Scientists say they may have found why people with schizophrenia have abnormal electrical waves in their brains. The Newcastle University team believes schizophrenics lack the vital brain receptor cells which control them. When the receptors in rats were switched off using a drug, the waves changed frequency. The researchers hope the work, detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, could point to new treatments. While the origins of schizophrenia are thought to be both environmental and genetic, the precise cause is unknown. Scientists have been looking more closely at some of the differences between the brain function of people with and without the condition. One difference found by earlier researchers is in the "gamma frequency oscillation", a pattern of electrical activity which is different in schizophrenia patients. The Newcastle researchers aimed to home in on the cause of this alteration. They used a drug called ketamine - which, as a recreational drug in humans, has been known to cause some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, including hallucinations. When applied to rat brain cells, they found the drug changed the frequency of its electrical activity by blocking the NMDA brain receptor. This could mean that people with schizophrenia either do not have enough of these receptors, or they are not working properly. (C)BBC

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 12202 - Posted: 11.03.2008

By Adam Brimelow British scientists are embarking on a major new trial to assess the impact of the mood stabiliser lithium as a treatment for motor neurone disease. They say the research is necessary because positive findings from a small-scale Italian study were "too dramatic to ignore". But they are urging patients with the disease not to take the treatment in advance of their results. They warn that some side-effects of lithium are potentially dangerous. There are about 5,000 people in the UK living with motor neurone disease (MND). At the moment there is no effective cure or treatment. It is often rapidly progressive and always fatal, usually within two to five years. The disease can affect any adult at any age, although it is more commonly found in men, and is most likely to strike between the ages of 50 and 70. Lithium, a naturally occuring element, has long been used as a treatment for some forms of depression, such as bipolar disorder. But recent laboratory tests and animal trials have suggested that it may also have a protective effect with MND. The recent trial of 16 people in Italy reported encouraging results. But the MND Association said the study was small and poorly designed, and that its findings should be treated with caution. The association's president, Professor Sir Colin Blakemore, said: "If you read the publication optimistically it might be taken to mean that lithium literally cures this disease. "But it's very important, against the background of patient hopes and expectations, to stand back and ask whether the trial was large enough to make the claims that it did." (C)BBC

Keyword: ALS-Lou Gehrig's Disease ; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 12201 - Posted: 11.03.2008

Scientists at Cambridge University have made a major breakthrough researching brain tumours in children. For the first time a sequence of DNA present in around two-thirds of the most common tumour has been pinpointed. Pilocytic astrocytomas is diagnosed in 145 children from five to 19 every year, with nearly 40 cases untreatable. As little is known about the causes and genetics of brain tumours, it is hoped the findings could lead to better treatment. Professor Peter Collins, who led the research at Cambridge University, carried out genetic scans on 44 pilocytic astrocytoma and found a DNA sequence rearranged on a chromosome in the majority of the samples. The rearrangement creates a fusion gene, a hybrid created from two separate genes. It is the first time fusion activity has been associated with a brain tumour. Professor Collins said: "If we can diagnose exactly which type of brain tumour a child has as early as possible, the tumour is more likely to be treated successfully. We also hope the findings will mean it is possible to create therapies in the future that block the activity of the fusion gene and halt the growth of tumour cells." (C)BBC

Keyword: Glia
Link ID: 12200 - Posted: 11.01.2008

By BENEDICT CAREY Children and adolescents with disabling anxiety are most likely to recover when treated with a combination of talk therapy and an antidepressant medicine, according to the largest study to date of anxiety disorders in this age group. The government-financed study, which tracked nearly 500 patients, found that 8 in 10 children who received the combined therapy improved significantly, compared with less than 6 in 10 who had either the drug or the talk therapy (known as cognitive behavior therapy) on its own. The study, released online Thursday by The New England Journal of Medicine, clarifies the treatment picture for these young patients and should increase interest in combined therapy, experts said. Up to half of children and adolescents struggling with chronic anxiety do not seem to improve much in treatment, psychiatrists estimate. The researchers reported no increase in serious side effects from Zoloft, the antidepressant used in the study; the drug belongs to a class of medications that has been associated with a small risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in young patients. “It’s surprising that they found such a dramatic difference between combined treatment and the others,” said Dr. Sanjiv Kumra, director of the child and adolescent psychiatry program at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the research. “I think this should be reassuring for parents interested in finding good treatment for a child, and it should send a message to third-party payers.” Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 12199 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Rossella Lorenzi Andean mummy hair has provided the first direct archaeological evidence of the consumption of hallucinogens in pre-Hispanic Andean populations, according to recent gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis. Indirect evidence for psychoactive drug use in South America's ancient populations abound, ranging from the discovery of drug equipment to the identification of hallucinogenic herb residuals in snuffing kits. However, there wasn't direct evidence that the ancient Andean people actually consumed mind-altering drugs. To find a direct link, chemical archaeologist Juan Pablo Ogalde and colleagues at the University of Tarapacá in Arica, Chile, analyzed 32 mummies from the Azapa Valley in northern Chile. Naturally mummified in the Acatama desert, the bodies belonged to the Tiwanaku, the ancestors of the Incas. The little known Tiwanaku established a civilization around 1200 B.C. that prevailed for almost three millennia, becoming one of history's longest-running empires. At the peak of their power, between 700 and 1100 A.D., they dominated the Andes, controlling large areas of Bolivia and Peru and parts of Argentina and Chile. Their burials often contain elaborately decorated snuffing trays and panpipes. © 2008 Microsoft

