By Tracy Staedter, Discovery News — An innovative alarm clock guaranteed never to rouse you from that perfect dream could be available by 2006. The new Sleepsmart uses wireless and brainwave monitoring technology to track your sleep cycle and wake you during a light phase. "The science is quite good," said Jim Anderson, professor of cognitive and linguistic science at Brown University in Providence, R.I. The current prototype consists of a clock and a thin, lightweight headband that a person slips on before slipping under the covers. While the person rests, electrodes imbedded in the headband monitor brainwave activity and collect the information in a tiny microprocessor. Wireless technology in the headband communicates with a nearby clock that has already been programmed to go off at a specified time. During sleep, the brain cycles through various stages of sleep about every 90 minutes. The headband keeps track of those light, deep and REM states and will wake a person during the lightest phase, no more than 20 minutes before the alarm goes off. Copyright © 2005 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Sleep; Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 7269 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Roxanne Khamsi The mere thought of beer or wine can influence your sex drive, according to a study of undergraduates. Alcohol has long been known to have a number of effects on dating behaviour: some good, some bad. Enough booze can wipe away inhibitions and act as an aphrodisiac, or it can dampen sexual performance. It can even produce what are jokingly called 'beer goggles', which mean you judge people as more attractive when you are drunk. But scientists now say that whatever effect someone expects from alcohol can be produced by simple exposure to flashes of alcohol-related words on a computer screen. Ronald Friedman, a psychologist at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and his colleagues tested the idea on 82 male undergraduate students. The researchers first questioned the men about how they felt alcohol affected their libido, and then presented them with rapidly flashing words and jumbled letters on a computer screen. One group was exposed to cue words that suggested alcohol, including beer, whisky, martini and malt; the other, control group was exposed to words such as smoothie, espresso and ice. ©2005 Nature Publishing Group

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 7268 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have uncovered a clue about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease, one of the disease's symptoms, by showing that mice susceptible to Huntington's disease have problems with learning and memory before the diseases' typical movement problems appear. The Florey scientists also discovered that in Huntington's diseased brains, information processing between neurons is disrupted, but the neurons do not die, which means the brain may respond to new anti-dementia drugs that can restore memory. Huntington's disease is an incurable, inherited disorder of the nervous system that affects specific brain regions and inevitably leads to death. Symptoms range from disrupted control of movements and thought processes, and emotional problems. These include: jerky arm or leg movements; difficulties with speech, swallowing, concentration, memory and learning; and depression and personality changes. Huntington's disease is caused by a mutation in a single gene. When this defective gene is passed from parent to child, 50 percent of the offspring will inherit the disorder, which can be detected by genetic testing. Research leader Dr Anthony Hannan said his team's investigations were significant as they could lead to the development of memory restoring drugs designed especially for people with Huntington's disease.

Keyword: Huntingtons
Link ID: 7267 - Posted: 04.28.2005

What is "normal" when it comes to brains, behavior, and emotional life? Some things, like hallucinations or debilitating melancholy, are clearly diagnosable. But what about "caffeine intoxication" --characterized by insomnia, muscle twitching, nervousness, perhaps even rambling thoughts after more than two to three cups of joe? Or how about premenstrual irritability? Since 1952, the American Psychiatric Association has published what over time became the complicated, much-criticized, often satirized, but endlessly utilized diagnostic arbiter of "normal" in the world of mental health. While the first two editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders did not make much of an impression, when DSM-III was published in 1980, it transformed the landscape of mental health--for good and ill. The slender paperback manual of 1952 ballooned to 943 pages in 2000 with the revised version of DSM-IV, cataloging more than 350 mental disorders. Practitioners celebrated the standardization of emotional disorders. Critics, however, were appalled at the oversimplification, lack of nuance, and arbitrariness being imposed on the infinite varieties of human behavior gone awry. Not to mention the way that the DSM seemed to pathologize what in many cases could reasonably be seen as simple quirks of normal human behavior, like getting jittery after too much coffee. Copyright © 2005 U.S.News & World Report,

