By JUDITH BERCK — When Jacqueline Turner's daughter Riley was only 8 months old, she could let her mother know she was thirsty for milk by pumping her fingers against her palm. Or that she wanted more cereal by touching her fingertips together. Or ask for a ball, or her stuffed dog, or a book — all without saying a word. She used hand gestures taught to her by her mother. Why teach signs to a baby who is not deaf? Mrs. Turner, a Spanish-language interpreter from Beaverton, said she bought a book and video about teaching signs to babies to help eliminate the frustration Riley had in not being able to communicate, as well as Mrs. Turner's own frustration in not understanding her. "It makes her feel that she's more in control of a situation and has choices," Mrs. Turner said. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Language; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4758 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Research by North Carolina State University scientists, in conjunction with scientists from the Netherlands and BioResource International, an NC State spin-off biotechnology company, has shown that, under proper conditions, an enzyme can fully degrade the prion – or protein particle – believed to be responsible for mad cow disease and other related animal and human diseases. These transmissible prions – believed to be the cause of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the technical name for mad cow disease, as well as the human and sheep versions, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie, respectively – are highly resistant to degradation, says Dr. Jason Shih, professor of biotechnology and poultry science at NC State. But the new research, which tested the effects of a bacterial enzyme keratinase on brain tissues from cows with BSE and sheep with scrapie, showed that, when the tissue was pretreated and in the presence of a detergent, the enzyme fully degraded the prion, rendering it undetectable. The research was published in the Dec. 1 edition of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 4757 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Path to recovery at the brain level appears different from drug therapy Toronto, CANADA -- An imaging study by neuroscientists in Canada has found that patients who recover from depression with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) show a pattern of brain changes that is distinct from patients who recover with drug therapy. It's an important finding because it shows -- for the first time with definitive imaging evidence -- that the depressed brain responds 'differently' to different treatments. It may also help doctors better understand why a particular treatment might work for one patient and not another. The results are published in the January 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study was led by The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and University of Toronto.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 4756 - Posted: 01.06.2004

Results of a new study indicate that people who have recently stopped abusing the powerfully addictive drug methamphetamine may have brain abnormalities similar to those seen in people with mood disorders. The findings suggest practitioners could improve success rates for methamphetamine users receiving addiction treatment by also providing therapy for depression and anxiety in appropriate individuals. The study is published in the January 2004 issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. "Methamphetamine abuse is a grave problem that can lead to serious health conditions including brain damage, memory loss, psychotic-like behavior, heart damage, hepatitis, and HIV transmission," says Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, which funded the study. "Currently, no medication exists to treat abuse or addiction to amphetamines or amphetamine-like compounds; however, drug counselors and other health professionals have successfully used behavioral interventions to treat addiction. Treatment outcomes may improve if associated mental conditions are addressed concurrently with addiction." Dr. Edythe London and her colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles, the University of California Irvine, and NIDA's Intramural Research Program used positron emission tomography--PET, a technology to image brain activity--to compare glucose metabolism in the brains of 17 methamphetamine abusers who had stopped using the drug 4–7 days before their participation in the study, and 18 nonabusers.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 4755 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Once inexplicable, new studies now uncover some of the brain mechanisms that may underlie SIDS, a term used to describe the death of a seemingly healthy infant during sleep. These discoveries, including those that implicate a brain system that involves the chemical serotonin, could help researchers develop methods to identify babies at risk for SIDS and find new ways to prevent death. Also known as sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS describes the death of a child under the age of one that occurs during a sleep period and that can’t be explained by a complete autopsy. A leading cause of infant death, it killed some 2,500 babies in 2000, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The unexpected loss of life has long perplexed parents, physicians, and scientists alike. How? Why? Now, new studies provide some insight into what may underlie these abrupt deaths. One line of work suggests that flaws in a brain system that communicates using the chemical serotonin may make some babies more susceptible to SIDS. These discoveries are leading to: Copyright © 2003 Society for Neuroscience

