By NICHOLAS WADE Once upon a time, there were very few human languages and perhaps only one, and if so, all of the 6,000 or so languages spoken round the world today must be descended from it. If that family tree of human language could be reconstructed and its branching points dated, a wonderful new window would be opened onto the human past. Yet in the view of many historical linguists, the chances of drawing up such a tree are virtually nil and those who suppose otherwise are chasing a tiresome delusion. Languages change so fast, the linguists point out, that their genealogies can be traced back only a few thousand years at best before the signal dissolves completely into noise: witness how hard Chaucer is to read just 600 years later. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 5138 - Posted: 03.16.2004

By SUSAN GILBERT For centuries, doctors have recognized women's vulnerability to depression and proposed a variety of explanations. The female of the species, with her "excitable nervous system," was thought to wilt under the strain of menstruation and childbirth, or later, the pressures of work and family. But researchers are now constructing more scientific theories to explain why women are nearly twice as likely as men to become depressed. Social bias and women's higher rates of physical and sexual abuse and poverty, experts say, clearly play a role. But scientists are also studying genes that may predispose girls and women to the disorder. They are examining the likely role of estrogen and even linking the development of clinical depression to negative thinking, which is more common in women than in men. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 5137 - Posted: 03.16.2004

PHILADELPHIA – While it might not seem so the next time you go searching for your car keys, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that memories are not as fluid as current research suggests. Their findings challenge the prevailing notion on how memories are stored and remembered – or that a recalled memory could be altered or lost as it is "re-remembered." "Current theories of memory state that the act of remembering turns a stored memory into something malleable that then needs to be re-encoded," said K. Matthew Lattal, a postdoctoral researcher in Penn's Department of Biology and a co-author of the study. "We show that the act of retrieving an old memory and then putting it back into storage is a different process than creating a memory in the first place. Unfortunately, it could mean that 'erasing' traumatic memories is not as simple as one might hope." The study will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and will be available on the Internet this week in the PNAS Online Early Edition. Previous studies in rodents had shown that the process of encoding a memory could be blocked by the use of a protein synthesis inhibitor called anisomycin. Experiments with anisomycin helped lead to the acceptance of a theory in which a learned behavior is consolidated into a stored form and that then enters a 'labile' – or adaptable – state when it is recalled. According to these previous studies, the act of putting a labile memory back into storage involves a reconsolidation process identical to the one used to store the memory initially. Indeed, experiments showed that anisomycin could make a mouse forget a memory if it were given anisomycin directly after remembering an event.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 5136 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The emotion control center of the brain, the amygdala, shows significantly higher levels of activation in males viewing sexual visual stimuli than females viewing the same images, according to a Center for Behavioral Neuroscience study led by Emory University psychologists Stephan Hamann and Kim Wallen. The finding, which appears in the April edition of "Nature Neuroscience," demonstrates how men and women process visual sexual stimuli differently, and it may explain gender variations in reproductive behavior. The study adds to a growing body of research in animals and humans that indicates the amygdala plays a central role in male sexual behavior, Hamann says. "This study helps us get closer to understanding the fundamental functions of this area of the brain," Hamann says. In addition to adding to basic neuroscience knowledge, the findings potentially could have applications that could help scientists develop therapeutic measures to help people overcome sexual addictions and other dysfunctions, he says.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Vision
Link ID: 5135 - Posted: 03.16.2004

Essential for normal central nervous system function, dopamine signaling mediates physiological functions as diverse as movement and lactation. The dopamine transporter (DAT) is involved in terminating dopamine signaling by removing the dopamine chemical messenger molecules from nerve synapses and returning them into the releasing neurons (a process called reuptake). DAT can also bind amphetamine, cocaine, and other psychostimulants, which inhibit dopamine reuptake, and, in the case of amphetamine, also stimulate the release of dopamine through DAT. It is thought that abnormal concentrations of dopamine in synapses initiate a series of events that cause the behavioral effects of these drugs. The biochemical steps underlying amphetamine-induced dopamine release, however, are not well characterized. Now, a team led by Jonathan Javitch and Aurelio Galli has identified a chemical modification of DAT that is essential for DAT-mediated dopamine release in the presence of amphetamine. Since this modification does not inhibit the ability of DAT to accumulate dopamine, it may suggest a molecular target for treating drug addiction.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 5134 - Posted: 03.16.2004

