The scientists have not yet found the limits of the monkeys' learning capacity Psychologists have found evidence that monkeys have sophisticated abilities to acquire and apply knowledge using some of the same strategies as do humans. Specifically, the researchers have discovered that rhesus monkeys can learn the correct order of arbitrary sets of images and can apply that knowledge to answer new questions about that order. Not only can the monkeys choose which image came first in the same list, but they can also compare the order of pictures that came from different lists, found the researchers. The scientists said they have not yet found the limits of the monkeys’ learning capacity. The researchers -- Herbert Terrace of Columbia University, Lisa Son of Barnard College and Elizabeth Brannon of Duke University -- reported their findings in an article in the January 2003 Psychological Science . Son and Brannon were graduate students at Columbia when the study was conducted. The scientists’ research was sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. Brannon is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and a member of Duke’s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. © 2003 Duke News Service

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Evolution
Link ID: 3339 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Opens new door to study of mood disorders in humans Researchers report finding a gene that is essential for normal levels of anxiety and aggression. Calling it the Pet-1 gene, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Department of Neurosciences say that when this gene is removed or "knocked out" in a mouse, aggression and anxiety in adults are greatly elevated compared to a control (also called wild type) mouse. (Videos displaying aggressive behavior of Pet-1 knockout mice can be viewed at http://neurowww.cwru.edu/faculty/deneris.shtml; click Movies Link.) Other neurologic functions, such as motor coordination, feeding, and locomotor activity, do not appear altered in the knockout mouse.

Keyword: Aggression; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 3338 - Posted: 01.24.2003

Neural circuits that control eye movements play multiple roles in visual attention With so many visual stimuli bombarding our eyes -- cars whizzing by, leaves fluttering -- how can we focus attention on a single spot -- a word on a page or a fleeting facial expression? How do we filter so purely that the competing stimuli never even register in our awareness? A pair of Princeton scientists have found that it has a lot to do with the brain circuits that control eye movements. Neuroscientists Tirin Moore and Katherine Armstrong showed that these brain circuits serve a double function: In addition to programming eye movements, they also trigger amplification or suppression of signals that pour in from the locations where the eyes could move. The finding, published in the Jan. 23 issue of Nature, is the first to pinpoint a neural mechanism behind one of the most fundamental aspects of mental activity -- the ability to direct attention to one thing as opposed to another.

Keyword: Attention; Vision
Link ID: 3337 - Posted: 01.24.2003

NIH scientists have shown that a common gene variant influences memory for events in humans by altering a growth factor in the brain's memory hub. On average, people with a particular version of the gene that codes for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) performed worse on tests of episodic memory — tasks like recalling what happened yesterday. They also showed differences in activation of the hippocampus, a brain area known to mediate memory, and signs of decreased neuronal health and interconnections. These effects are likely traceable to limited movement and secretion of BDNF within cells, according to the study, which reveals how a gene affects the normal range of human memory, and confirms that BDNF affects human hippocampal function much as it does animals'. Michael Egan, M.D., Daniel Weinberger, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bai Lu, Ph.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and colleagues, report on their discovery in the January 24 issue of Cell. Long known to be critical for the growth and survival of neurons, BDNF has also recently been shown to play a key role in memory and hippocampal function in animals. To find out if it works similarly in humans, the researchers explored the consequences of a tiny variance in the human BDNF gene, where its molecular makeup differs slightly across individuals. People inherit two copies of the BDNF gene — one from each parent — in either of two versions. Slightly more than a third inherit at least one copy of a version nicknamed "met," which the researchers have now linked to poorer memory. It's called "met" because its chemical sequence contains the amino acid methionine in a location where the more common version, "val," contains valine.

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Trophic Factors
Link ID: 3336 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The ancient ancestor of all mammals that give birth to live young - including humans - probably had genetic similarities with the aardvark. The elusive African mammal is a close match to our early cousin in the way its DNA is packaged into distinct bundles, or chromosomes, say scientists. The last common ancestor of all placental mammals - possibly a shrew-like creature - scurried over the planet hundreds of millions of years ago. It was probably nothing like the modern-day aardvark but could have had a similar set of chromosomes. The aardvark, which feeds on ants and termites, is something of a genetic oddity. It looks nothing like an elephant but has been lumped in with jumbo and co when it comes to its genetic make-up. (C) BBC