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 4754 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Two animal rights groups have lodged a High Court challenge to a UK Government decision to allow a research centre which will experiment on monkeys. Animal Aid and the National Anti-Vivisection Society (Navs) are furious that Cambridge University has been given permission to build the lab. They are appealing against Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's decision to permit the centre after a public inquiry. It is due to be built in the spring at Girton on the outskirts of Cambridge. Mr Prescott, who has overall responsibility for planning, approved the medical research project in November after it was rejected by a local planning inspector. The proposal was also refused by planning authority by South Cambridgeshire District Council, because police raised concerns about public safety at the site, which is on a main road and close to a major motorway intersection. (C) BBC

Keyword: Animal Rights
Link ID: 4753 - Posted: 01.05.2004

Trauma is real but the cure is all in the mind. Chris Brewin assesses the evidence in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Lewis Wolpert Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Malady or Myth? by Chris Brewin I have heard a psychiatrist pronounce that post-traumatic stress disorder is the most desirable diagnosis for a patient in all of psychiatry: the patient has no responsibility and so can often sue for the condition. Indeed, as the heading of the first chapter proclaims, no other diagnosis has had a more dramatic impact on law and social justice in the United States. The idea that there is such a condition goes back to the First World War when some soldiers suffered 'shell shock'. It became well publicised in relation to Vietnam war veterans. There are those who argue that victims of psychological trauma of war, violence, terrible accidents and child abuse are at last being recognised as having a serious psychiatric illness needing special treatment, but sceptics question whether there really is evidence for the disorder. It is to unravel these issues that Brewin, a professor of clinical psychology who specialises in treating trauma patients, has written this important book. © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

Keyword: Stress
Link ID: 4752 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By HENRY FOUNTAIN In a family, children often learn that collaboration is one way to get what they want. One child asking for the umpteenth time to have pizza for dinner may be little more than an irritant to a parent, but when two or three all plead in concert, the parent may give in. What works in human families appears to work with gulls, too. Canadian and French researchers have found that adult black-headed gulls respond more often when two or more of their chicks beg for food together than when one chick goes it alone. This means less effort for each chick, and they wise up rather quickly: the more offspring there are, the researchers say, the more they coordinate their begging. The researchers, who described their work in The Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biology Letters, observed nests with up to three chicks at a pond near St. Etienne in central France. They noted the intensity of begging behavior (approaching the parents, hunching over, stimulating the parents' beaks and calling) and the parents' response (regurgitating food). Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Animal Communication; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 4751 - Posted: 01.05.2004

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE The nation's first case of mad cow disease has led to urgent calls for more and better tests to screen animals at the slaughterhouse door. But the universe of testing for this elusive disease is murky. The extent and nature of testing varies from country to country. The tests are not foolproof, and there are many to choose from in a heated international competition. The leading test manufacturers are Bio-Rad based in France, Prionics AG in Switzerland and U.S. Abbott Laboratories, which recently acquired rights to a test developed in Ireland. But in addition, at least 54 other companies are vying for position in the lucrative world testing market. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 4750 - Posted: 01.05.2004

Higher cutoffs led to more accurate identification of high-functioning Washington -- Diagnosticians would do well to raise the bar when testing high-functioning people for pre-clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. Higher test cutoffs, rather than the standard group average, more accurately predicted how many highly intelligent people would deteriorate over time. This finding is reported in the January issue of Neuropsychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's has taken on growing importance, given new medical and psychological interventions that can slow (but not stop) the course of the disease. In addition, highly intelligent people have been found, on average, to show clinical signs of Alzheimer's later than the general population. Once they do, they decline much faster. Thought to reflect their greater mental reserves, this different pattern may call for a different approach to diagnosis. Says lead author Dorene Rentz, PsyD, "Highly intelligent elders are often told their memory changes are typical of normal aging when they are not. As a result, they would miss the advantages of disease-modifying medications when they become available."

