If eyewitness memories are missing, the brain makes them up, and scanning technology has a hard time telling real from fake. by Jessica Snyder Sachs Sitting in her office at Claremont Graduate University in California, cognitive psychologist Kathy Pezdek flips open a case file for an upcoming homicide trial—a drive-by shooting in which the victim's girlfriend will take the stand to identify the accused. The defense has retained Pezdek as an expert on the reliability of eyewitness memory. "For starters," says Pezdek, "I see here that the first time the girlfriend talks to the police, she tells them, 'I didn't actually see the guy's face.' " Copyright © 2003 Popular Science.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4088 - Posted: 06.24.2010

There's a general perception that eating disorders like anorexia primarily affect white girls. "When you read, in the media for example, about eating disorders, invariably they are portrayed as problems of white women," says Ruth Striegel-Moore, a psychology professor at Wesleyan University. As shown on PBS's NOVA, 8 million people in America, mostly young women, suffer from anorexia, or self-starvation. But does it equally affect all races? "There aren’t a lot of large, systematic studies that have looked at that question," says Striegel-Moore, who recently published a study looking at the race and anorexia in the American Journal of Psychiatry. So Striegel-Moore and her team surveyed 2,046 young black and white women with an average age of 21, and found that black women were less likely to get certain eating disorders—especially anorexia. "We found no case of a black young woman with anorexia nervosa in this study," says Striegel-Moore. "We’re not looking at risk factors for anorexia nervosa in this study, but what may be going on is that black women are…under less pressure to be super thin. In fact, there’s quite a bit of research that shows that black women prefer to be moderately thin—they don’t want to be skinny-thin—whereas white women…you can never be thin enough, so to speak, as a body ideal. So as a culture, black culture may have protective factors, so that even if a black woman may have the genetic vulnerability to anorexia nervosa, it may not get expressed because she grows up in a context that may be protective." © ScienCentral, 2000-2003.

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 4087 - Posted: 06.24.2010

This nerve cell structure may figure into defects in the first stages of life Boston, MA--Scientists at Harvard Medical School have cleared up some of the mystery surrounding a key structure in the developing brain that helps form the visual circuits. Their findings, which appear in the July 25 issue of Science, could provide new insight into early brain defects that are linked to conditions like cerebral palsy and learning disabilities. During development, nerve cells in the eye send messages to the thalamus, a region located deep within the brain. The thalamus then passes these messages on to the area of the outer cerebral cortex that deals with vision. The connection between the thalamus and cortex initially passes through a transient and seldom studied structure called the subplate. By removing parts of the subplate in cats, the HMS researchers have shown that this structure is a key component in strengthening the thalamus to cortex connection and in mapping out further cortical wiring patterns important for vision. The subplate neurons are acting "kind of like teachers," says senior author Carla Shatz, the Nathan Marsh Pusey professor of neurobiology and head of the HMS Department of Neurobiology. "They're needed for the thalamic connections to strengthen and grow so that they can become strong enough to talk to the cortical neurons."

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Vision
Link ID: 4086 - Posted: 07.25.2003

CHAPEL HILL -- A new study by gene therapy scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may lead to an effective long-term treatment for preventing seizures associated with a common form of epilepsy. The study appears this week in the Internet edition of the journal Nature Medicine and will appear in the Aug. 1 print edition of the journal. The research provides an important foundation for the development of new gene therapies to treat focal seizure disorders, the authors said. As the name indicates, focal (or partial) seizures involve an electrical storm affecting only a part of the brain. Such seizures may remain localized or spread to other parts of the cerebral cortex. The temporal lobes, one on each side of the head just above the ears, are the brain sites of one of the most common forms of epilepsy involving focal seizures. "Epilepsy afflicts approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population. A large proportion of epileptic adults have temporal lobe epilepsy, which is often very difficult to treat, and for about 30 percent of those individuals the only treatment option is surgery," said study co-author Dr. Thomas J. McCown, associate professor of psychiatry in UNC's School of Medicine and a member of the UNC Gene Therapy Center. That option is surgical resection, or removal of abnormal brain tissue at the site linked to the seizures. However, despite resection, only 50 percent to 60 percent of temporal lobe epilepsy patients improve following the surgery.

