Trained research assistants, unaware of a child's history, cannot tell the difference between a 4-year-old who was exposed to cocaine before birth and one who was not, according to new research. "Adults may interpret normal infant or child behavior as abnormal if adults have preconceived negative beliefs about the consequences of prenatal drug exposure," says lead author Ruth Rose-Jacobs, Sc.D., of Boston University School of Medicine. Recent research suggests that most maladaptive behavior and developmental delay in children from urban and impoverished areas is not uniquely due to prenatal cocaine exposure, and, conversely, that such exposure does not necessarily lead to developmental delay or behavioral problems.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2780 - Posted: 10.11.2002

By Paul Recer | The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Genes that make a vital neurochemical will be injected into the brains of 12 Parkinson's disease patients in the first use of gene therapy to treat the devastating brain disorder. Researchers say the treatment may calm tremors and slow progression of the disease. The Food and Drug Administration approved a Phase 1 clinical trial based in part on the results of a laboratory study to be published today in the journal Science, according to researchers, who said the trial could start before the end of the year. Dr. Michael G. Kaplitt, a Parkinson's researcher at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, said the experiment will involve patients who have exhausted standard therapy and are in a late stage of the disease. Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2779 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition Men who want to become fathers adjust their testosterone levels to make conception more likely, according to new research. Katharina Hirschenhauser, an expert in sex hormones, and her team at the Institute of Applied Psychology in Lisbon, Portugal, set out to see if there was any link between men's testosterone levels and their sexual behaviour. They asked 27 volunteers to measure the testosterone in their saliva every morning for 90 days. Over the same period, the men also recorded their sex lives in intimate detail, documenting the "intensity" of each encounter, whether with their regular partner or not. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2778 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Rivals argue over whether the fossilized skull is more ape than human. HELEN PEARSON Toumaļ, this summer's celebrity skull, has drawn a bitter accusation - that the human-like creature was actually a female gorilla. When the 6-7-million-year-old fossil was unveiled earlier this year, its face glowered from cover pages worldwide. Toumaļ was proclaimed as the oldest fossil from a member of the human family - a desperately sought lead into the murky dawn of human evolution. But Milford Wolpoff and his colleagues dispute the claim that Toumaļ is human-like, or hominid. They argue that the skull's features are more like those of an ancestral gorilla1. The case that Toumaļ's discoverers make for it being hominid is "unconvincing", says Wolpoff, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 2777 - Posted: 06.24.2010

HOUSTON--A new study at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston helps explain why practice makes perfect. Baylor researchers found that neurons in the visual cortex, the part of the brain responsible for vision, were more active when study monkeys anticipated the occurrence of predictable events. The results of the study were published in the Oct. 10 issue of Nature. "We really don't have a great understanding of what changes in the brain when we practice things," said Dr. Geoffrey M. Ghose, first author of the paper and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor. "These results show that as we practice and anticipate which events are going to happen, the brain is also preparing itself." Dr. John H. R. Maunsell, a professor of neuroscience at Baylor and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is the study's lead author. Researchers at Baylor trained two macaque monkeys to pay attention to changes at a specific location of a display screen. They were rewarded with juice if they pulled a lever when the change occurred. The activity of neurons in the visual cortex was measured during the experiment.

Keyword: Vision; Attention
Link ID: 2776 - Posted: 10.10.2002

Buprenorphine, a new medication developed through more than a decade of research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), will now become available to treat heroin and other opioid dependence through certification and training of physicians to use the medication by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Buprenorphine will be able to be used by physicians in office-based treatment, as long as physicians have the minimum eight hours of training mandated by Congress and obtain a waiver that allows them to prescribe certain controlled substances . Buprenorphine was approved last night for treatment of opioid dependence by the Food and Drug Administration. This medication will not replace methadone therapy, provided through special methadone treatment facilities, but will provide the office-based physician an opportunity to treat patients for addiction to heroin or other opioids, including prescription pain-killers. Physicians will be required to refer patients to full-spectrum care for their social and psychological needs. "This is a major step forward toward improving and broadening treatment options for individuals addicted to opioids," said Dr. Glen Hanson, Acting NIDA Director.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2775 - Posted: 10.10.2002

A controversial abortion pill may have a use as an anti-depressant, say researchers in the United States and France. The pill, known as RU486 or mifepristone, is available in both countries. It has met with opposition from anti-abortion campaigners, particularly in America where it was authorised only in September 2000. A study published in a US journal, Biological Psychiatry, suggests it may be a potential therapy for psychotic depression, a severe form of the illness. Patients with psychotic depression suffer from hallucinations and delusions as well as the typical symptoms of depression, such as feeling hopeless and low. The treatment is different from other major depressive illnesses and the risk of suicide is greater. (C) BBC