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 3335 - Posted: 01.22.2003

NewScientist.com news service Limited details of the millions of animal experiments conducted in the UK each year are to be published in future, the government announced on Tuesday. The government was responding to the findings of a House of Lords select committee report concerning the use of animals in medical and scientific research. "The government agrees with the report's finding that animal experiments are necessary to develop human and veterinary medicine and to protect humans and the environment," said Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Animal Rights
Link ID: 3334 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NewScientist.com news service Damage caused by multiple sclerosis could be repaired using stem cells extracted from a patient's bone marrow, new research suggests. A team led by Bruce Brew at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia, coaxed adult stem cells from mice and people into becoming oligodendrocytes - cells that manufacture the fatty myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells. This sheath is essential for effective signalling in the brain. In patients with MS, the immune system attacks myelin, causing progressive muscle weakness, memory and vision problems. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis; Stem Cells
Link ID: 3333 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By CAROL KAESUK YOON The fluttering wing of an insect is a gossamer marvel capable of such power and precision that it is thought to be one of the chief innovations that allowed them to become the soaring rulers of this age. So intricate are the nerves and muscles of these aviational workings, not to mention the wing itself, that entomologists have long assumed that when a lineage of insects evolves to become wingless, its descendants can never again regain this complex machinery. Instead, the assumption went, the entire lineage would be grounded into evolutionary perpetuity. So it has been with great surprise that researchers have greeted a paper in the current Nature in which an international team of researchers reports evidence that wingless stick insects have re-evolved wings at least four times in the history of the group. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 3332 - Posted: 01.22.2003

Conflicting needs may have driven rapid development of communication. PHILIP BALL Language probably leapt, not crept, from squeaks to Shakespeare, two physicists have calculated. Human communication, they propose, underwent a 'phase transition', like solid ice melting to liquid water. The richness of human languages is a fine-tuned compromise between the needs of speakers and of listeners, explain Ramon Ferrer i Cancho and Ricard Solé of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Just a slight imbalance of these demands prevents the exchange of complex information, they argue. So languages between those of present-day humans and the limited signalling of some animals cannot really exist. There must, at some point, have been a switch from rudimentary to sophisticated language. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Language; Evolution
Link ID: 3331 - Posted: 06.24.2010

St. Louis, – A team of researchers from the United States and Australia has found that the age when a person begins to smoke marijuana has a significant influence on whether they will develop problems with drugs and alcohol later in life, independent of his or her genetic and family background. In a large study of Australian twins, the researchers found that those who used marijuana before age 17 were two to five times more likely to use other drugs or to develop alcohol or drug abuse or dependence. The study appears in the Jan. 22 issue of the Jo urnal of the American Medical Association. "There is a fairly long history of research showing that early cannabis (marijuana) use is associated with increased risks for later use of so-called 'hard drugs,' but that research is based on the fact that most heroin and cocaine users report first having used cannabis," says lead author Michael T. Lynskey, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and senior research fellow at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 3330 - Posted: 06.24.2010

- Bethesda, MD – New studies have revealed that even the best-behaved and careful drivers may encounter a new danger on the road – themselves. According to the British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, researchers in Australia and New Zealand report that sleep deprivation can have some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk. They found that people who drive after being awake for 17 to 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent, the legal limit for drunk driving in most western European countries, and close to the limit of .08 in several American states. Background In the United States, the National Sleep Foundation and sleep experts believe that there are other problems associated with sleep deprivation in addition to problems behind the wheel. Those with too little sleep may have higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and may take unnecessary risks. Past research has identified the cause for sleep deprivation to be obstructive sleep apnea, resulting from failure of the body to obtain adequate respiration during sleep.

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 3329 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A new animal study hints that people who consume alcohol may experience a surge in testosterone levels in the brain and blood, perhaps explaining the cause of violent drunken behavior, Reuters reported Jan. 15. "Marked increases in brain testosterone might be relevant to aggressive behavior in some individuals," said Dr. Robert H. Purdy, senior author of the new report. "You need to keep in mind the word 'some,' however." Purdy and colleagues at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., tested the testosterone levels of male rats. The researchers found that drinking temporarily increases testosterone levels, depending on how much alcohol was consumed and the drinker's "personal characteristics."

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 3328 - Posted: 01.22.2003

New Pathway Presents Target for Medication Development Brain molecules similar to the active compound in marijuana help to regulate alcohol consumption, according to new reports by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Bethesda, Maryland, and a separate NIAAA-supported group at several New York state research institutions. In studies conducted with a strain of mice known to have a high preference for alcohol, the scientists found greatly reduced alcohol intake in mice specially bred to lack CB1, the brain receptor for innate marijuana-like substances known as endocannabinoids. The effect was age dependent, the Bethesda group found. The New York scientists showed that the endocannabinoid system activates a brain region known as the nucleus accumbens, which plays a major role in mediating the rewarding effects of alcohol. Both groups had shown that alcohol intake among normal mice of the same alcohol-preferring strain could be reduced by treating the animals with a drug that blocks CB1 receptors in the brain.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 3327 - Posted: 01.22.2003

A new study strongly suggests that some cells from bone marrow can enter the human brain and generate new neurons and other types of brain cells. If researchers can find a way to control these cells and direct them to damaged areas of the brain, this finding may lead to new treatments for stroke, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders. "This study shows that some kind of cell in bone marrow, most likely a stem cell, has the capacity to enter the brain and form neurons," says Èva Mezey, M.D., Ph.D., from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who led the study. Earlier work by Dr. Mezey and others has shown that bone marrow cells can enter the mouse brain and produce new neurons. However, the new study is the first to show that this phenomenon can occur in the human brain. The study was supported in part by the NINDS and appears in the January 20, 2003, online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1 . The NINDS is a component of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the study, Dr. Mezey and colleagues examined brain tissue taken at autopsy from four female patients — two adults and two children — who had received bone marrow transplants from male donors. The bone marrow transplants had been performed to treat leukemia and other non-neurological diseases, and the patients survived from 1 to 9 months after their transplants.