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 12198 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By JASCHA HOFFMAN The taste of a ripe tomato, the hook of a catchy song, the scent of a lover’s hair. What is it, exactly, that drives us to seek these things again and again? Neuroscientists who study perception are starting to discover the inner workings of the sensory mind. Starting on Monday at the New York Academy of Sciences, researchers and artists will team up to explore this new research in a series of talks called Science of the Five Senses. Their conversations will raise a question for the amateur hedonist: If we had a better understanding of the signals our bodies send to our brains, might we take more pleasure from them? The academy, which was founded in 1817 and now has a membership of more than 25,000 scientists, has recently reached out to the general public with its Science and the City lectures. “I wanted our live events to be at the intersection of science and culture,” said Adrienne Burke, an editor at the academy who conceived the new series. “That’s how we ended up with a singer and a food writer and an ex-magician. There is a deeper and more common connection between science and art than people tend to recognize.” For “Science of the Five Senses” Ms. Burke asked the scientists to invite artists to explain their work. “I’m used to booking scientists,” she said. “But I was amazed that all the artists said yes right away, even Rosanne Cash.” Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Vision
Link ID: 12197 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Rachel Zelkowitz Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin received a media lashing last week when word trickled out that her makeup artist snagged $22,800 in the first half of October. Pundits warned that such royal treatment might undermine her "down home" persona, but the makeover may have been a savvy move: New research adds more weight to the idea that voters value attractiveness more than competence in the faces of female politicians. The idea that candidates can win or lose votes on the basis of looks is not new. A previous study of U.S. Senate and House of Representative elections showed that candidates whose faces were judged "more competent" than their opponents' won the elections between 66% and 74% of the time (Science, 10 June 2005, p. 1623). But that study did not consider the impact of the candidate's gender on the relative importance of appearances, says Joan Chiao, a social neuroscientist at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Chiao and her colleagues decided to investigate the role of gender. They compiled headshots of 46 women and 60 men who in 2006 ran for seats in the House of Representatives. The photos were grayscaled to minimize the effect of hair and clothing color, and highly recognizable candidates, such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, were not included. A group of 73 test subjects, 38 of them women, viewed each face for 1 second and then noted how attractive, how competent, how dominant, or how approachable they found the candidates. Then, they viewed pairs of candidates from the 106-member set and had to indicate for which candidate they would vote in a hypothetical presidential election. © 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Emotions
Link ID: 12196 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Justin Mullins Fragile X syndrome, the most commonly inherited form of learning disability, is caused by mutation of a gene called FMRl on the X chromosome. This mutation prevents the brain from developing properly, leading to a form of mental retardation that has long been considered untreatable. That may be about to change, however. Julie Lauterborn and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, say there may be a way to improve and even restore cognitive function in people suffering from fragile X as well as in people with other cognitive impairments. Their idea is based on the surprising discovery that a naturally occurring protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is involved in nerve growth, may improve and even restore cognitive function in people whose mental abilities are impaired. The team says it has had promising results after injecting the protein into the brains of mice with fragile X syndrome. But no tests have been done in humans. In theory, the treatment needn't be limited to people with fragile X. The team says it could be used on individuals with other conditions that lead to learning disabilities, such as Down's syndrome and autism. However, they caution, much more work is needed before the full implications for humans can be understood. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Genes & Behavior; Intelligence
Link ID: 12195 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Sara Coelho Imagine the chaos if all traffic lights suddenly went red in a city. The same can apply to the brain, which needs a regulated flow of information to learn and make memories. New research published in the 31 October issue of Cell unveils how a neural stop signal goes askew in neurofibromatosis, one of the most common genetic causes of learning disabilities in humans. Neurofibromatosis typically produces fibrous lumps in nerve fibers, some of them visible on the skin. Common complications include high blood pressure, curvature of the spine, and specific learning problems, which are often related to spatial cognition. The condition is caused by mutations in a gene dubbed NF1, but the precise mechanism that lead to learning disabilities was not known until now. To address that puzzle, Alcino Silva, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been experimenting with mice that have mutations in their NF1 gene. The scientists confirmed that these mice have learning problems by testing them in a Morris water maze, a common lab test of animal learning and memory. Through studying the brains of these mice, the team uncovered that the faulty gene inhibits neurons, by releasing excess of the neurotransmitter GABA. Silva hypothesized that GABA's influence on synapses, physical connections between neurons, accounted for the learning disabilities caused by neurofibromatosis. "Memory is stored in the brain by subtle changes in synapses," he says. "Recalling a memory is reactivating a specific set of synapses." But in NF1-mutated mice, says Silva, too much GABA is produced, synapses are not allowed to change, and learning is inhibited. © 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 12194 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Susan Milius They’re teenagers, and they’re off somewhere listening to music. Fortunately for Chris Templeton, these are song sparrows, so he can put radio transmitters on them to figure out where they go. He’s guessing—remember he’s working with birds—that the young song sparrows have slipped off to go to school. Or to wherever it is in the shrubbery that they find tutors and learn to sing. Lab studies show that song sparrows, and probably half of known bird species, have to learn the species-specific songs they need for communicating in romance or war. Birdsong, Templeton says, “is a really important model system for understanding how humans learn language.” The avian descendants of dinosaurs evolved their communication independently from people. So the aspects of learning that turned out the same, as well as those that turned out different, intrigue scientists studying the brain and language. Birds learn songs, but there’s no evidence that other birds teach them—at least not in the human sense of doing something special, such as singing extra slowly in front of the chicks. Young birds do seem to listen to adults, though, and somehow end up learning a song from certain grown-ups while ignoring others. A human might be tempted to conclude that finding the grown-up models would be easy, that a baby bird picks up the songs of its parent. Don’t bet on it, Templeton says. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2008

