by Deborah A. Lott Psychiatric Times September 2001 Vol. XVII Issue 9 According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common of childhood psychiatric conditions, affecting an estimated 13% of children during any six-month period. As with other psychiatric disorders of childhood, they tend to go untreated, and, in the absence of effective treatment, children do not simply grow out of them. On the contrary, anxious children often grow up to be adults with anxiety, depression or another affective disorder. According to Daniel Pine, M.D., chief of NIMH's section on development and affective neuroscience, "A large percentage of adult problems, anxiety as well as depression, really begin as anxiety disorders in childhood." About half of children recover, Pine explained in an interview with Psychiatric Times, but "those children who do continue to have problems will account for a large proportion of adults with both anxiety and mood disorders." I ©CME, Inc.

Keyword: Emotions
Link ID: 571 - Posted: 11.05.2001

Never mind the bipedal posture, relative lack of fur, or opposable thumbs. What really sets humans apart from other animals is our supersized brain. But how do we manage to build such big brains? A new report shows that in humans--but not apparently not other species--some neurons in the developing brain take a detour that allows them to support the most overgrown and recently evolved parts of the cerebral cortex. During fetal development, the nervous system is segregated into several regions of cells. The so-called telencephalon gives rise to the most sophisticated parts of the brain--including the frontal lobes and other so-called association areas that do the heavy lifting when it comes to problem solving, social interactions, and memory. These cells normally don't mingle with neurons from the diencephalon, which gives rise to less advanced structures such as the hypothalamus and optic nerves. --LAURA HELMUTH Copyright © 2001 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Evolution; Neurogenesis
Link ID: 569 - Posted: 10.20.2001

James Randerson, Glasgow The deadly botulinum neurotoxin could be harnessed to treat pain, says a British team. Researchers at the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR) in Salisbury have chemically altered the toxin so that instead of acting on motor neurones and causing paralysis, it targets nerve cells that transmit pain signals. "We are developing molecules that will specifically target pain neurones," says researcher Keith Foster. The team hopes their work will lead to effective treatments for a wide range of pain disorders including chronic back pain, neck pain, headaches, post-surgical pain and chronic cancer pain. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Neurotoxins; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 568 - Posted: 10.20.2001

The Associated Press Three drug court programs, including what is to be Mississippi's first for juvenile offenders, will share $140,000 in state funding. A $50,000 award went to a program initiated in February 1999 by Circuit Court Judge Keith Starrett of McComb. The medication therapy program is designed to help offenders addicted to prescription medication.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 564 - Posted: 10.20.2001

By Nicholas Regush We appear to be edging towards an era of "mind control" - a time when human brains might be manipulated routinely by highly sophisticated technology. On the bright side, the powers of this science could be used to mend broken and diseased brains. On the dark side, there would be plenty of opportunity to tinker with consciousness and control human behavior in menacing fashion. Copyright © 2001 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 560 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Sexual selection, which tends to favor animals that win many mates, has spiced up the world with stag antlers, cicada concertos, and other wonders. Biologists have long assumed that sexual selection is possible only with separate sexes. But recent studies on mollusks reveal that, paradoxically, sexual selection acts even in the absence of males and females. That conclusion is backed up by a new study of the hermaphroditic sea slug Aeolidiella glauca. Each individual possesses both male and female organs, and although capable of self fertilization, they've developed a bizarre mating process with each other. Intrigued by this courtship, marine biologist Anna Karlsson of the University of Uppsala, Sweden, and evolutionary biologist Martin Haase of the University of Basel, Switzerland, closely watched the affair. --MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN Copyright © 2001 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Evolution
Link ID: 555 - Posted: 10.20.2001

TOM CLARKE You'd have thought that of all creatures, the octopus would keep track of what its arms are up to. But an octopus' arms, it turns out, often function completely independently of its brain. The finding solves the biological conundrum of how the octopus coordinates and controls its eight super-supple arms. Understanding this could help engineers design better robots. 1.Sumbre, G., Gutfreund, Y., Fiorito, G., Flash, T. & Hochner, B.Control of Octopus Arm Extension by a Peripheral Motor Program. Science, 293, 1845 - 1848, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 554 - Posted: 10.20.2001