Keyword: Emotions; Depression
Link ID: 7266 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Millions of people around the world live in a blurry or darkened world as a result of eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa, which cause damage to the retina at the back of the eye. Normally, when light rays or images are focused by the lens of the eye onto the retina, light-sensitive cells called "rods" and "cones" convert the light into electrical impulses that travel to the brain and are interpreted as images of the world around us. "[The retina] actually does some of the image processing, and then sends this information to the brain, and so we see," explains Mark Humayun, Professor of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine and Associate Director of Research at the Doheny Retina Institute, both part of the University of Southern California. Now, Humayun, in collaboration with several national research centers and the U.S. Department of Energy, is developing a type of artificial retina that he hopes could restore some degree of sight to people blinded by the degeneration of retinal cells. "Once the vision is lost and patients can't see there are very few therapies, if any, that can help restore their lost vision," says Humayun. "And really it's the restoration of lost vision that is the goal of this retinal implant." (C) ScienCentral, 2000-2005

Keyword: Vision; Robotics
Link ID: 7265 - Posted: 04.28.2005

PORTLAND, Ore. – When it comes to her health, Janice Winfield of Portland, Ore., does her research. That's why the stay-at-home mom, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in July 2000, was willing to turn to popular, over-the-counter herbal supplements like ginkgo biloba to deal with memory problems, fatigue and occasional muscle pain. "I'm definitely interested in alternative medicine," said Winfield, 49, whose form of the neurological disease – relapsing-remitting MS – is characterized by frequent symptom flare-ups. Ginkgo "is not only given to someone like me with MS. There's benefit to anyone taking it." Findings by scientists in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine's Department of Neurology and the OHSU MS Center of Oregon appear to back up that claim. A study presented this month at the American Academy of Neurology's 57th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., suggests that ginkgo may be effective in improving attention in MS patients with cognitive impairment. Side effects also were minimal. The study's lead author, Jesus Lovera, M.D., a research fellow and instructor in neurology, OHSU School of Medicine, said those receiving ginkgo "performed better on a test that measures a person's ability to pay attention and to sort conflicting information."

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 7264 - Posted: 06.24.2010

YOU'VE had a blow to the head, but how do you know whether you are concussed or not? The answer could be a matter of life or death, yet it takes hours of testing by professionals to know for sure. Now a virtual-reality headset is being developed that can diagnose the extent of a head injury within minutes. Non-medical personnel will use it to quickly gauge the extent of brain damage, and the system works in noisy emergency rooms, on the battlefield or at the side of a sports field. It can also pick up early signs for dementia. For someone suffering even mild concussion, a second blow to the head can be fatal or lead to permanent disability. "Yet detailed neuropsychological assessment in an emergency room or on the football field is impossible to accomplish," says Jeffrey Lewine at the Hoglund Brain Imaging Center at the University of Kansas. That is where a VR device called DETECT comes in. The name stands for "display enhanced testing for concussion and mild traumatic brain injury", a portable diagnostic tool being developed by biomedical engineer Michelle LaPlaca at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and David Wright, assistant director of the Emergency Medicine Research Center at nearby Emory University. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 7263 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Some mutant flies can get by on 30% less sleep than their normal counterparts, thanks to a single mutation in one gene. The finding is important because it suggests the amount of sleep needed may be largely controlled by one gene, which may shed light on human sleep needs, says Chiara Cirelli at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US. “This isn’t some obscure fly gene - there’s a homologue in mammals and humans.” Surprisingly, sleep in the common fruit fly - Drosophila melanogaster - has many similarities with mammalian sleep, including sleep-deprivation leading to impaired performance. Cirelli’s group has been painstakingly testing how mutations on each of 14,000 fly genes might affect slumber. They discovered that flies with one particular gene variant, dubbed “minisleep”, needed only 3 or 4 hours’ rest per day, compared to 10 to 12 hours for a normal fly. Yet, despite the lack of sleep, “minisleepers” showed no signs of impairment. They also coped better with sleep deprivation - the escape responses of minisleepers remained almost as quick after 24 hours without sleep, while the responses of normal flies flagged. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Sleep; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 7262 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR THE FACTS Is it safe to use deodorant again? About 20 years ago, scientists noticed that the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease had high levels of aluminum, leading many people to discard their pots and pans and shun almost anything that contained the metal - including antiperspirants. Today, the rumor lives on, but studies have found that there is probably no reason to sweat it. While no one disputes that aluminum can be toxic, the metal is so ubiquitous that some exposure is inevitable, and many scientists doubt that the trace amounts in antiperspirants pose any danger. Of all the studies that examined the rumor, at least one, in 1990, suggested a possible link. But the study, which compared the habits of 130 patients with the disease to those of a group of healthy subjects, had a serious flaw: It relied on surrogates to answer for the Alzheimer's patients. More rigorous studies have challenged the aluminum hypothesis. The most recent, published in 2002, followed 4,615 people for several years and found no increased risk of the disease in people who used antiperspirants or antacids, another common source of the metal. Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 7261 - Posted: 04.27.2005