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 4749 - Posted: 01.05.2004

Doctors have been urged not to use powerful CT scans to assess possible brain injuries in young infants. Researchers in Sweden say they have uncovered evidence that the scans may damage toddlers' brains. Their study of more than 3,000 men who had scans before they were 18 months old found many went on to develop learning problems. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers called for new guidelines to warn doctors of the risk. CT or computed tomography scans use ionising radiation to take pictures of the inside of the body. They are more detailed than conventional X-rays. They are used on patients with a wide range of suspected problems, from cancer to suspected brain injuries. (C) BBC

Keyword: Brain imaging; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4748 - Posted: 01.04.2004

By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D. Ah, those were the days. At least that's what the nostalgic among us feel. And those hard-nosed realists who are immune to its siren call dismiss it — wrongly, of course — as cheap sentiment. I remember during a particularly grueling time of medical internship joking with a colleague that one day we would look back on that year with fondness. Clearly, he thought I must be crazy. But two years later, he was bragging to me about our having lived through the days of the giants, his bittersweet and almost nostalgic label of rough days gone by. Nostalgia now is not what it used to be. As a word, it was first coined by a Swiss medical student in the 17th century to describe mercenaries who suffered from severe homesickness. Now, we see it as a special form of memory. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4747 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By NANETTE GARTRELL How could a psychiatrist in practice for 27 years fail to recognize an anxiety attack? I was interviewing a new patient when the first surge of adrenaline hit, but I couldn't identify the sensation. The patient continued talking about her lifelong struggle with depression. I broke into a sweat and wondered whether I was having a hot flash. I glanced at the clock -- 20 minutes to go. As I summarized the pros and cons of various antidepressants, my voice trembled. Did the patient notice? I felt as if I were disintegrating. I reached for a prescription pad, trying to steady my shaking hand. I had never been seriously depressed or anxious before. Even after my sister's death and my father's suicide, I hadn't needed drugs to cope. But recently, as a close friend was dying of liver cancer, I began to dread going to work. I felt weighed down by my patients and their pain. I asked myself, Was I in worse shape than they were? My partner Dee, who is also a psychiatrist, suggested an antidepressant. She recommended bupropion, since, unlike some antidepressants, it doesn't cause a sleepy, fuzzy brain. I had prescribed it frequently -- including to patients who were physicians themselves -- with favorable results. Within 10 days, I developed insomnia, agitation and tremors. I lost the ability to distinguish between sadness and the drug's side effects. When the panic attacks started, I worried I would end up like my father, who took his life after years of anxiety. Initially, I checked in with Dee once each day. Soon I was calling her hourly between patients. I needed every ounce of energy to concentrate at work. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 4746 - Posted: 01.04.2004

Scientists have identified a gene in the cerebral cortex that apparently controls the developmental clock of embryonic nerve cells, a finding that could open another door to tissue replacement therapy in the central nervous system. In a new study, the researchers found that they could rewind the clock in young cortical cells in mice by eliminating a gene called Foxg1. The finding could potentially form the basis of a new method to push progenitor cells in the brain to generate a far wider array of tissue than is now possible. The study, led by researchers at NYU School of Medicine, is published in the January 2, 2004 issue of Science magazine. "What we found was a complete surprise," says Gordon Fishell, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at New York University School of Medicine. "No one had believed that it was possible to push back the birth date of a cortical neuron. There is this central tenet governing the process of brain development, which says that late progenitor cells [forerunners of mature cell types] cannot give rise to cell types produced earlier in development," he explains.

Keyword: Stem Cells; Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 4745 - Posted: 01.04.2004

