Two intelligent humans assess the mental feats of wild creatures and come to opposite conclusions By Sy Montgomery Betty, a New Caledonian crow at the University of Oxford, needed a hooked wire to retrieve a bucket containing a treat. So she wedged a straight wire into a crack in the lab’s table and bent it, creating the right tool. Sheba, a chimp at Ohio State University, was trained to collect up to four oranges and then choose a numeral—1, 2, 3, or 4—to show how many she’d found. Kanzi, a bonobo chimp at the Georgia State University Language Research Center in Atlanta, communicates with his trainers using symbols on a keyboard. He understands the difference between sentences like “Pour the lemonade in the Coke” and “Pour the Coke in the lemonade.” What’s going on here? Are these animals thinking or using language? Or are we projecting human abilities onto nonhuman animals? Two new books that grapple with the nature of intelligence in the nonhuman world offer vastly different conclusions. In Do Animals Think? University of Florida psychologist Clive Wynne argues that the mental feats of nonhuman animals are all in our heads—not theirs. He claims that language is ours alone and that animals’ seemingly complex responses to problems are achieved by automatic mechanisms, not by thought. But how did humans acquire the ability to use language and practice culture? Not through some “mutational miracle,” writes journalist Tim Friend. In Animal Talk, he argues that culture, language, and mathematical skills emerged thanks to a process common to all living creatures: evolution. We think because thinking is adaptive. Therefore we should expect to see similar cognitive abilities in both human and nonhuman animals. (C) 2003 The Walt Disney Company.

Keyword: Intelligence; Animal Communication
Link ID: 5912 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Fatigue is in the mind, not the muscles, suggests a new study. But it can still have a serious impact on athletic performance. The finding could lead to treatments for conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, or the development of illicit performance-enhancing drugs. Traditionally, fatigue was viewed as the result of over-worked muscles ceasing to function properly. But evidence is mounting that our brains make us feel weary after exercise (New Scientist print edition, 20 March). The idea is that the brain steps in to prevent muscle damage. Now Paula Robson-Ansley and her colleagues at the University of Cape Town in South Africa have demonstrated that a ubiquitous body signalling molecule called interleukin-6 plays a key role in telling the brain when to slow us down. Blood levels of IL-6 are 60 to 100 times higher than normal following prolonged exercise, and injecting healthy people with IL-6 makes them feel tired. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Neuroimmunology
Link ID: 5911 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Helen Pilcher Researchers have created a synthetic protein that makes mice display symptoms similar to those of mad cow disease. The protein, called a prion, helps to resolve a long-standing debate on the cause of certain degenerative brain conditions, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle. Being able to manufacture the rogue protein in the lab may also aid the development of new therapies and speedy diagnostic tests. Sporadic CJD, which accounts for 85% of prion diseases in humans, is thought to develop spontaneously. Researchers believe that healthy brain prions somehow become twisted out of shape and go on to trigger the production of more misshapen proteins. As the brain degenerates, patients lose the power of speech and movement. As there is no effective treatment, the disease is invariably fatal. But there is controversy over whether a protein alone can trigger the disease. Many researchers believe that the infectious agent must also contain genetic material, such as DNA or RNA, in order to instruct the healthy proteins to turn bad. ©2004 Nature Publishing Group

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 5910 - Posted: 06.24.2010

PITTSBURGH—A team of brain scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have made a groundbreaking discovery into the biological basis for autism, a mysterious brain disorder that impairs verbal and non-verbal communications and social interactions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, the researchers have found numerous abnormalities in the activity of brains of people with normal IQs who have autism. The new findings indicate a deficiency in the coordination among brain areas. The results converge with previous findings of white matter abnormalities in autism. (White matter consists of the "cables" that connect the various parts of the brain to each other). The new findings led the researchers to propose a new theory of the basis of autism, called underconnectivity theory, which holds that autism is a system-wide brain disorder that limits the coordination and integration among brain areas. This theory helps explain a paradox of autism: Some people with autism have normal or even superior skills in some areas, while many other types of thinking are disordered. The team's study will be published in the August edition of the British journal Brain and is available online at www.brain.oupjournals.org. In explaining the theory, Marcel Just, one of the study's lead authors and director of Carnegie Mellon's Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, compared the brain of a normal person to a sports team in which the members cooperate and coordinate their efforts.