TheScientificWorld © Copyright 2001. The Scientist 15[17]:15, Sep. 3, 2001. Used by permission. By Laura DeFrancesco Organisms need to sense their environment. By sensing, they can develop, heal wounds, protect against invaders, and create blood vessels. Chemotaxis, or directional sensing, allows cells to detect chemicals with exquisite sensitivity. Some chemotactic cells can sense chemical gradients that differ by only a few percent from a cell's front to its back. Although discovery of the molecule types involved in chemotaxis, as with other kinds of cell signaling events, has mounted, the details of how this dynamic process works is somewhat shrouded in mystery. But in the last few years, researchers have applied sophisticated imaging technologies to dissect this process, and now the details are coming to light.

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 550 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Stare at some sights long enough, and you'll continue to see an afterimage even after you've looked away. Now vision scientists report that the brain can see afterimages of things that weren't even there in the first place, but were created by optical illusions. The cerebral cortex is responsible for the trick. Afterimages come in two basic types: those formed on the eye's retina and those conjured up in the brain. For example, a bright light can bleach pigments in the retina and cause the retina's neurons to adapt; these effects linger after the light disappears, creating an afterimage. But most other aftereffects, such as continuing to hear a sound when it has ceased or seeing color-based patterns after looking away, are formed in the brain's cerebral cortex. Copyright © 2001 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 548 - Posted: 10.20.2001

JOHN WHITFIELD Babies exposed to sign language make babbling gestures - even if they can hear perfectly. The hand-waving mirrors the first vocal efforts of babies exposed to speech. It suggests that children are sensitive to the rhythms underlying all language, regardless of whether it its expressed with the hands or the mouth. Video analysis reveals that hand babbling has a slower rhythm than 'normal' baby gestures, and is made in the 'sign space' in front of the body. 1.Petitto, L.A.. et al. Language rhythms in baby hand movements . Nature, 413, 35 - 36, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Language; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 546 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Alison Motluk and Duncan Graham-Rowe People destined to suffer the misery of memory loss and senility could learn their fate in advance, thanks to a new technique involving brain scanning. But with no tried and tested cure yet available, would anyone really want to know? There are also fears the results could be used by employers or insurance companies to discriminate against people affected. At the moment, most neurological diseases cannot be diagnosed until behavioural problems start. But Mony de Leon of the New York University School of Medicine and his colleagues have found that several years before the symptoms of Alzheimer's set in, part of the brain starts using less fuel. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain imaging
Link ID: 544 - Posted: 10.20.2001

by Jane Salodof MacNeil Repligen Corporation recently announced progress in developing a drug for children with autism. With no other drugs on the market, Repligen could reap enormous rewards - if it succeeds. On June 18, a biotechnology company in Needham, Massachusetts, announced progress in developing a drug for children with autism, a developmental disorder for which there is no drug or even a known cause. Ordinarily, talk of new treatments mobilizes desperate parents and investigators committed to helping these children. Repligen Corporation's statement on secretin generated more surprise than hosannas, as it was thought that both the company and the drug had already had their day in the sun. © Elsevier Science Limited 2000

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 543 - Posted: 10.20.2001

by Cindy Seiwert Pain - like few other things - unites all humans. We all suffer from it, at least now and then, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, or sexual orientation. Nevertheless, all of us experience pain in solitude, and communicating the actual experience is notoriously difficult. What one person considers a simple touch might be felt as painful by another. Pain can even be felt in parts of the body that no longer exist, as is clear from the perception of aches in phantom limbs, which are "invisible" limbs that often appear following amputation. According to The Pain Web, over 1,200 online sites - containing over 3 million pages - address the topic of pain. Consequently, this WebScan just scratches the surface of available resources. © Elsevier Science Limited 2000