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 4085 - Posted: 07.25.2003

By Lori Valigra | Special to The Christian Science Monitor Imagine stepping into a game booth outfitted with sensors that enable you to feel what it's like to walk on the surface of Mars. Or, turning on your computer to see live video of your new grandchild across the country and being able, by wearing gloves with special sensors, to feel you're actually touching the baby. Scientists are in the early stages of research that could lead to applications that will literally take the Internet out of this world and make it more intimate for users through the sense of touch. For example, researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York recently developed an experimental glove that can send the sense of touch over the Internet. While its functions still are limited, its creators hope it could one day be used to let designers, sculptors, or doctors in distant locations collaborate. At the same time, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are expanding network and sensing technologies so that eventually planets and a variety of devices in space can communicate with one another, with astronomers on Earth, and even with consumers in both educational and game settings. Copyright © 2003 The Christian Science Monitor

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Robotics
Link ID: 4084 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BOISE, IDAHO-- Single men have any number of strategies to attract women, including hanging out with children in hopes of looking like a good dad. Some species of fish may have mastered this ploy long ago, according to research presented here on 20 July at the Animal Behavior Society meeting. Time spent looking after offspring is costly for parents because it means less courting and mating, thereby reducing future reproductive success. But some males may have figured a way around this problem, according to behavioral ecologist Colette St. Mary of the University of Florida in Gainesville. St. Mary studied a species of fish called the sand goby that leaves child care entirely to the fathers. Males build a nest and care for the eggs of multiple females. They clean and guard the eggs and fan them to keep them oxygenated. But instead of losing time that could be spent wooing other lady fish, the male gobies have combined courtship with parental care by trying to impress females with their abilities as fathers. When females were looking, the males fanned the eggs longer and harder and spent more time building up and guarding the nest than they did if females weren't present, St. Mary said at the meeting. Copyright © 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 4083 - Posted: 06.24.2010

As a male, how does free transport, free food and, as a bonus for your hard work, unlimited sex with your chosen female partner sound? Well, University of Melbourne scientists in collaboration with a Swedish colleague have found a tiny voracious water bug where the female of the species lays all this on for their male partner, the first time such nuptial behaviour, at least the food for sex part, has ever been observed in female animals. Their findings will appear in the next issue of Nature (24 July 2003). Evolution has generally dictated that it is usually the male that lavishes the female with expensive gifts (usually food) and often risks life and limb to secure the opportunity to pass on his genes to the next generation. Females are typically choosy, picking only the best males while also getting enough food to ensure their offspring are well fed and inherit the quality attributes from their father.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Evolution
Link ID: 4082 - Posted: 07.24.2003

Montreal, – There is more to losing weight than diet and exercise, according to investigators the Research Institute at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their study is the first to identify a new receptor protein present on fat cells that may play a role in fat metabolism. The findings, published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, have implications for the many individuals suffering from obesity. "We have identified a receptor protein on fat cells that when stimulated may increase the amount of lipid stored in fat reservoirs," says MUHC researcher Dr. Katherine Cianflone. "This protein, C5L2, is made by fat tissue, is on the surface of fat cells and binds a specific hormone to increase fat production." Cianflone, an Associate Professor at McGill University, with colleagues from McGill University and the United Kingdom characterized the binding activities of C5L2. They showed that this protein is a cell surface receptor that binds acylation stimulating protein (ASP), a protein known to affect fat production.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 4081 - Posted: 06.24.2010

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Billing and cooing in an old and familiar love nest doubles and even triples some birds' chances of producing progeny, researchers at Cornell University have discovered. Their study, which focused on Japanese quail, is the first to document what farmers and researchers have long suspected: that breeding is often more successful when animals mate where they have mated before. In this study, the inseminations were more likely to fertilize eggs when they occurred in cages where the birds had previously encountered birds of the opposite sex. "We now know that fertilization isn't just a matter of plumbing; there's a lot of strategic decision-making going on that is regulated by the brain in response to the social and physical environment," says Elizabeth Adkins-Regan, a professor in the departments of psychology and of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 4080 - Posted: 07.24.2003

By Helen Briggs, BBC News Online science reporter Rosy cheeks seem to be crucial in the dating game, for monkeys at least. Females of a common primate, the rhesus macaque, prefer males with red faces, a study has shown. It signals high levels of testosterone which, in many male animals, mean a healthy immune system and good genes. A rosy glow might also act as a similar cue in humans, says lead author Corri Waitt of Stirling University, UK. It could explain why women apply cosmetics to get red cheeks and lips, she speculates. "Non-human primates have the brightest colouration among mammals in the animal kingdom," says Ms Waitt, a researcher in the department of psychology. "Nobody really knows why - but it could play a role in competition with other males or female mate choice. "We have found that the females do seem to be interested in the bright colouration." (C) BBC