Keyword: Depression; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 2774 - Posted: 10.09.2002

By WILLIAM J. BROAD In a report to the government, a panel of leading scientists said today that polygraph testing is too flawed to use for security screening. The panel said lie detector tests do a poor job of identifying spies or other national-security risks and are likely to produce false accusations of innocent people. The 245-page report, by experts convened by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, said the scientific basis for polygraph testing is weak and much of the research supporting its use lacks scientific rigor. The report is not the first time experts have questioned the reliability of lie detector testing, which is known to have limitations and whose admissibility in court, for example, is sharply limited. But it is the first by the academy, and private security experts said its findings could erode support for polygraph testing inside the federal government. Defense and intelligence agencies use it tens of thousands of times each year to screen prospective and current employees for espionage. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Stress
Link ID: 2773 - Posted: 10.09.2002

Study doubles epidemic size. HELEN PEARSON The UK's BSE epidemic was twice as big as was thought, researchers have revealed. But they claim that the likely scale of the future human outbreak remains unchanged. Scientists at Imperial College London calculated a new estimate of the number of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad cow disease') infections during the 1980-90s outbreak. They based it on new biochemical testing of some 14,000 cattle slaughtered between 1999-2000. The new calculation doubles the total case number to over two million, says research leader Christl Donnelly1. Previous estimates counted the number of cows showing symptoms of the disease - which take several years to show - and extrapolated backwards to take into account those already killed. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 2772 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BY MICHAEL KILIAN Chicago Tribune WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The National Academy of Sciences declared Tuesday that polygraph examinations are dangerously unreliable and the federal government should cease depending on them to screen for security risks. The academy's 18-month, federally-funded study found that the so-called lie detector not only incorrectly deems large numbers of people who are telling the truth to be liars, but may have allowed spies and others posing security risks into sensitive positions because they were able to pass polygraph tests. This makes the devices themselves a security problem because so many agencies like the FBI and the Energy Department rely on them, the report said. © 2002, Chicago Tribune.

Keyword: Stress
Link ID: 2771 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A 10-year study by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) scientists has found that brains of children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are 3-4 percent smaller than those of children who don't have the disorder — and that medication treatment is not the cause. Indeed, in this first major study to scan previously never-medicated patients, they found "strikingly smaller" white matter volumes in children who had not taken stimulant drugs. Still, the course of brain development in the ADHD patients paralleled that of normal subjects, suggesting that whatever caused the disorder happened earlier. Drs. Xavier Castellanos, Judith Rapoport, NIMH Child Psychiatry Branch, and colleagues, report on their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of 152 boys and girls with ADHD in the October 9, 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association. Affecting 3-5 percent of school-age children, ADHD is characterized by over-activity, distractibility and impulsiveness. The disorder affects two to three times as many boys as girls, with as many as 20 percent of boys taking stimulant medication in some school systems. The new study strengthens the validity of the diagnosis by helping to put to rest criticism that structural brain abnormalities seen in ADHD might be drug-induced.

Keyword: ADHD; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2770 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists are hoping to discover more about eye diseases by "lighting up the brain". The team from the University of Leicester hope that using a special scanning technique will allow them to see exactly what happens in the brains of patients suffering from such diseases. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is already used to detect abnormalities in the brain such as tumours. But the Leicester team are using a technique called functional MRI (fMRI), rarely used to study eye diseases, to examine what happens in the brain when we see, and when there are problems with sight. fMRI allows researchers to see changes in blood flow in the brain that accompany brain activity. This means scientists can see which parts of the brain become active, or "light up", as people look at different pictures and patterns. (C) BBC

Keyword: Vision; Brain imaging
Link ID: 2769 - Posted: 10.08.2002

Clearly, experimentation with alcohol during youth is bad news. But now research shows it's even worse than you think. Recent studies suggest that drinking harms the developing brains of adolescents and teens possibly even more than it does adults. The repercussions may include learning and memory problems, among others. If confirmed, the results provide additional evidence that young people should avoid alcohol. Acting like a fool, vomiting and a day-after headache are a few common side effects. More seriously, it may lead to an arrest or, in excess amounts, spur an accidental injury, even death. Yet many young people consume alcohol. Approximately 9.7 million Americans aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to a recent survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Copyright © 2002 Society for Neuroscience