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 5909 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Steve Connor, Science Editor Squirrels have been recorded using high-pitched ultrasonic "whispers" that are inaudible to the human ear but warn each other of danger. It is the first time that any animal has been found to use ultrasound for an alarm call although high-frequency sounds well beyond the range of human hearing are widely used by bats. The discovery that squirrels communicate using ultrasound was made by James Hare, professor of zoology at the University of Manitoba in Canada, and his student David Wilson. They were studying the audible alarm calls of the Richardson's ground squirrel, a social animal that lives in burrows of closely related females and their offspring. This species of squirrel - sometimes called a gopher - lives on the prairies of North America and has developed a sophisticated communication system to warn of approaching predators. Professor Hare noticed a female opening its mouth as if in alarm and emitting faint sounds of rushing air, an apparently noiseless whisper which nevertheless triggered a vigilant posture in her nearby relatives. © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd

Keyword: Hearing; Animal Communication
Link ID: 5908 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new gene study may help explain why she sees crimson, vermilion and tomato, but it's all just red to him. In an analysis of the DNA of 236 men from around the globe, researchers found that the gene that allows people to see the color red comes in an unusually high number of variations. And that may be a boon to women's color perception in particular, study co-author Dr. Brian C. Verrelli told Reuters Health. That's because the gene, known as OPN1LW, sits on the X sex chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes, one from each parent, while men have one X and one Y chromosome. Because women have two different copies of the "red" gene, the fact that the gene can have so many variations means it may especially aid women's perception of the red-orange spectrum. Verrelli, an assistant professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, and colleague Dr. Sarah Tishkoff report the findings in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Among the 236 samples of DNA they studied, the researchers found 85 variations in the OPN1LW gene. That's about three times the number of variations one would see in any other "random gene" pulled from the human genome, Verrelli said. SOURCE: American Journal of Human Genetics, September 2004. © Reuters 2004.

Keyword: Vision; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 5907 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY Psychosurgery. Brain implants. Mind control. The stuff of movies — as in The Manchurian Candidate, which opens Friday — or a glimpse of the future? Maybe both, says neurologist Jay Lombard of the Brain Behavior Center in Nyack, N.Y., who was science adviser for the film. The political thriller stars Denzel Washington as Maj. Bennett Marco, a Gulf War veteran who is tormented by dreams that suggest he was surgically brainwashed during the war. When a sergeant from his unit emerges years later as a candidate for vice president, Marco attempts to find out the truth about his dreams and the candidate. "If you look at where things are heading in neuroscience," Lombard says, "it's not that far a stretch." The future of neuroscience is under study this year by the President's Council on Bioethics. Opponents of "neuromarketing," the study of consumer choice using brain scans, have raised alarms about the possibility of the advertising industry using science to sell people unneeded or harmful products. "We have capabilities we never had before," says neuroethicist Judy Illes of Stanford University. For example, imaging studies are now examining judgment and emotion in the brain, she says, and brain chip implants are treating Parkinson's and obsessive-compulsive disorder. © Copyright 2004 USA TODAY,

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 5906 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A study of twins suggests that a gene key to eye development plays a crucial role in people becoming short-sighted. Researchers from St Thomas' Hospital in London said faulty versions of the PAX6 gene could make people more susceptible to the condition. But they said sitting too close to the TV or playing too many computer games could exacerbate someone's risk. Around a quarter of the UK population are short-sighted, but it has reached epidemic proportions in the Far East. In Japan, two thirds of teenagers are already myopic. The problem is said to even worse in Singapore, where 80% of 18-year-old male army recruits are short sighted, compared with 25% just 30 years ago. The problem in Singapore is so bad that employers such as the police are struggling to find people who meet their requirements. Previous research looking at whether the causes of short-sightedness (myopia) were genetic or environmental had found inherited factors accounted for 89%, and the environment 11%. (C)BBC