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 542 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Panel says doctors must do more to relieve pain in children
By MAURA KELLY, Associated Press CHICAGO - Infants usually cry when they get circumcised. Children often wince and whimper when they get shots. Some young cancer patients dread giving blood samples. Children feel pain as much as adults, and doctors should do more to relieve their pain from injuries, illnesses and medical procedures, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Pain Society declared Tuesday in a new joint policy statement. "Children are needlessly suffering," said Dr. Michael Ashburn, APS president and director of pain programs at the University of Utah. "Poorly treated pain following a procedure can lead to prolonged healing and make children at a higher risk for adverse side affects." Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 539 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Teen Brain Theory - They Have None
Recently scientists concluded a study of brain images of teenagers, finding that adolescents' brains react differently, including the prefrontal cortex, the area critical to judgement, reason, self-control and planning. ©Wethersfield Post 2001

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 538 - Posted: 10.20.2001

by Apoorva Mandavilli, BioMedNet News
Linking head size to disease may smack of ancient phrenology and quack science but there is increasing evidence that head size is a risk factor in neurologic disease, scientists say. Among people who are genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's disease (AD), for example, smaller head size carries a significantly higher risk of the disease, claim researchers at the University of South Florida (USF). Scientists have previously shown in independent studies that head size and the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein (Apo) E gene are both risk factors for AD, but the results remain controversial. © Elsevier Science Limited 2000

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 537 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Early trials suggest cannabis spritz may give relief to chronic pain sufferers. ERICA KLARREICH A spray that delivers the active ingredient of cannabis under the tongue may ease chronic pain, preliminary clinical trials suggest. Of the 23 patients who participated in the controlled study, only a few failed to respond to the spray, William Nortcutt of James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, UK told the British Association for the Advancement of Science's Annual Festival of Science on Monday. Seventeen have gone on to use the drug to treat their pain in the long term, he said. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 535 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Cutting calories quickly alters genes. HELEN PEARSON It's never too late to diet. Cutting calories for only a few weeks late in life causes anti-aging changes in mouse genes. Even those averse to weight watching might have their cake and eat it if researchers can find drugs that mimic dieting's effects. Cutting calories is known to increase lifespan and reduce age-related disease in experimental mammals. Stephen Spindler and colleagues of the University of California, Riverside probed how gene activity changes when an elderly mouse diets. 1.Cao, S.X., Dhahbi, J.M., Mote, P.L., & Spindler, S.R.Genomic profiling of short and long-term caloric restriction effects in the liver of aging mice. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, 98, 10630 - 10635, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Obesity; Alzheimers
Link ID: 534 - Posted: 10.20.2001

team advancing fight against Alzheimer's
By Marcia Mattson Times-Union staff writer Jacksonville researchers are working toward a cure for Alzheimer's disease with their creation of mice that develop both hallmarks of the human disease -- protein deposits called plaque outside the brain's nerve cells and stringy protein formations called tangles inside the cells. The Aug. 24 issue of Science features an article on the groundbreaking work by a team of Mayo Clinic Jacksonville researchers, including Michael Hutton, Dennis Dickson, Jada Lewis, Shu-Hui Yen and Eileen McGowan. Hutton, a neurobiologist who led the team, now figures a human treatment will be available in three to five years. © The Florida Times-Union

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 532 - Posted: 10.20.2001

A simple test could indicate how big your frontal lobes are By Eric Haseltine Terms like "Highbrow" and "Egghead" suggest that the larger one's forehead, the greater one's intellect. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this notion gained considerable popularity among prominent figures such as Franz-Joseph Gall and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle via a pseudo-science called Phrenology. Phrenologists claimed to be able to predict an individual's personality and cognitive abilities by assessing the size and shape of their skull, which in turn presumably reflected the size and shape of their underlying brain. © Copyright 2001 The Walt Disney Company.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 529 - Posted: 10.20.2001