By ANDREW POLLACK Two participants in a discontinued clinical drug trial have sued Amgen, demanding that it resume giving them an experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease that they say helped them immensely but that the company says is ineffective and potentially dangerous. In their lawsuit, filed yesterday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the plaintiffs say Amgen "treated the patients as mere guinea pigs, as material to be discarded," and had violated a legal and moral obligation to continue to supply the drug. A spokeswoman for Amgen said that the company had only started to review the complaint but typically would not comment on litigation. The lawsuit is the latest step in a conflict that has raised questions about the obligations of drug companies to participants in clinical trials. Last year, Amgen said that a clinical trial showed that the drug - glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, or G.D.N.F. - was not significantly better than a placebo. It also said that some monkeys given high doses had developed brain damage. So Amgen stopped giving the drug to about four dozen people in the trials. Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 7260 - Posted: 04.27.2005

THE SINGULARITY: In futurology, a technological singularity is a predicted point in the development of a civilisation at which technological progress accelerates beyond the ability of present-day humans to fully comprehend or predict. The singularity can more specifically refer to the advent of smarter-than-human intelligence, and the cascading technological progress assumed to follow. Wikipedia - the online encyclopedia CLEVER computers are everywhere. From robotic lawnmowers to intelligent lighting, washing machines and even car engines that self-diagnose faults, there's a silicon brain in just about every modern device you can think of. But can you honestly call any machine intelligent in a meaningful sense of the word? One rainy afternoon last February I decided to find out. I switched on the computer in my study, and logged on to www.intellibuddy.com, home to one of the leading artificial intelligences on the planet, to see what the state-of-the-art has to offer. Intellibuddy: Hi, I'm Intellibuddy! Nice to meet you. JM: I'm writing an article about artificial intelligence. Intellibuddy: Will you include me in your essay? JM: I will if you can persuade me you really are intelligent. Intellibuddy: Would you recommend this action to a friend? © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Intelligence; Robotics
Link ID: 7259 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Researchers have long known that mercury increases mortality and decreases fertility in fish, but the underlying metabolic processes are still unknown. New research posted on the ES&T Research ASAP website (es0483490) helps uncover some of the mystery by examining which genes respond when fish are fed methylmercury (MeHg). Although multiple genes turn on in the muscle and liver to help store and detoxify the metal, the brain appears unresponsive and accumulates high levels of mercury. This leads researchers to believe that neural tissue might be unable to defend itself against this toxic compound. The brains of zebrafish fail to mount a defense against methylmercury. "It was a big surprise when we found that genes in the neural system were not responding," says study author Jean-Paul Bourdineaud, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Bordeaux (France). Previous research has shown that mercury can cause lesions in the brain, and a recent study found that MeHg can decrease the density of neurotransmitters in otters that consume diets heavy in fish contaminated with MeHg. (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39, 218A) The zebra fish in the study were fed diets that contain MeHg at concentrations similar to those found in wild fish (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002, 36, 877–883). Thirteen different genes were then tested in liver, muscle, and brain tissue. These genes encode for proteins known to be involved in different functions such as antioxidant defense, metal chelation, DNA repair, and cell death. "Testing this range of genes gives us a toxicological survey of mercury's effects," says Bourdineaud. Copyright © 2005 American Chemical Society