Industry, Environmentalists Argue Over How and When to Remove Toxic Metal By Guy Gugliotta WILSONVILLE, Ala. -- Larry Monroe pointed to a set of eight manhole cover-size plates mounted on the exhaust vent to limit mercury emissions from Gaston 3, a coal-burning power plant that feeds electricity to a half-dozen southern states. Gaston 3 and plants like it, the backbone of the U.S. power industry, are the focus of a furious debate over mercury pollution -- how much and how fast the nation should move to regulate a toxic metal capable of causing severe neurological damage, especially to fetuses and young children. Each of the plates at Gaston 3 houses an injector that squirts activated carbon dust into Gaston 3's flue gas. Particles of mercury cling to the carbon, which is then trapped by filters and discarded as toxic waste. © 2004 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Neurotoxins; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 5133 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Carla Spartos oday is different: You're speaking to a psychiatrist—not in a sterile, fluorescent-lit hospital, but in a residential office on a peaceful, tree-lined street. You suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and you've talked for hours in this very room, but always skipping the violent chapter that keeps you up at night, giving you flashbacks and causing you to feel estranged from your loved ones. Now an emergency room doctor and nurse are stationed inside the house. You've brought an overnight bag. Today, you've been given 125 milligrams of Ecstasy, and maybe, just maybe, you'll finally be able to face your demons. On February 24, the DEA issued Dr. Michael Mithoefer a Schedule I license to legally obtain Ecstasy for a study of its potential therapeutic effects in the treatment of PTSD. Researchers hope that the drug, which melts anxiety, will help PTSD patients talk openly about the experiences that scarred them. It is the first study of Ecstasy-enhanced psychotherapy ever green-lighted in the United States, one that's been in the making for almost two decades. "There's been so much struggle over this approval process," says Rick Doblin, director of MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, the organization sponsoring the research. Doblin's group stands to create a new landscape for Ecstasy, which has been at the center of the nation's war on drugs. The old one—with its hidden agendas, career-obsessed scientists, powerful patrons, and switched pills—has only recently been scorched. It all began in September, when the journal Science published a retraction from a group of Johns Hopkins scientists who'd discovered that a bottle they thought contained Ecstasy was in fact filled with methamphetamine, commonly known as speed. The mix-up corrupted the results of a study, published in Science in September 2002, which found that a single, recreational dose of Ecstasy was so damaging it could lead to Parkinson's disease. Another study, published in the European Journal of Pharmacology, would also be recalled. Copyright © 2004 Village Voice Media, Inc.,

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 5132 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Erik Baard When the physicians come to me,/ My heart rejects their remedies;/ The magicians are quite helpless,/ My sickness is not discerned./ To tell me “She is here” would revive me! If this Ancient Egyptian poem is any guide, lovesickness has been with us for more than 3,000 years. But psychiatrists may be unintentionally “curing” us of that experience and other aspects of romantic love with modern antidepressant medications. So argue the anthropologist Helen Fisher, and the psychiatrist James Thomson Jr. Their case, sketched out in Fisher’s recent book, Why We Love (Henry Holt, £13.22), centres on how certain antidepressants could be blocking chemical pathways in the brain that were paved by evolution to help us meet and keep mates. Copyright 2004 Times Newspapers Ltd.

Keyword: Depression; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 5131 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Tired? Got the blues? Maybe testosterone can help. Or not. By Nancy Shute When Joe Marcklinger hit his 50s, he found himself feeling tired and blue--way too often. He tried taking antidepressants but had a hard time accepting one of the drugs' most common side effects--sexual dysfunction. Then Marcklinger's wife, Maureen, a psychiatric nurse, heard about research using the male sex hormone testosterone to treat depression. She urged her husband to check it out. "Within a few days I started feeling mentally better," says Marcklinger, 57. "I started feeling more energy." He now finds it easier clambering over fences while on the job with his surveying business in Sudbury, Mass., and has better muscle tone. "You know how older guys look weak? I'm not like that." Things are better in the bedroom, too. In the past few years, the number of men taking supplements of the male sex hormone testosterone has soared, fueled by baby boomers feeling the slights of middle age. The market has also been boosted by the availability of skin gels that are much easier to use than the unpleasant injections or dangerous pills of years past. The number of men taking "testosterone replacement therapy" increased 29 percent from 2001 to 2002, when nearly 2 million prescriptions were written, and the Internet is awash with ads selling the sex hormone--despite the fact that testosterone is available only by prescription. The Web site for AndroGel, one of the leading treatments, shows the needle of a gas gauge drooping at Empty. "Fatigued? Depressed mood? Low sex drive?" the site asks. With "testosterone restored," the needle leaps to "Full." Risks. Only one problem: There's no clear proof that testosterone replacement therapy combats fatigue, depression, or low sex drive in healthy men. In fact, there's little proof of either the benefits or the risks of supplemental testosterone, because no large, long-term studies have been done. Although there are intriguing hints that testosterone may reduce age-related bone and muscle loss, there are also ominous suggestions that extra testosterone could be life threatening. The No. 1 concern: prostate cancer. Copyright © 2004 U.S. News & World Report,