Keyword: Regeneration; Stem Cells
Link ID: 3326 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Richard Woodman LONDON (Reuters) - More than one in five depressed patients attempt suicide and a further 47 percent think about killing themselves before their condition is diagnosed, according to a survey of psychiatrists released on Monday. Independent research company Datamonitor said the findings, based on interviews with 220 psychiatrists in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Britain, showed how the stigma of depression was stopping patients from seeking therapy. A spokesman for Britain's Royal College of Psychiatrists said he was not surprised by the high rate of reported suicide attempts, 22 percent. Most people with depression probably never sought help, he added, and it was particularly hard for a young man to go to a doctor and admit to depression. Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. Copyright © 2003 Yahoo! Inc.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 3325 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Today's women have less sex than their 1950s counterparts, a survey suggests. Researchers in the United States believe the demands of modern life are to blame - leaving women with little time or energy. Fifty years ago, most women were stay-at-home mums with more free time. Few had jobs and television sets were rare. Today, many women hold down jobs while also raising children. Any spare time is often spent shopping, working out in the gym or watching their favourite television programmes. Researchers from the Kinsey Institute said their survey suggested women have less time for sex. According to the study, 42% of women who cohabit with male partners have sex two or three times a week. This compares to just one in three married women. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3324 - Posted: 01.20.2003

Scans may offer clues for treatment of brain disorders By JOHN FAUBER On the surface, Frank Simon seems as mentally sharp as, maybe sharper than, the typical 80-year-old. He cooks his own meals, drives and, more importantly, can make insightful comments about his life. Traditional diagnostic scans of his brain probably would not reveal anything out of order. © Copyright 2003, Journal Sentinel Inc.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain imaging
Link ID: 3323 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Ivanhoe Broadcast News Interview with Julie Carter, R.N., Neurology Nurse, Oregon Health & Science Center, Portland, Oregon, Many people take coenzyme Q-10 for many different things. First, tell me what it is. Carter: It's a nutritional supplement, and it's a powerful antioxidant. It gets into the brain and into the cells and it's thought to actually repair the part of the cell called the mitochondria. There's a lot of stuff that happens in the mitochondria, but in essence, it's the energy producing part of the cell. It produces energy by a series of electron transport chains and within that, there are different components. One of them is called the complex one, and complex one is defective in Parkinson's disease. We think that coenzyme Q-10 may repair complex one. So, in more laymen's terms, am I right that the theory is that patients with Parkinson's lack enough of the coenzyme Q-10 in their brains already? Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 3322 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Head injuries - including those suffered in contact sports such as boxing or football - could be worse for some people because of their genes. Scottish researchers are investigating the role of a protein in the brain called Apoe-4. This protein has already been linked to a higher risk of developing dementia, as well as poorer recovery from head injury. Around a third of the population carries this variation of the protein, but around 80% of people with Alzheimer's disease have the variant. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are beginning a five-year study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, will investigate why people with the genetic mutation are more vulnerable to the effects of brain injury and diseases. The team, who have been awarded £350,000 for their research, will look at the role Apoe-4 plays in nerve repair and regeneration after injury. (C) BBC

Keyword: Brain Injury/Concussion; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 3321 - Posted: 01.19.2003

By THOM SHANKER with MARY DUENWALD WASHINGTON, — A military hearing into the deaths of four Canadians in an airstrike by two American pilots in Afghanistan has focused attention on the military's long-held but little-known practice of using drugs to keep its weary forces awake and alert — or to help them sleep off the stress of combat. Amphetamines and tranquilizers — "go pills" and "no-go pills" — are considered useful tools for a modern American military that likes to fight at night, given its technological superiority in finding targets in the dark, and to an Air Force that must order its pilots to fly longer missions from fewer overseas bases. Scientists are researching ever more potent pills, including some that may keep combat forces alert for 40 hours or more, because the military says that fatigue can be deadly. "The `go pill' is a tool of last resort," said Maj. Gen. Dan Leaf, the Air Force director of operational capability requirements. "It is an insurance policy. When they're in the air, there is no place to pull over. It's a life-or-death situation. The decision to take a pill is made by the individual pilot in the air." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Sleep
Link ID: 3320 - Posted: 06.24.2010