Keyword: Language; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 12193 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Storing memories in the brain is a physical process that requires some demolition and a lot of construction. Ground zero for this makeover is the synapse - a specialized junction that is the site of chemical chatter between neurons. When new memories are stored, synapses are rapidly reconfigured and rebuilt so neurons are equipped to respond more readily in the future. Researchers are now zeroing in on how single synapses change over time, and one of the key questions facing scientists is how the raw materials are transported to the “construction site” in a timely manner. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified the chief motor protein that hauls the building materials to their destinations in the synapse—just when they are needed. Researchers suspect that breakdowns in this transport process may contribute to deficits in learning and memory that accompany certain disorders, such Alzheimer's disease and addiction. Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Michael Ehlers and his colleagues at Duke University Medical Center published their findings in the October 31, 2008, issue of the journal Cell. Ehlers's group collaborated on the research with scientists at Brown University, the McLaughlin Research Institute in Montana, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. © 2008 Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 12192 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Tennis line judges are more likely to make mistakes when calling balls "out" rather than "in", say researchers. Californian scientists found that of 83 incorrect calls, 70 of the errors were wrong "out" calls. This was down to a time lag of a few hundred milliseconds between an image hitting the retina and the viewer processing it, the team said. This bias, revealed in Current Biology, could enable players to exploit the "challenge" system, they suggested. Decoding information about the position of objects is a complex task, as the brain has to allow not only for the movement of the object, but also for the movement of the eye relative to it. The result is a time lag of a few hundred milliseconds between an image hitting the retina and our becoming aware of it. If the object is moving fast, the brain produces an illusion that the object has moved slightly further than it actually has in order to overcome this lag. The team from the University of California, Davis, says, in tennis terms, this means a ball which bounces on the line could actually be perceived by the line judge or umpire as slightly further away and called "out" as a result. To test this, video clips of 4,000 random Wimbledon points were examined and any incorrect calls logged. If this "bias" did not exist scientists would have expected the number of balls wrongly called "out" to equal the number wrongly judged "in". In fact, of 83 calls, 70 of the errors were wrong "out" calls. (C)BBC

Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 12191 - Posted: 10.30.2008

Parasites may seem merely icky, but some of them have the Halloweenish capacity to take over your brain. Scientists have happened upon a number of neurological nuisances in the animal world, but the scariest of the lot is a tiny critter known as Toxoplasma gondii - which makes rodents, and perhaps even humans, go loco. Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky provided a status report on the fabled Toxoplasma and other brain snatchers this week on the university's Palo Alto campus, as part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science seminar. Over the past few years, neuroscientists have used brain imaging and other high-tech tools to track exactly how the one-celled Toxo organism does its nefarious deed. The parasite can reproduce only in cat feces - but once the next generation has been spawned, how does it get into another feline host? That's where zombie rodents play a role: When mice or rats consume the feces, as is their wont, the Toxo protozoans migrate to the brain - specifically, to the amygdala, which is the brain's switchboard for emotional response. There they form encapsulated cysts and proceed to manipulate the wiring of the rodent brain. Studies have shown that the Toxo genome contains what appear to be mammalian versions of two genes that are involved in the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is linked with the brain's reward system. "Toxo has evolved to take over the reward pathway," Sapolsky said. © 2008 msnbc.com

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 12190 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Jordan Lite Listen up, ladies: If you're looking to score, break out that red dress. Men were more eager to bed women wearing red than those decked out in other colors, according to five studies involving 149 men and 32 women published today in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The men also judged those women as more attractive than those sans red duds. "I'm not going to let my 16-year-old daughter wear red, let's put it that way," says study author Andrew Elliot, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. "I do think a female who's interested in a male and going on a date ought to pull that red shirt out of the closet, because most likely it will make her more attractive to him." There are two explanations for the phenomenon, says Elliot, a visiting professor at the University of Munich this semester. Society's emphasis on red on Valentine's Day as well as in sexy red lingerie may have taught men to link the color with romance, he says. There may also be an evolutionary explanation, based on humans' close genetic relationship with primates: Male primates tend to be especially attracted to female primates who show their red hindquarters, made rosy by increased blood flow when they're most fertile. © 1996-2008 Scientific American Inc.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 12189 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Joyce Gramza Nothing melts manly into mushy like fatherhood. Now a study of marmoset monkeys reveals how the mere scent of his baby turns dad from protector to parent, by ratcheting down levels of the male hormone testosterone. "We have found when they are smelling the infant scent they have hormonal changes which may make them more maternal-like, more interested in bonding with an infant, whereas when their testosterone goes up, they may be more ready to, say, defend their family," says lead researcher Toni Ziegler, a senior scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Testosterone is known for increasing muscle mass in males, and it also has behavioral effects, such as a tendency to make one more aggressive, which might be important if you need to protect your family," Ziegler explains. "It’s also very much involved in mating behavior, and increased testosterone occurs when males are mating, or interested in, or interacting with a female that may be ovulating." "You don’t normally think of someone that’s providing a lot of care for an infant to be aggressive or be interested in mating," she adds. "So this way, a father can respond with lower testosterone at a time when he’s interacting with his infant, but at times when he needs to be more protective of the family his testosterone is able to change and respond to the environment." ©2008 ScienCentral

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 12188 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Erika Check Hayden Genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease tells a cautionary tale about the legal, medical and ethical complications of personal genomics, as the story of a Pennsylvania company shows. Smart Genetics, based in Philadelphia, has stopped offering its controversial 'Alzheimer's Mirror' genetic test just eight months after introducing it. The test checked for variants in a gene, called APOE, that bestow as much as a 15-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimer's. Soon after launching the test, though, Smart Genetics chief executive Julian Awad found himself in a controversy over whether it violated intellectual-property agreements covering APOE testing. Smart Genetics' tests were performed by Athena Diagnostics, based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Athena had, in turn, licensed the patents from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where researcher Allen Roses discovered the APOE link to Alzheimer's in the early 1990s. Roses and Duke argue that Athena's licence covers APOE testing only in people who already have symptoms of dementia. "The test was never intended to be used for wholesale screening of non-cognitively impaired individuals," adds Alan Herosian, director of corporate alliances for Duke University. He says he has contacted Athena many times in recent months to press this point. © 2008 Nature Publishing Group

