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Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of glucose metabolism in the brain can accurately predict which patients with mild cognitive impairment will progress to full-blown Alzheimer’s dementia, researchers here say.
PET proved more accurate than screening for genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s, Alexander Drzezga, M.D., of the Technical University of Munich, and colleagues reported in the October issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. However, a combination of PET and genetic screening appeared to have the highest positive predictive value.
Liar, Liar, Brain’s On Fire
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“Any fool can tell the truth,” wrote British author Samuel Butler, “but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well.”
Not so, according to a new study. All it takes to lie well—or at least consistently and deliberately—is a slightly abnormal brain, one with more white matter and less grey matter in the prefrontal cortex than the rest of us.
Distraction underlies memory problems with aging
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The memory impairment that often accompanies aging may be related to an inability to ignore background information while focusing on the task at hand, investigators report in Nature Neuroscience.
“We were interested in how memory and attention change with aging, to see if changes in (nerve) activity might be associated with changes in performance,” said lead investigator Dr. Adam Gazzaley.
Sleep researchers study pilots flying east-west route
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Sleep researchers at the University of South Australia are studying the effects that late-night flights from Perth to the east coast have on the performance of commercial pilots.
Pilots taking part in the study will be asked to wear activity monitors for a week, either side of a late night or “back of clock” flight.
They will also use computers to test their reaction times during the flights.