Keyword: Neurotoxins
Link ID: 7258 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Moderate alcohol consumption over a relatively long period of time can enhance the formation of new nerve cells in the adult brain. The new cells could prove important in the development of alcohol dependency and other long-term effects of alcohol on the brain. The findings are published by Karolinska Institutet. The study, which was carried out on mice, examined alcohol consumption corresponding to that found in normal social situations. The results show that moderate drinking enhances the formation of new cells in the adult brain. The cells survive and develop into nerve cells in the normal manner. No increase in neuronal atrophy, however, could be demonstrated. It is generally accepted these days that new nerve cells are continually being formed in the adult brain. One suggestion is that these new neurons could be important for memory and learning. The number of new cells formed is governed by a number of factors such as stress, depression, physical activity and antidepressants. “We believe that the increased production of new nerve cells during moderate alcohol consumption can be important for the development of alcohol addiction and other long-term effects of alcohol on the brain,” says associate professor Stefan Brené. “It is also possible that it is the ataractic effect of moderate alcohol consumption that leads to the formation of new brain cells, much in the same way as with antidepressive drugs.” © Karolinska Institutet,

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Neurogenesis
Link ID: 7257 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Physical activity appears to inhibit Alzheimer's-like brain changes in mice, slowing the development of a key feature of the disease, according to a new study. The research demonstrated that long-term physical activity enhanced the learning ability of mice and decreased the level of plaque-forming beta-amyloid protein fragments--a hallmark characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD)--in their brains. A number of population-based studies suggest that lifestyle interventions may help to slow the onset and progression of AD. Because of these studies, scientists are seeking to find out if and how physically or cognitively stimulating activity might delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, scientists have now shown in an animal model system that one simple behavioral intervention--exercise--could delay, or even prevent, development of AD-like pathology by decreasing beta-amyloid levels. Results of this study, conducted by Paul A. Adlard, Ph.D., Carl W. Cotman, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, are published in the April 27, 2005, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The research was funded in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additional funding was provided by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 7256 - Posted: 04.27.2005

Advertising drugs directly to patients has a “profound effect” on the way doctors prescribe, finds a new study in which actors posed as patients. Drug companies have poured billions of dollars into direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising in the US since the rules governing mass media advertising for prescription drugs were relaxed in 1997. Other countries - such as the UK, for example - do not permit advertising directly to patients. But critics charge that DTC advertising can lead to over-prescribing which might be potentially harmful, while proponents say that giving patients knowledge about drugs can avert the under-use of effective treatments. Now a study by US researchers shows that actors consulting doctors and mentioning a particular antidepressant drug advertised on television are much more likely to get that prescription than if they do not request any medication. “Our study supplies direct experimental evidence that DTC advertisement-driven requests, along with general requests, dramatically boost prescribing,” writes the team, led by Richard Kravitz at the University of California, Davis, US. The researchers acknowledge that these requests can prevent the initial under-treatment of major depression. “But DTC advertising is a two-edged sword, driving requests that seem to be especially effective at encouraging prescribing when drugs may not be needed,” Kravitz told New Scientist. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 7255 - Posted: 06.24.2010

US scientists believe they could use brain stem cells to cure diabetes. Although the work is not yet ready to be tested on human patients, results in animals have been promising, say the Stanford University researchers. They were able to coax the immature brain cells to develop into the insulin-producing islet cells that are lacking in diabetes. Eventually, these could be used for curative transplants, the scientists told the journal PLoS Medicine. Scientists have already been looking at using stem cells taken from embryos to treat diabetes. These are primitive "master" cells that can be programmed to become many kinds of tissue. However, there have been concerns that these cells can turn cancerous, are difficult to work with in the laboratory and raise ethical dilemmas. Dr Seung Kim and colleagues looked at whether adult stem cells taken from the brain might work just as well and avoid some of these issues. Dr Kim said: "When you look at islet cells you realise that they resemble neurons." In some insects, such as fruit flies, the cells that produce insulin and regulate blood sugar are also neurons. (C)BBC

Keyword: Stem Cells; Obesity
Link ID: 7254 - Posted: 04.26.2005

By CHARLES BARBER It often occurs to me, having spent most of the last decade working in shelters for the homeless mentally ill, that I am not where I am supposed to be. I went to all the right schools - Andover, Harvard, Columbia - and was on the fast track for a far more bourgeois and lucrative career, like being a doctor or lawyer. Instead, I spend my days counseling people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression in dingy shelters. My clients tell me harrowing stories of AIDS and heroin, of crack and methadone and sexual abuse, of the voices that plague them. When I read in my college alumni magazine about the activities of my classmates (the second and third houses, the six-figure donations), I often feel a brief pang of regret about my vocational choice. But it quickly dissipates. The truth is, I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. When I was a freshman at Harvard, I was quite suddenly overwhelmed by a steady assault of unwanted, irrational and deeply painful thoughts and ideas. While I'd had brief previews of such mental compulsions as a child and adolescent - having to wear a red shirt to school the next day or horrible things would happen, for example - I had always been able to push them aside. Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Keyword: OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 7253 - Posted: 04.26.2005