Keyword: Alzheimers; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 12187 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Linda Geddes TIREDNESS, depression and lack of libido all seem inevitable parts of male ageing, but what if an age-related lack of testosterone is at the root of all these symptoms? Increasingly, doctors say such an "andropause" exists and that its effects may go beyond feeling a bit tired - obesity and diabetes also appear to be linked. The good news is that testosterone supplements might help treat the problem. Though testosterone is sometimes prescribed for ageing men in Europe and the US, until recently even the existence of andropause was considered controversial. Treating it was seen by many as unnecessary and potentially harmful because of concerns that testosterone supplements could contribute to prostate cancer by driving the growth of cancerous cells. Now that attitude is starting to change. While many researchers and doctors still dislike the use of the word andropause - because it implies equivalence with menopause and yet does not affect all men - there is an acceptance that testosterone levels decline with age, resulting in testosterone deficiency - or late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) - in around 20 per cent of men over 65. "Age-related declines in testosterone are real," says Adrian Dobs of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. "If a man has signs of hypogonadism then treatment should be considered." Meanwhile, a handful of recent studies have linked low testosterone to the development of type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Other research indicates that some of the fears about testosterone supplements increasing the risk of prostate cancer may have been unfounded (See "Doesn't testosterone drive cancer?"). © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 12186 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Mitch Leslie Feeling relaxed? Thank your immune system. A new study suggests that mast cells, which lead the charge against microbial invaders, may also be responsible for tamping down anxiety. Mast cells have a split personality. They are often the first cells to attack foreign microbes, and they coordinate and control other immune cells. Yet they can also be traitors. Upon encountering pollen or dust, they release histamines and other chemicals that can trigger allergies and asthma. Mast cells may also incite or abet conditions as diverse as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autism, and migraines. Although researchers know the functions of many mast cells in the body, a subset that inhabits the brain has remained mysterious. To learn more about these cells, neuroscientist Rae Silver of Columbia University and colleagues subjected mice that lack mast cells to a series of behavioral tests. The researchers measured how much the animals moved around and gauged their responses to stimuli such as a puff of air, an odor, or loud sounds. The mice strayed from the rodent norm in only one way: they were particularly anxious. For instance, mice without mast cells hesitated more than 80 seconds longer than did control mice before stepping out into the open. Mast cell–deficient mice were also reluctant to explore unfamiliar sections of a maze, the team reports online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. © 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Emotions; Neuroimmunology
Link ID: 12185 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Tim Harford Is a stock market bubble a medical condition? You might well have thought so, had you taken a walk around a trading floor and looked at the behaviour of traders at the height of the dotcom bubble in 2000. "They were displaying classic symptoms of mania," says John Coates, recalling his time as the manager of a New York trading floor. "They were overconfident, they had racing thoughts, they had diminished need for sleep and heightened sexual appetite." But Dr Coates no longer works on Wall Street. He is now one of a small but growing number of "neuroeconomists" - researchers who study the brain, hormones and nervous system in search of an explanation of our behaviour as investors and shoppers. Neuroeconomics is a new discipline that fuses economics and neuroscience, and its practitioners are people who think that everyday phrases such as "impulse buy", "business brain" and "bull market" are more than just figures of speech. "A bull market" refers to a long period of rising share prices, but Dr Coates points out that traders behave uncannily like real bulls and other male animals. A rutting stag, for example, enjoys a testosterone surge if he beats off a sexual rival. More testosterone means more confidence and more risk-taking, which tends to lead to more victories and yet more testosterone. Eventually, the cycle comes to an end - often because confidence has turned into recklessness - and reverses itself. After taking a few saliva samples, Dr Coates has discovered not only that such hormone surges happen to human traders too, but also that they are correlated with risk-taking and short-term profitability. (C)BBC

Keyword: Emotions
Link ID: 12184 - Posted: 10.30.2008

By SAM WANG and JOSHUA GOLD AS we enter the final week of a seemingly endless election campaign, opinion polls continue to identify a substantial fraction of voters who consider themselves “undecided.” Although their numbers are dwindling, they could still determine the outcome of the race in some states. Comedians and other commentators have portrayed these people as fools, unable to choose even when confronted with the starkest of contrasts. Recent research in neuroscience and psychology, however, suggests that most undecided voters may be smarter than you think. They’re not indifferent or unable to make clear comparisons between the candidates. They may be more willing than others to take their time — or else just unaware that they have essentially already made a choice. Neuroscientists have begun to tease out the brain systems that make decisions. Even when it takes no more than a second, decision-making is thought to involve two parts, gathering evidence and committing to a choice. In tasks as simple as deciding whether a shifting pattern of dots is moving to the left or to the right, brain activity in the parietal cortex rises as evidence is gathered, eventually reaching a tipping point (though it’s not yet known which brain regions drive the final choice). Inherent to this process is a trade-off between speed and accuracy. Commit early and you can get on with your life. Take more time and you might make a wiser or more accurate decision. Since a commitment to John McCain or Barack Obama is not required until Nov. 4, for the greatest accuracy, one should gather evidence until that date. So then why aren’t there even more undecided voters? Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Emotions
Link ID: 12183 - Posted: 06.24.2010