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Depression
Link ID: 5130 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Many people know about the dangers of prenatal alcohol exposure, particularly the damaging effects that heavy drinking can cause to a child's cognitive development. A study published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that even light to moderate drinking during pregnancy may interfere with learning and memory during adolescence. "We have known for a long time that drinking heavily during pregnancy could lead to major impairments in growth, behavior, and cognitive function in children," said Jennifer Willford, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the study's first author. "This paper clearly shows that even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can have a significant impact on child development." "Learning and memory are cornerstones for success in school and in everyday life," added Sarah Mattson, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and associate director of the Center for Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State University. "Disruption of the ability to learn and remember new information jeopardizes the job of children, that is, to go to school. The inability to learn new information in the verbal or nonverbal domain will interfere with a child's ability to achieve alongside his or her peers."

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 5129 - Posted: 03.15.2004

Whether depression is linked to having an under-active thyroid gland has been debated for many years. Research published in BMC Psychiatry this week suggests that some patients with depression may be suffering from a subtle autoimmune thyroid condition, which could hinder their recovery. The study also suggests that physicians could use indicators of thyroid function to predict patients' responsiveness to antidepressants. As inpatients with depression often undergo routine thyroid tests, the data that physicians would need to create such a prediction are likely to be available to them already. Researchers from Greece studied 30 patients suffering from major depression, and 60 healthy people as controls. Each patient was examined by two psychiatric experts, who assessed their condition during a structured interview. The researchers then tested the thyroid function of all the volunteers.

Keyword: Depression; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 5128 - Posted: 03.15.2004

Companies are starting to turn to powerful brain-scan technology in order to figure out how we choose which products to purchase By Clint Witchalls Newsweek International - The woman lying in the huge, doughnut-shaped magnet having her brain scanned is perfectly healthy. Radiologists at the Neurosense clinic in south London aren't looking for lesions or lumps. Instead, they've set up a periscope that allows her to view a series of videotaped advertisements. She doesn't have to do anything but watch—and perhaps daydream about whether a particular brand of chocolate seems yummy, or what it would be like to drive that new family sedan. While she's thinking, the doctors are looking to see if certain brain circuits are active and, if so, how excited they get. Her experience could foretell the future of marketing. Sellers have always expended a great deal of time and energy trying to figure out what potential buyers really think (as opposed to what they say when you ask them). Now, using powerful brain-scan technology, they can do so scientifically. Ford of Europe uses such "neuromarketing" techniques to better understand how consumers make emotional connections with their brands. DaimlerChrysler has funded several research projects at the University of Ulm in Germany, using brain-imaging technology to decode which purchasing choices go into buying a car. Firms like Oxford-based Neurosense have sprung up to make neuromarketing a bona fide business tool. "The 1990s were declared 'the Decade of the Brain'," says Justine Meaux, a neuroscientist and marketing strategist at BrightHouse, an Atlanta, Georgia-based neuromarketing company. "We learned more about neuroscience in those 10 years than in the entire history that preceded them. I think business neuroscience is just one more field of inquiry." © 2004 MSNBC.com

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 5127 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Paradoxically, a single MHC class II allele, HLA-DQ0602, confers susceptibility to narcolepsy but prevents development of type I diabetes. Clinical immunologist Lars Fugger and structural biologist Yvonne Jones, both at Oxford University, have compared the crystal structure of the allele with those of two similar MHC molecules that respectively predispose to type 1 diabetes and protect against narcolepsy.1 They have identified unique features of several pockets within the peptide-binding groove of HLA-DQ0602 that could explain the contradiction through differential influences on T-cell stimulation. In particular, says Fugger, the extra large P4 pocket selectively accommodates a candidate auto-antigenic peptide that might stimulate autoreactive T cells in narcolepsy, a potential autoimmune disorder. For diabetes, the unusual stability of the P9 pocket could promote development of regulatory T cells able to actively suppress disease-causing T cells. "In many ways," he adds, "I would say that narcolepsy and diabetes could be mirrors of each other." © 2004, The Scientist LLC,