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2768 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Taking a Clinical Look at Human Emotions By CLAUDIA DREIFUS On a recent balmy evening, Dr. Joseph LeDoux, a professor of neuroscience at New York University, strode to the stage of the Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village and read from his latest book, "The Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are." Astonishingly, the audience — graduate students, publishing executives and scientists — greeted Dr. LeDoux's performance with enthusiasm usually reserved for rock stars. In the world of the brain sciences, Dr. LeDoux, 52, is a star of high wattage. Through his research and writings, he has been a major force in changing approaches to human brain research. Previously, brain studies tended to bypass phenomena that are difficult to measure, like emotions and the unconscious. Dr. LeDoux, in his laboratory, began finding ways to study how the brain processes emotions. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Emotions
Link ID: 2767 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ERICA GOODE Jealousy, according to evolutionary psychologists, evolved a million or so years ago on the African plain, where life was no picnic. Out there on the savanna, a man had to constantly guard against cuckoldry, lest he squander his resources, unwittingly feeding that hard-earned leg of mastodon to some other guy's progeny. Women had other things to worry about, like keeping the meat coming in. Sure, it bothered them if their men indulged in a little hanky-panky by the watering hole. But the real threat was if a man became emotionally attached to another woman: who would bring home the mastodon then? Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Evolution; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2766 - Posted: 10.08.2002

By NICHOLAS WADE Two physical anthropologists have reanalyzed data gathered by Franz Boas, a founder of American anthropology, and report that he erred in saying environment influenced human head shape. Boas's data, the two scientists say, show almost no such effect. The reanalysis bears on whether craniometrics, the measurement of skull shape, can validly identify ethnic origin. As such, it may prompt a re-evaluation of the definition of human races and of ancient skulls like that of Kennewick Man. "I have used Boas's study to fight what I guess could be considered racist approaches to anthropology," said Dr. David Thomas, curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. "I have to say I am shocked at the findings." Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Genes & Behavior; Intelligence
Link ID: 2765 - Posted: 10.08.2002

Researchers receive grant to use robots to improve walking Irvine, Calif., Paralysis from spinal cord injury was significantly reversed by adding tiny nerves from the rib cage and mixing them with a powerful growth inducer found in most nerve cells, a UC Irvine and Long Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center study has found. The study, conducted in rats, suggests that nerve cells can be inserted and stimulated to grow through damaged areas of the spinal cord, perhaps leading to better treatments for spinal cord injury. The research is part of a wave of studies challenging the conventional wisdom that severed nerves in the spinal cord are nearly impossible to regenerate. The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma. Dr. Vernon Lin, professor of physical medicine at UCI and director of the Spinal Cord Injury Group at the Long Beach V.A., and his colleagues found that grafting nerves from the rib cage and adding the growth stimulator, a molecule called aFGF, partially restored hind leg movement in rats that had their spinal cords severed. © Copyright 2002 UC Regents

Keyword: Regeneration; Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 2764 - Posted: 06.24.2010

St. Paul, MN -- Opioids -- narcotic analgesics -- have recently been shown to be effective in treating post-herpetic neuralgia. Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a painful chronic condition that can develop following a case of shingles, especially in older patients or those with immunodeficiencies. PHN is characterized by ongoing pain with varying degrees of skin hypersensitivity. Therapeutic agents commonly used to treat PHN include the lidocaine patch, oral tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and antiepileptic drugs. While TCAs are the most widely studied drug class, they fail to provide at least moderate pain relief in nearly half of PHN patients, and with considerable side effects. The role of opioids in treating chronic non-cancer pains such as PHN has been considered controversial because of questionable effictiveness, side effects of the drugs, and their potential for addiction and cognitive impairment.

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2763 - Posted: 10.07.2002

St. Paul, MN -- A group of cholesterol-lowering drugs may also effectively interfere with the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). These drugs, known as statins, greatly reduce hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and heart disease, mainly by their cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-lowering properties. A study published in the October 8 issue of Neurology, the journal of he American Academy of Neurology, indicates that statins may also have therapeutic potential for a variety of immunity related disorders such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes and graft-rejection in organ transplantation. Researchers from Austria and Germany investigated the impact of statins on a variety of immune responses in MS, comparing the effects with those induced by interferon-beta, an established disease-modifying therapy in MS. Using blood drawn from 74 MS patients and 25 healthy donors, tests were performed in vitro with lovastatin, simvastatin, mevastatin, and interferon alone, and statins plus interferon.

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 2762 - Posted: 10.07.2002

NewScientist.com news service Ground-breaking work on the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death has won three researchers the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The research led to a new understanding of diseases ranging from cancer to strokes to AIDS. John Sulston of the Sanger Institute, UK, Sydney Brenner, a UK national working at the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, US and H. Robert Horvitz, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston will share the $1 million prize. The trio have "opened possibilities to follow cell division and differentiation from the fertilised egg to the adult" and identified "key genes regulating organ development," the jury said. "The discoveries are important for medical research and have shed new light on the pathogenesis of many diseases." © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Apoptosis; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2761 - Posted: 06.24.2010