Using underwater field observations in conjunction with behavioral experiments, researchers have discovered that a small crustacean, the yellow-beaked cleaner shrimp, performs a specialized dance that affects the behavior of large, predatory client fish. This signaling represents shrimp-to-fish communication that allows both hungry cleaner shrimp and parasite-laden client fish to benefit from a non-predatory, "cleaning" interaction. The cleaner-client relationship between the shrimp and the fish fulfills many criteria of an economic market, and in this context the shrimp's signals essentially represent "advertising." The work is reported by Justine Becker and colleagues at the University of Queensland. When unrelated animals cooperate, signals may be used by individuals to avoid potential conflicts. For example, during animal cleaning interactions, which involve a cleaner that removes parasites and other material from the body surfaces of cooperating individuals (known as clients), conflict may arise over the timing and duration of an interaction, over what the cleaner should feed on, or even over the temptation of some clients to eat the cleaner. Marine cleaning interactions are well known for highly stereotyped behaviors that most likely serve as signals.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 7252 - Posted: 04.26.2005

12-year-old Nathan Van Vleck of Pittsford died after a nearly lifelong fight with an exceedingly rare inherited disease known as vanishing white matter (VWM) disease. As Nathan's illness progressed, the family discussed how it might help other families and patients coping with VWM, and the family decided to allow the study of some of Nathan's brain cells for research purposes. Immediately upon his death in the hospital, a team of neuropathologists and neurobiologists worked through the night to isolate some of Nathan's brain cells, which were then grown and studied in the laboratory. The outcome was an unprecedented in-depth look at the brain cells of a VWM patient. The investigation not only yielded important knowledge about how the disease affects the brain, but it also marks one of the first times that scientists have been able to isolate neural stem cells from a patient and use them to learn what is going wrong in the brain of a patient with a complex neurological disease. The team of scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center reported its results in the March issue of the prestigious research journal Nature Medicine. VWM targets cells that make up part of the brain's white matter, turning the normally strong and durable substance into a yellowish, gelatin-like material. While we hear a great deal about the importance of our "gray matter," a term that refers to crucial brain cells known as neurons, the brain's white matter is also vital to our health. Our white matter is mostly made up of glial cells that insulate the connections between neurons. In VWM, as the white matter gradually disappears, a child typically has trouble talking and walking. As the disease progresses over several years the child has seizures, goes into a coma and often dies before reaching teen-age years. Currently there is no treatment.

Keyword: Stem Cells; Glia
Link ID: 7251 - Posted: 04.26.2005

A natural, non-toxic byproduct of glucose may prevent brain cell death and cognitive impairment in diabetics following an episode of severely low blood sugar, according to researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC). In research studies with rats, senior investigator Raymond A. Swanson, MD, and lead author Sang Won Suh, PhD, demonstrated the effectiveness of pyruvate, a naturally-occurring byproduct of glucose, when administered along with glucose after 30 minutes of diabetic coma. The therapy prevented brain damage and subsequent memory and learning impairment far better than treatment with glucose alone. The study findings, appearing in the May 1, 2005 issue of Diabetes, have direct implications for the treatment of diabetic patients in hypoglycemic coma, according to the researchers. Glucose is a form of sugar that serves as the body's primary fuel. People with diabetes lack the ability to make insulin, the primary enzyme that metabolizes glucose and regulates its levels in the blood, and must inject insulin to make up for this lack. Abnormally low blood glucose is called hypoglycemia; severe hypoglycemia can cause coma. "It's estimated that between 2 and 15 percent of people with diabetes will have at least one episode of diabetic coma resulting from severe hypoglycemia," says Swanson, chief of the Neurology and Rehabilitation Service at SFVAMC and professor of neurology at UCSF.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 7250 - Posted: 04.26.2005