Physics underlies rhythms of South American birdsong. PHILIP BALL The synchronized rhythms of South American ovenbirds may be driven by simple physics, say researchers, rather than deep-rooted musical talent. The thrush-sized Hornero, Furnarius rufus, is common to Brazil and Argentina and famed for its oven-shaped nest. When a male and female strike up song, the male begins by singing roughly six notes per second and gradually upping the tempo. Instead of keeping pace with her partner, the female punctuates his beat with one of her own1. The result is "a most appealing rhythm," say Rodrigo Laje of City University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Gabriel Mindlin of the University of California at San Diego. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Animal Communication
Link ID: 4744 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Study hints at vital job for two-faced proteins. HELEN PEARSON Mystery proteins called prions, which can flip between two different shapes, might help in laying down memories, according to US researchers. The finding hints at an entirely new set of roles for the proteins. Prions are unusual in the protein world: when they adopt one of their guises, they can reproduce, converting other identical proteins into copies of themselves. Often such replicating prions are harmful - they clog up the brains of cattle with mad cow disease and patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Now a team led by Eric Kandel at Columbia University in New York has found that a prion-like protein called CPEB may help nerve cells store memories. A transient electrical signal in the brain might flip CPEB into its prion form, the researchers suggest, helping to create a permanent memory trace. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Prions; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4743 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A fuller understanding of signaling in the brain of people with this disorder offers new hope for improved therapy By Daniel C. Javitt and Joseph T. Coyle Today the word "schizophrenia" brings to mind such names as John Nash and Andrea Yates. Nash, the subject of the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, emerged as a mathematical prodigy and eventually won a Nobel Prize for his early work, but he became so profoundly disturbed by the brain disorder in young adulthood that he lost his academic career and floundered for years before recovering. Yates, a mother of five who suffers from both depression and schizophrenia, infamously drowned her young children in a bathtub to "save them from the devil" and is now in prison. The experiences of Nash and Yates are typical in some ways but atypical in others. Of the roughly 1 percent of the world's population stricken with schizophrenia, most remain largely disabled throughout adulthood. Rather than being geniuses like Nash, many show below- average intelligence even before they become symptomatic and then undergo a further decline in IQ when the illness sets in, typically during young adulthood. Unfortunately, only a minority ever achieve gainful employment. In contrast to Yates, fewer than half marry or raise families. Some 15 percent reside for long periods in state or county mental health facilities, and another 15 percent end up incarcerated for petty crimes and vagrancy. Roughly 60 percent live in poverty, with one in 20 ending up homeless. Because of poor social support, more individuals with schizophrenia become victims than perpetrators of violent crime. Medications exist but are problematic. The major options today, called antipsychotics, stop all symptoms in only about 20 percent of patients. (Those lucky enough to respond in this way tend to function well as long as they continue treatment; too many, however, abandon their medicines over time, usually because of side effects, a desire to be "normal" or a loss of access to mental health care). Two thirds gain some relief from antipsychotics yet remain symptomatic throughout life, and the remainder show no significant response. © 1996-2003 Scientific American, Inc

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 4742 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE By tinkering with yeast and sea slugs, scientists have found a surprising possible explanation for the way the human brain stores long-term memories. Those lowly creatures possess an unusual protein that exists in two shapes. In one shape, the protein is sluggish or inactive. In its second shape, the protein perpetuates itself indefinitely but can also harmlessly switch back to the inactive form. Researchers believe that in higher organisms the same protein may exploit this second shape to confer lasting stability to sites on brain cells, called synapses, that store the memories of a lifetime. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Prions; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4741 - Posted: 12.25.2003

The Canadian Press TORONTO -- A major and previously unreported mechanism behind brain cell death in stroke has been defined by a team of Toronto researchers. The findings represent a paradigm shift in science's understanding of why strokes kill brain cells, said lead author Dr. Michael Tymianski, a neurosurgeon at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. "This is a paper that constitutes what we feel to be a quantum leap in our understanding of why brain cells die during a stroke,'' he said in an interview. "Essentially the paper uncovers the dominant mechanism by which these cells die that had been completely overlooked in the past.'' Copyright © 2003 CanWest Interactive Inc.

Keyword: Stroke
Link ID: 4740 - Posted: 06.24.2010

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Scientists have discovered a new process for how memories might be stored, a finding that could help explain one of the least-understood activities of the brain. What's more, the key player in this process is a protein that acts just like a prion – a class of proteins that includes the deadly agents involved in neurodegenerative conditions such as mad cow disease. The study, published as two papers in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Cell, suggests that this protein does its good work while in a prion state, contradicting a widely held belief that a protein that has prion activity is toxic or at least doesn't function properly. "For a while we've known quite a bit about how memory works, but we've had no clear concept of what the key storage device is," says Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Director Susan Lindquist, who coauthored the study with neurobiologist Eric Kandel at Columbia University. "This study suggests what the storage device might be – but it's such a surprising suggestion to find that a prion-like activity may be involved."

Keyword: Prions; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4739 - Posted: 06.24.2010