Keyword: Narcolepsy
Link ID: 5126 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NewScientist.com news service Taking a nutrient called choline during pregnancy could "super-charge" children's brains for life, suggests a study in rats. Offspring born to pregnant rats given the supplement were known to be faster learners with better memories. But the new work, by Scott Swartzwelder and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, US, shows this is due to having bigger brain cells in vital areas. Choline, a member of the vitamin B family, is found in egg yolks, liver and other meats - "exactly the kind of things people were told not to eat" due to their high cholesterol content, says Swartzwelder. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 5125 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Bruce Bower Researchers have traditionally theorized that the frontal cortex, a brain region linked to mental faculties such as planning and reasoning, expanded to an unprecedented extent during human evolution. However, a new analysis of brains from many different mammals takes the uniqueness out of our frontal cortex. Lemurs, gibbons, chimpanzees, and other primates have roughly the same proportion of brain tissue devoted to the frontal cortex as people do, say Eliot C. Bush and John M. Allman of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Lions, hyenas, and other carnivores display a substantially smaller frontal cortex relative to the rest of the brain. "People aren't special in regard to frontal-brain size," Bush says, "but there appear to be important differences between primates and carnivores in the way the frontal cortex is put together." Copyright ©2004 Science Service.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 5124 - Posted: 06.24.2010

COLLEGE STATION, - Ranjita Misra really hates having to give parents something new to worry about, but the Texas A&M University health researcher says parents -- especially minority parents -- now need to be concerned about Type 2 or adult-onset diabetes. "Childhood obesity and diabetes is a very new area. We did not have this problem a few years ago. Consequently, patients, health providers and family members are at a loss as to how to deal with the situation," Misra notes. Both diabetes and obesity among children has reached epidemic proportions as the fast-food restaurants are geared mostly to children and families. However, in recent days, the fast-food industry has made headlines by modifying their menus to be healthier. One example of the problem she cites is from a colleague who reported the case of an obese five-year-old diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, a disease that previously had a typical age of onset in the early 40s.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 5123 - Posted: 03.13.2004

Brain scientists think they have produced new evidence that supports the idea that men are more likely than women to get sexually aroused by visual images. Stephan Hamann of Emory University in Atlanta and colleagues did brain scans on 14 men and women in their twenties as they watched a series of sexual and nonsexual images. The sexual images caused much more activity in two regions of the men's brains than in the same areas of the women's brains, particularly in the amygdala, a primitive area that plays a key role in regulating emotions. The heightened brain activity occurred even though the women said they were more aroused by the sexual images than the men did. © 2004 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Vision
Link ID: 5122 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By CLAUDIA FELDMAN, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle A local researcher has advanced the search for cures for central nervous system injuries by using a naturally occurring substance produced in the body to eliminate scar formation and promote nerve regeneration. "It's major," says Stephen Davies, who hopes the seeds of his research one day will help patients with paralysis and head injuries. Davies' work with rats and the anti-scarring agent called decorin was published earlier this week in the European Journal of Neuroscience. He says decorin, administered directly to the spinal cord injury with a tiny pump, suppressed inflammation and scar formation. Decorin also provided a hospitable environment for new nerve fibers to grow, pass through the injury site and keep growing. Without the decorin, Davies found the scar tissue presented a physical and molecular barrier to nerve fiber growth.

Keyword: Regeneration
Link ID: 5121 - Posted: 03.13.2004

By CLAUDIA FELDMAN, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle A local researcher has advanced the search for cures for central nervous system injuries by using a naturally occurring substance produced in the body to eliminate scar formation and promote nerve regeneration. "It's major," says Stephen Davies, who hopes the seeds of his research one day will help patients with paralysis and head injuries. Davies' work with rats and the anti-scarring agent called decorin was published earlier this week in the European Journal of Neuroscience. He says decorin, administered directly to the spinal cord injury with a tiny pump, suppressed inflammation and scar formation. Decorin also provided a hospitable environment for new nerve fibers to grow, pass through the injury site and keep growing. Without the decorin, Davies found the scar tissue presented a physical and molecular barrier to nerve fiber growth.

Keyword: Regeneration
Link ID: 5120 - Posted: 03.13.2004

Experts have warned doctors not to start patients on high doses of the antidepressant Seroxat. The Committee on Safety of Medicines says patients should initially be given a dose of 20mg a day. But it revealed that last year 17,000 people were given higher doses, which could increase the risk of side effects such as insomnia and nausea. There have also been claims Seroxat is addictive and can increase the risk of violent behaviour in some patients. Guidance for doctors already states that adults taking Seroxat, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) should be started on a dose of 20mg. But the CSM said it decided it was necessary to issue a reminder after the scale of prescribing at higher doses became clear. It said there was no evidence that giving patients with depression a higher dose made the treatment more effective. (C) BBC

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 5119 - Posted: 03.12.2004