Keyword: Vision; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 5905 - Posted: 07.29.2004

In 2002, researchers from Imperial College in London discovered that a natural hormone made in the gut called PYY3-36 appears to signal to the brain that the stomach is full. They reported it reduced food intake and body weight in rodents, and in a small study in humans. "By giving this hormone we naturally cause the brain to feel less like eating, and this is an important breakthrough in the possibilities for treating obesity," Steve Bloom, a researcher at Hammersmith Hospital and professor at Imperial College, told ScienCentral last year. "This is a very interesting discovery because for once, the scientist has found something that means an active treatment quite quickly. And what we are hoping is that we will be able to go to a direct demonstration of real weight loss and no side effects." But for those or any scientific results to be accepted by other scientists, they need to be confirmed in similar experiments. Obesity researcher Matthias Tschoep was one of 42 scientists from 12 different labs around the world that independently tested PYY3-36 in rodents. His lab at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center's Genome Research Institute repeatedly failed to see the same results, finding no significant effect on food intake or body weight. © ScienCentral, 2000- 2004.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 5904 - Posted: 06.24.2010

To date epilepsy research has mainly concentrated on the transmission of the nerve cell signals to what are known as the synapses. However, recent observations by medical researchers from the US, France and the University of Bonn support the idea that in 'falling sickness' the signal processing in the nerve cells (neurons) is altered: normally specific ion channels absorb the neuronal activity. In rats suffering from epilepsy, however, this signals brake seems impaired: they have far fewer functioning ion channels than healthy rats. The results are published in the latest edition of the prestigious scientific journal 'Science' (23rd July, vol. 305, no. 5683). They offer hope of new therapeutic possibilities. Epilepsy is a common disease: in Germany alone there are 600,000 people whose nerve cells in the brain occasionally switch from healthy chaos to common mode. The result of the uncontrolled mass discharge of neurons is loss of consciousness and spastic convulsions of the muscles, during which those affected can seriously injure themselves. Yet how this synchronised paroxysmic activity develops at the level of nerve cells is still largely a mystery. Nerve cells are interlinked via a large number of branching networks through which they communicate with each other. Each neuron has a series of dendrites which receive signals from other neurons at what are known as synapses. The cell 'processes' these incoming signals like a kind of biological microprocessor and transmits as a result electrical pulses via a special projection, the axon, to the dendrites of other neurons.

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 5903 - Posted: 07.29.2004

By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News — Butterflies may seem to be silent loners, but new research reveals that many species of these colorful insects actively communicate with one another using Morse Code-like clicks, according to a recent University of Florida press release. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence that many insects can hear and that they communicate using sound. The research might also help humans. Studies on the tiny auditory organs of butterflies could lead to the development of improved hearing aids and miniature microphones. UF researcher Mirian Hay-Roe first heard the butterfly clicks when she shared greenhouse space with a colleague who was working with blue and white longwing butterflies, Heliconius cydno. The longwings seemed to bully Hay-Roe's butterflies, which were a different species. They chased the insect newcomers around the greenhouse. It was during the air turf war that Hay-Roe heard a number of faint clicks. As the longwings flew, they often clicked to each other and apparently to the interlopers. Copyright © 2004 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Animal Communication; Hearing
Link ID: 5902 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Ground squirrels emit an ultrasound squeal to warn other animals that a predator is approaching, researchers have discovered. Bats and toothed whales are already known to use ultrasound for echolocation, but little is known about ultrasound communication in the rest of the animal kingdom. Some rodents, including rats and hamsters, emit ultrasound calls, but no one is sure what they mean. To investigate, David Wilson and James Hare of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, studied how Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii), a burrowing rodent, responded to the approach of humans. Usually, the animals made audible alarm calls, opening their mouths wide and thrusting their bodies forward. But occasionally, a squirrel would do this but make no sound, its open mouth producing only a faint whisper of rushing air. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Hearing; Animal Communication
Link ID: 5901 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists isolate nerve cells that choreograph male fly's courtship behavior When a male fruit fly encounters a prospective mate, he initiates courtship by following her around and gently tapping her with his leg. If she seems interested, he serenades her with a love song. Singing is followed by more intimate acts that sometimes lead to successful mating. Now Stanford University scientists have discovered that this elaborate courtship behavior is actually choreographed by a cluster of nerve cells embedded in the central nervous system of the male fly. When these cells fail to function properly, the courtship ritual breaks down and the male is transformed from a suave Casanova into a clumsy brute that tries to force himself on unwilling females. These findings, published in the July 29 edition of the journal Nature, may eventually help scientists understand how the brain orchestrates sexual behavior in a variety of species - from flies to reptiles to humans, according to the researchers. "The fruit fly is a model organism whose basic cellular functions are very similar to what they are in people," said Bruce S. Baker, the Dr. Morris Herzstein Professor in Biology at Stanford and co-author of the Nature study. "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that human sexual behaviors also have underneath them a basic circuitry in the nervous system that mediates attraction and mating."

