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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
DALLAS, – Moderate elevations of homocysteine are associated with a more than five-fold increase in the risk for stroke and almost triple the risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to research in the October issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Homocysteine is an amino acid believed to be toxic to blood vessels. Several studies have linked high blood levels of it to increased heart attack risk. This study found that homocysteine levels in patients with stroke, Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia were consistently higher than homocysteine levels in age-matched healthy volunteers. "Since B vitamins and foods fortified with folate can reduce homocysteine levels, this study suggests that B vitamin supplementation may be appropriate for most adults. It warrants a large placebo-controlled study of folate, and vitamins B6 and B12 in people at risk from dementia and stroke," says lead author Stephen P. McIlroy, Ph.D., a lecturer in geriatric medicine at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland. Copyright © 1995-2002 ScienceDaily Magazine
Keyword: Alzheimers; Stroke
Link ID: 2760 - Posted: 06.24.2010
Researchers examine direct protein-to-protein communication in brain by Jessica Whiteside - Researchers at the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have discovered a communication link between proteins in the brain that could lead to improved treatments for psychiatric disorders and stroke. The study, published in the Oct. 4 issue of the journal Cell, examined the interaction between two proteins known as dopamine D1 and NMDA receptors. The research group, led by Fang Liu, an assistant professor in U of T's Department of Psychiatry and CAMH's Section of Molecular Neurobiology, Neuroscience Research Department, found that two parts of the D1 receptor interact directly with two subunits of the NMDA receptor. These interactions modulate two separate NMDA functions in the brain - cell death and normal cell-to-cell communication. This study is the first to show that the interaction between D1 and the NMDA receptor also regulates - and, in fact, prevents - cell death.
Keyword: Stroke; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2759 - Posted: 10.07.2002
When it comes to schizophrenia, Albertans have proven to be among the most accepting & supportive in the world, says a University of Alberta researcher. Dr. Gus Thompson, from the Departments of Psychiatry and Public Health Sciences at the U of A, compared medical students, advocates of a local schizophrenic society and the general public. Participants answered questions about symptoms of schizophrenia, perceived dangerousness of schizophrenics, increasing taxes for better services and more. He found that Canadians--Albertans in particular--think schizophrenia is caused mainly by genetic factors and biochemical imbalances in the brain. No other country of those studied was like that--the others attributed schizophrenia to social factors and stress.
Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2758 - Posted: 06.24.2010
Scientific study of soy milk finds behavior problems from high manganese levels Irvine, Calif. -- Does soy-based infant formula lead to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? There's much speculation -- but little science -- on this association. Shedding some light on this problem, a UC Irvine-led study discovered that a mineral found in high levels in soy milk appears to be linked to behavioral problems. The study in rats, one of the first scientific inquiries into soy milk and ADHD, indicates that the mineral manganese may cause behavioral problems if consumed in high doses. The study appears in the August issue of NeuroToxicology. Francis Crinella, professor of pediatrics, and his colleagues at UCI and UC Davis found that giving rats increasing levels of manganese during infancy resulted in behavioral changes at higher doses. The researchers also found that manganese exposure resulted in lowered levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays a key role in inhibiting behavior seen in cases of ADHD.
Keyword: ADHD; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2757 - Posted: 10.07.2002
Copyright © 2002 AP Online By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Two Britons and an American won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries concerning how genes regulate organ development and a process of programmed cell suicide. British citizens Sydney Brenner and John E. Sulston and American H. Robert Horvitz shared the prize, worth about $1 million. Brenner, of the Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, Calif., and Sulston, of the Sanger Center at England's Cambridge University will split the prize with Horvitz, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media
Keyword: Apoptosis
Link ID: 2756 - Posted: 06.24.2010
Nasal pheromones turn sexual arousal on and off. KENDALL POWELL A protein in a male elephant's trunk may shut down elephant erections. The finding could give breeders better control of mating by putting animals in the mood for love. Researchers in Utah and Oregon have found that the mucus protein quells the horny beasts by soaking up the sex pheromone that triggers an erection1. Scentless pheromones are part of animals' chemical communications system. Male elephants constantly monitor the urine of their female harem to find out which ones are in heat, explains biological chemist Glenn Prestwich of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. "If a female's urine has the pheromone, it stimulates a mating response and, well, the rest is history." © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002
Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2755 - Posted: 06.24.2010
By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor US scientists are developing a light-sensitive chip that will be implanted into the eyes of blind people to restore some of their vision. The goal is to allow people suffering from certain forms of blindness, such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, to see 1,000 points of light through 1,000 tiny electrodes positioned on their retinas. These diseases damage the rod and cone cells that convert light into electrical impulses, but leave intact the neural paths to the brain that relay those signals. By stimulating those cells, scientists hope that patients will be able to perceive some light and have some useful vision. "Our aim is to bring a blind person to the point where he or she can read, move around objects in the house, and do basic household chores," said project leader Kurt Wessendorf, of the Sandia National Laboratories in the US. "They won't be able to drive cars, at least in the near future, because instead of millions of pixels like normally sighted people, they'll see approximately a thousand. The images will come a little slowly and appear yellow. But people who are blind will see." (C) BBC
Current drug treatments of brainstem tumors are largely unsuccessful, because the drugs often fail to bypass the blood vessel lining protecting the brainstem. Now, an NIH study shows that researchers can effectively deliver drugs to the primate brainstem and monitor how the drugs spread inside the brain. The study provides hope for improving treatment of brainstem tumors and other brain diseases. In the new study, researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) used a technique called convection-enhanced delivery (CED), which was developed at the National Institutes of Health, to deliver a tracer molecule to the primate brainstem. They then used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track the the tracer's movement throughout the brain. The study appears in the October 2002 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.* "It's difficult to safely treat the brainstem with available techniques because it's so intricate and complex, and because of the blood-brainstem barrier," says NINDS neurosurgeon and researcher Russell Lonser, M.D.
Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 2753 - Posted: 10.03.2002
Visual stimulation triggers nerve cell branching Many studies have shown that sensory deprivation, such as a lack of visual stimulation soon after birth, can lead to developmental abnormalities in the brain. This is why parents are counseled to take their newborns on frequent outings to new environments, and why strollers, cribs, and bassinets are outfitted with objects sharply patterned in black and white or contrasting primary colors. Far fewer studies have investigated precisely how visual stimulation drives the formation of new neuronal structures in the brain. Now, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have demonstrated that visual stimulation causes particular neurons in the brains of tadpoles to sprout new branches, and that such branching requires increased activity of some proteins (for instance, receptors for the neurotransmitter, glutamate) plus decreased activities of other proteins. The study--published this week in Nature (October 3)--provides one of the first comprehensive views of how visual stimulation guides the development of normal brain architecture. The study focused on a region of the tadpole brain called the optic tectum, which corresponds to a structure called the superior colliculus in the brains of humans. This part of the brain coordinates visually guided movements, such as playing sports or eating a meal.
Keyword: Development of the Brain; Vision
Link ID: 2752 - Posted: 10.03.2002
A super-bold lab mouse could lead to a new generation of anti-anxiety drugs. By altering the genes of rodents, US scientists have shown that blocking a key enzyme in the brain reduces anxiety. It also avoids the sedating effects often associated with anti-anxiety drugs, says a team at the University of California at San Francisco. The researchers hope to develop new treatments for anxiety, which affects an estimated 183 million people worldwide. The mice lack the gene for an enzyme known as protein kinase C epsilon (PKC). It is present in many neurons of the brain, but its function is unclear. (C) BBC
By ANDREW POLLACK SAN FRANCISCO, — Experimental drugs show preliminary signs of improving eyesight in some elderly people who suffer from a disease that causes blindness, scientists said at a conference here today. The drugs, still in clinical trials, are intended to treat age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In a 64-patient trial, 26 percent of the patients treated with one drug, rhuFab V2, had improved vision of at least three lines on an eye chart after three months, doctors reported at Retina Congress 2002. Such a gain can allow people to resume reading or driving, ophthalmologists said. Copyright The New York Times Company
Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 2750 - Posted: 06.24.2010
Transplants in Animal Models Could Translate Into Therapy for Humans PHILADELPHIA, (AScribe Newswire) -- Neural stem cells, transplanted into injured brains, survive, proliferate, and improve brain function in laboratory models according to research based at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The findings, published in the October edition of the journal Neurosurgery, suggest that stem cells could provide the first clinical therapy to treat traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injuries occur in two million Americans each year and are the leading cause of long-term neurological disability in children and young adults. "Transplantation of neural stem cells in mice three days after brain injury promotes the improvement of specific components of motor function," said Tracy K. McIntosh, PhD, professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, Director of Penn's Head Injury Center, and senior author of the study. "More importantly, these stem cells respond to signals and create replacement cells: both neurons, which transmit nerve signals, and glial cells, which serve many essential supportive roles in the nervous system." If stem cells are blank slates, able to become any type of body cells, then neural stem cells (NSCs) are slates with the basics of neurology already written on them, waiting for signals in the nervous system to fill in the blanks. The NSCs used by McIntosh and his colleagues were cloned from mouse progenitor cells and grown in culture. The advantage of NSCs exists in their ability to easily incorporate themselves into their new environment in ways other types of transplants could not.
Keyword: Stem Cells; Stroke
Link ID: 2749 - Posted: 10.02.2002
(Embargoed) CHAPEL HILL -- Anxiety, a natural response to real or potential threats, affects all higher creatures, including humans, sometime in their lives. Under normal conditions, that protective emotion spurs action to avoid such threats. But when anxiety grows excessive -- as it does in an estimated 25 percent of U.S. residents sooner or later -- it can significantly reduce one's quality of life, and in the cases of some 20 million Americans at any given time, it reaches levels that may require treatment. "We have effective compounds already for treating anxiety that are some of the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide," said Dr. Clyde W. Hodge, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. "Among these are benzodiazepines, such as Valium. The problem with them, however, is that they act as sedatives, which often prevent people from functioning normally. And people can become addicted to them." As a result, he said, a worldwide search is on for less disruptive alternatives. Working with colleagues at the University of California at San Francisco, Hodge now may have good news about that search.