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Evolution
Link ID: 4079 - Posted: 07.23.2003

Dissecting creativity is 'the last frontier of the last frontier' Brad Evenson, National Post Mira Soularis is drawing a crowd. Her long, elegant fingers sway like tendrils of seaweed above her shoulders, then clap together with sudden violence. To the untrained eye, Soularis appears to be performing an exotic dance or Tai Chi. It is neither. She is reciting a silent poem, performed in American Sign Language (ASL), for a caffeinated throng of Montreal fine arts students who jokingly call themselves the Deaf Poets Society. Beautiful, signs a man in the audience. Again. Do it again, another spectator signs enthusiastically. Soularis' poem is about a tragic love affair she had with a hearing man. Our bodies connected/But our minds never met, she signs. Deaf minds may be strangers to the complexities of spoken rhymes and tones. Yet when it comes to the ancient human art of communication, deaf and hearing brains are remarkably alike. The loss of hearing does not mean being at a loss for words. Surprising new PET and MRI images show deaf people process sign language in the brain regions that for 125 years were regarded as sound centres, such as the superior temporal gyrus. "Regardless of whether we speak American Sign Language or French or English, the human brain processes the information in the identical way," says Laura Ann Pettito, a cognitive neuroscientist - and ASL poet -- at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. © Copyright 2003 National Post

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 4078 - Posted: 06.24.2010

We all have trouble sleeping from time to time. But many Americans suffer from life-disrupting disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where they actually stop breathing numerous times during sleep, sometimes for a minute or even more, and a less common disorder called REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), in which patients literally act out the dreams they are having during REM sleep. "Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke as well," says Sid Gilman, chair of the neurology department at the University of Michigan, while "people with [RBD] thrash, talk, sometimes pummel their bed partner. It’s usually the bed partner who complains rather than the person who has this disorder. Some people with this will actually get up out of bed or fall out of bed and injure themselves. It can be a very dramatic disorder." Gilman says REM sleep behavior disorder likely affects half of 1 percent of the general population, whereas OSA affects likely 3 percent of the population. © ScienCentral, 2000-2003.

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 4077 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By DENISE GRADY Mental health care in America is often inadequate and needs "fundamental transformation," a presidential commission reported yesterday. The commission described the present system as a "patchwork relic" of disjointed state and federal agencies that frequently stepped in the way of people who were seeking care instead of helping them. The panel said each state should draw up plans to treat the mentally ill. The report called for a more streamlined system strongly focused on early diagnosis and treatment in patients' own communities, a high expectation of recovery and methods for helping people with mental illnesses find work and housing. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Depression
Link ID: 4076 - Posted: 07.23.2003

By CHRISTOPHER DREW and FORD FESSENDEN As a growing number of deaths and illnesses have raised questions about their diet pills, some ephedra companies have promoted a medical study as showing that their product is safe and helpful for losing weight. But documents released yesterday by a House subcommittee show that a panel of scientists has found flaws and shortcomings in the study. Some government officials said those problems could undercut its safety findings at a time when federal regulators are trying to decide if they should ban ephedra, an herbal stimulant, or restrict its sales. For several years, the industry had refused to give the regulators all the data from the study, which was conducted at medical centers in New York and Boston in the late 1990's. But last February, the Food and Drug Administration made an unusual deal to gain access to the data, officials say. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 4075 - Posted: 07.23.2003

BOISE, IDAHO-- Female baboons love to talk about sex, particularly when it's good. Biologists have been baffled by this bawdy habit, but new research suggests that the ladies may have a good reason for being so forthcoming. Lots of animals call, sing, or whistle to advertise fertility, attract a mate, or spur competition among members of the opposite sex. But most creatures don't have much to say once the deed is done. Female baboons are an exception. After mating, females often give loud staccato grunts. Scientists observing wild baboons noticed that females tend to call more after sex with a higher-ranking, dominant male. The researchers thought the noisy females were trying to encourage more males to compete for a roll in the hay. The truth may be quite the opposite, according to behavioral biologist Dario Maestripieri of the University of Chicago. Copyright © 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Animal Communication
Link ID: 4074 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Suz Redfearn, Special to The Washington Post Scientists writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association have identified the first physical warning sign of autism: small head circumference at birth, followed by rapid and excessive increase in head size during the first year of life. The researchers' findings, published last week, could lead to earlier identification of autistic children, who now are typically diagnosed at age 3 when teachers and parents begin to notice behavioral problems. Experts say earlier intervention is more beneficial, and the study may help alert doctors to a possible, though not certain, diagnosis of autism in the first months of life. The research also provides further evidence contradicting the theory that autism could be triggered by vaccinations given just before age 3. © 2003 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 4073 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The researchers said there was no link between the MMR vaccine and autism The controversial MMR vaccine has not triggered an increase in the number of children being diagnosed with autism, according to experts. Researchers at University College London say figures actually show that the number of new cases has levelled off and may have peaked 11 years ago. They also said that the rise in new cases throughout the 1980s and early 1990s may have been simply due to greater awareness of the condition. Nevertheless, the study found that parents were now more likely to blame their children's autism on the MMR vaccine. Professor Brent Taylor and colleagues at UCL identified 567 children born between 1979 and 1998 who were diagnosed with autism in north-east London. They found that the number of children being diagnosed with autism peaked in 1992. (C) BBC