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 5900 - Posted: 07.29.2004

Infusions migrated to damaged spots in test rats' brains David Perlman, Chronicle Science Writer Stem cells derived from human fetuses and used in early experiments with anesthetized rats show long-term promise in treating strokes, according to a team of Stanford University brain researchers. The stem cells have shown the ability to migrate into spaces filled with dead brain cells in laboratory rats suffering from the same types of strokes that can disable and kill humans, the scientists report. In human stroke victims, an abrupt loss of blood supply to the brain can kill various types of neurons as well as other brain and blood cells. In the new experiments, researchers led by Dr. Gary Steinberg, a Stanford neurosurgeon, infused fetal stem cells close to the spots in the rat brains where stroke-killed cells created a gap in the network of normal neurons. The experiments and their results are being described by Steinberg and his Stanford group in the current online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle

Keyword: Stroke; Stem Cells
Link ID: 5899 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Up to three in 10 people who are injured do not recover as quickly as expected for psychological reasons, according to new study. In 5% to 10% of cases a minor physical injury becomes a major problem, affecting insurance claims and the length of time off work, it found. The work was done for the Association of British Insurers and International Underwriting Association. Insurers want to intervene earlier to prevent cases becoming too expensive. The report found that the recovery of between 20% and 30% of people injured in car accidents or at work was hampered by psychological factors. The organisations commissioned the research after evidence showed factors such as depression were affecting people's recovery from accidents. The report said the problem helps to explain why many injury claims take much longer to settle and at far greater cost than first seemed likely. Chief executive of the Motor Insurers' Bureau Ashton West, who chaired the research panel, said insurers would usually expect injuries such as back sprain or whiplash to clear up quickly. (C)BBC

Keyword: Neuroimmunology; Depression
Link ID: 5898 - Posted: 07.28.2004

Just a few months ago, a paper was published, with very little fanfare, in an obscure medical journal. But the contents of the paper were astonishing. In it was a potential solution to what has been called the biggest medical mystery of all time. Two young doctors had tracked down the probable cause of one of the most baffling epidemics of the 20th Century - a disease called Encaphilitis Lethargica. Encaphilitis Lethargica was a devastating illness that swept the world in the 1920's. It attacked the brain, leaving victims like living statues, speechless and motionless. During the outbreak, nearly a million died, and millions more were left frozen inside their useless bodies, in institutions. Noone knew what had caused it, or how to treat it. For virologist Professor John Oxford, the disease was not just a disease of the past. As an expert on the condition, he was convinced that it could reappear. "I certainly do think that whatever caused it could strike again. And until we know what caused it we won't be able to prevent it happening again." And in 1993, it seemed his fears were being realised. (C)BBC