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 4072 - Posted: 07.22.2003

When science meets religion at this ancient Greek site, the two turn out to be on better terms than scholars had originally thought By John R. Hale, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, Jeffrey P. Chanton and Henry A. Spiller The temple of Apollo, cradled in the spectacular mountainscape at Delphi, was the most important religious site of the ancient Greek world, for it housed the powerful oracle. Generals sought the oracle's advice on strategy. Colonists asked for guidance before they set sail for Italy, Spain and Africa. Private citizens inquired about health problems and investments. The oracle's advice figures prominently in the myths. When Orestes asked whether he should seek vengeance on his mother for murdering his father, the oracle encouraged him. Oedipus, warned by the oracle that he would murder his father and marry his mother, strove, with famous lack of success, to avoid his fate. The oracle of Delphi functioned in a specific place, the adyton , or "no entry" area of the temple's core, and through a specific person, the Pythia, who was chosen to speak, as a possessed medium, for Apollo, the god of prophecy. Extraordinarily for misogynist Greece, the Pythia was a woman. And unlike most Greek priests and priestesses, the Pythia did not inherit her office through noble family connections. Although the Pythia had to be from Delphi, she could be old or young, rich or poor, well educated or illiterate. She went through a long and intense period of conditioning, supported by a sisterhood of Delphic women who tended the eternal sacred fire in the temple. Tradition attributed the prophetic inspiration of the powerful oracle to geologic phenomena: a chasm in the earth, a vapor that rose from it, and a spring. Roughly a century ago scholars rejected this explanation when archaeologists digging at the site could find no chasm and detect no gases. The ancient testimony, however, is widespread, and it comes from a variety of sources: historians such as Pliny and Diodorus, philosophers such as Plato, the poets Aeschylus and Cicero, the geographer Strabo, the travel writer Pausanias, and even a priest of Apollo who served at Delphi, the famous essayist and biographer Plutarch. © 1996-2003 Scientific American, Inc

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 4071 - Posted: 06.24.2010

For the 10 to 15 percent of school-aged children in the U.S. who suffer from dyslexia, the written word often feels like an insurmountable obstacle. But a spate of research is helping scientists get to the root of the condition and suggest new methods of treatment. Research published today in the journal Neurology suggests that some therapies can make a difference quickly. Scientists report that dyslexic children showed normal brain activation patterns during reading tests after just three weeks of specialized instruction. Elizabeth Aylward of the University of Washington and her colleagues tested 10 children who suffered from dyslexia and scored 30 percent below average on standardized reading tests despite having above average intelligence and 11 children classified as good readers. © 1996-2003 Scientific American, Inc.

Keyword: Dyslexia
Link ID: 4070 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Preliminary study suggests overweight elderly women more prone to dementia. HELEN R. PILCHER Women who are overweight at 70 may be at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life1. Prevention and control strategies should stress the benefits of a healthy diet and lifestyle, researchers suggest. It's a concerning correlation. Dementia and obesity are already major health concerns for the ageing, expanding developed world. By 2025, an estimated 34 million people worldwide will suffer from dementia. More than 50% of adult Americans and Europeans are overweight. Deborah Gustafson, of Utah State University in Logan, and her colleagues monitored 392 elderly Swedes over 18 years. Of this group, 93 developed dementia. Women who did so in their eighties were more likely to have been overweight in their seventies. "It shows the importance of maintaining a healthy weight throughout life," says Gustafson. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Alzheimers; Obesity
Link ID: 4069 - Posted: 06.24.2010