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 5897 - Posted: 07.28.2004

By Hunter G. Hoffman In the science-fiction thriller The Matrix, the heroes "plugged in" to a virtual world. While their bodies rested in reclining chairs, their minds fought martial-arts battles, dodged bullets and drove motorcycles in an elaborately constructed software program. This cardinal virtue of virtual reality--the ability to give users the sense that they are "somewhere else"--can be of great value in a medical setting. Researchers are finding that some of the best applications of the software focus on therapy rather than entertainment. In essence, virtual reality can ease pain, both physical and psychological. For the past several years, I have worked with David R. Patterson, a pain expert at the University of Washington School of Medicine, to determine whether severely burned patients, who often face unbearable pain, can relieve their discomfort by engaging in a virtual-reality program during wound treatment. The results have been so promising that a few hospitals are now preparing to explore the use of virtual reality as a tool for pain control. In other projects, my colleagues and I are using virtual-reality applications to help phobic patients overcome their irrational fear of spiders and to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of terrorist attacks. At least two software companies are already leasing virtual-reality programs and equipment to psychologists for phobia treatment in their offices. And the Virtual Reality Medical Center, a chain of clinics in California, has used similar programs to successfully treat more than 300 patients suffering from phobias and anxiety disorders. Although researchers must conduct more studies to gauge the effectiveness of these applications, it seems clear that virtual therapy offers some very real benefits. © 1996-2004 Scientific American, Inc.

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Robotics
Link ID: 5896 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Crayfish catch z's much like mammals do, a new study finds. When the crustaceans crash out, their brains emit slow waves of electricity surprisingly similar to those seen in the brains of slumbering mammals. In terms of behavior, sleep is characterized by an animal's indifference to the outside world and its need to compensate for doze deficits. In mammals and other vertebrates, sleep also evokes slow, regular waves of electrical activity in the brain. However, although studies in fruit flies and bees hint at proper sleep, slow waves have not been found in these animals. Now, in a paper published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that crayfish exhibit slow waves, as well as the behavioral signs of sleep. Fidel Ramón of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and his colleagues first watched crayfish (Procambarus clarkia) around the clock. They noticed that when the animals struck a particular pose, lying motionless on one side and holding on to the tank with just one appendage, they also seemed practically comatose. These groggy animals were less responsive to being shaken by a motor--the equivalent of a cell phone on vibrate--compared to animals strutting around the bottom of aquaria. When the researchers flashed regularly timed lights, like strobes at a disco, the nappers, unlike alert crayfish, didn't seem to notice when the scientists skipped a flash. Finally, the researchers found that sleep-deprived crayfish made up for lost shut-eye the next night, a telltale sign of a regular snoozer. Copyright © 2004 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 5895 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a permanent condition that can occur in a newborn if a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy. It's often characterized by abnormal facial features, growth retardation, and central nervous system problems. Children with FAS may have physical disabilities, but the damage may also be limited to problems with learning, memory, attention, and problem solving. "Alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the Western world," says Ann Streissguth, director of the Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit at the University of Washington. "In our work we find that one per 100 live births are affected by prenatal alcohol exposure and that is so important. That makes it the largest known cause of mental retardation and developmental disabilities." Experts have long warned expectant mothers to not drink, especially early in pregnancy, when the baby's body is forming. John Olney, professor of psychiatry and neuropathology at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying how alcohol hurts the fetal brain in later in the pregnancyby triggering nerve cells, which are just forming connections, to commit suicide. © ScienCentral

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Apoptosis
Link ID: 5894 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Helen Pilcher Lithium, a common treatment for manic depression, might also help to stave off Alzheimer's disease. Patients who take the drug to stabilize their mood disorder are less likely to succumb to dementia, a study reveals. For the last 30 years, lithium has been used to control the mood swings of patients with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. But over the last decade, an increased understanding of how the drug works has widened the scope for its use. Researchers now think that the simple salt could slow the progress of degenerative brain disorders, such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease. Paula Nunes and colleagues from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, studied 74 elderly people with bipolar disorder. Four percent of those taking lithium had Alzheimer's disease, compared with 21% of patients who were not taking the drug. The researchers conclude that lithium therapy may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. They presented their data at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last week. ©2004 Nature Publishing Group

Keyword: Alzheimers; Depression
Link ID: 5893 - Posted: 06.24.2010