LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Sheep, like turkeys and ostriches, are not considered the most intelligent animals but British scientists say humans may have underestimated the woolly creatures. They could be much smarter than we think. Researchers at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, southern England, have shown that the animals have a remarkable memory system and are extremely good at recognising faces -- which they suspect is a sure sign of intelligence. Copyright 2001 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material m ay not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. © 2001 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.Sheep shun dumb image

Keyword: Evolution; Vision
Link ID: 951 - Posted: 11.08.2001

Our brains use angular measurements to decide how far away objects are. ERICA KLARREICH Even if trigonometry wasn't your strong suit in school, your brain uses it constantly. You judge distance by measuring the angle between the ground and your line of sight to an object, a new study shows. The finding could improve the design of robots and artificial vision systems1. Volunteers who looked through prisms that increased this angle thought objects were closer than they really were, missing them when throwing beanbags or trying to walk to them blindfolded. 1.Ooi, T. L. et al. Distance determined by the angular declination below the horizon. Nature, 414, 197 - 200, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Vision; Robotics
Link ID: 950 - Posted: 11.08.2001

Anti-inflammatory drugs stop protein clumps forming in degenerative brain disease. TOM CLARKE More evidence is emerging that over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen could form the basis of future treatments for Alzheimer's disease. A new study suggests that some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) block a process thought to cause the degenerative brain disease. In mice and in cultured human cells, certain NSAIDs prevent a harmful variety of a protein called amyloid from forming - instead the cells produce another amyloid. Many believe that Alzheimer's results when clumps - called plaques - of the harmful amyloid accumulate in the brain. 1.Weggen, S. et al. A subset of NSAIDs lower amyloidogenic Aß42 independently of cyclooxygenase activity. Nature, 414, 212 - 216, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 949 - Posted: 11.08.2001

Without Adverse Effects of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL have shown in cell cultures and mice that certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use a novel mechanism to decrease the harmful amyloid-beta 42 protein (AB42) that forms brain plaques, a hallmark condition in Alzheimer's disease patients. Although some individuals who chronically take NSAIDs have shown reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the mechanism of action of these drugs is unclear. NSAIDs are known to inhibit master enzymes called cyclooxygenases (COX), which control inflammatory responses. It therefore has been assumed by many researchers that NSAIDs are effective in Alzheimer's disease by reducing toxic, inflammatory process in the brain. However, the new findings, published in the Nov. 8, 2001 issue of the journal Nature, suggest that NSAID therapy has a direct impact on the cause of the disease, which is believed to be the abnormal deposition of AB42 in the brain.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 948 - Posted: 11.08.2001

- Each day, we use our noses to help make sense of our surroundings. We may not be as dependent on our olfactory capabilities as dogs or mice, but we are able to recognize and "assign an odor" to many thousands of chemicals in our environment. These chemicals, called odorants, are detected in the nose by roughly 1,000 different odor receptors. Understanding how signals from those receptors are arranged in higher regions of the brain to yield diverse odor perceptions has been a longstanding goal for researchers. Now, researchers have taken a step toward that goal with a series of experiments that shows how signals from different odor receptors are arranged in the brain's olfactory cortex. The findings provide new insights into the processes that underlie odor perception. ©2001 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 947 - Posted: 11.08.2001

By ANNE RUETER, NEWS STAFF REPORTER A lot of baby boomers who read the news were glad: When scientists at the Salk Institute placed older rats in a stimulating environment, the rats' brains sprouted new neurons. Other aging experts are touting exercise and a healthy diet as ways to keep our minds nimble. But no one hoping to dodge time's tolls should get too euphoric. Sixty-year-old minds don't work like 20-year-old minds. In fact, 25-year-olds are already past their peak in performing certain mental tasks, although they don't notice it, says Denise Park, a psychologist who heads the University of Michigan Center for Aging and Cognition, part of the Institute for Social Research

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 946 - Posted: 11.08.2001

By discovering how a gene called PTEN influences the growth, proliferation and death of stem cells in the brain, scientists at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have taken an important first step toward unraveling the mysteries of brain development and why some brain cells replicate uncontrollably, giving rise to brain tumors and other brain diseases. Understanding how PTEN works in the brain also is expected to shed light on how stem cells in other parts of the body develop abnormally and may contribute to tumor development in other organs. The findings are described in an article posted Nov. 1 in the journal Science as part of the journal's Science Express Web site, http://www.sciencexpress.org.

Keyword: Stem Cells; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 943 - Posted: 11.07.2001

How speakers select appropriate words and prepare them for articulation. Core operations in normal speech production are the accessing of words in memory that appropriately express the intended message, and the preparation of each word retrieved for articulation. The theory developed in the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, provides a detailed account of both mechanisms (PNAS, 98, 23, November 06, 2001). Every normal person learns to speak, and speaking involves, among other things, producing words. By reaching adulthood a speaker in our Western culture may well have produced some 50 million words. There is hardly any other human skill that is so well practiced. In normal speech we produce words at rates of some 2 to 4 per second. These words are continuously selected from a mental lexicon containing tens of thousands of words. Still, we make few errors. On average, we select the wrong word (for instance left when we mean right) no more than once in a thousand items. How is this robust, high-speed mechanism organized?

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 941 - Posted: 11.07.2001

By Anita Manning, USA TODAY A diagnostic technique used to find brain tumors or to locate the origin of seizures can accurately detect Alzheimer's and other degenerative brain diseases even before symptoms begin, a study says. Positron emission tomography, or PET scans, which provide 3-D images of brain activity, also can reliably rule out dementia for patients, at least in the three years after the scan, says Daniel Silverman, head of the Neuronuclear Imaging Research Group at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine. By screening patients with PET, he says, an accurate diagnosis can be made sooner than it might have been, and drug therapy can begin promptly. © Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain imaging
Link ID: 940 - Posted: 11.07.2001

Costly test distinguishes memory lapses from the dreaded disease PET scans show a consistent diagnostic pattern for Alzheimer's disease, where certain regions of the brain have decreased metabolism early in the disease. ASSOCIATED PRESS Nov. 6 - New research bolsters the idea that brain scans can help determine whether mild memory lapses are early signs of Alzheimer's. Currently, doctors often diagnose Alzheimer's disease through psychological tests, plus a battery of medical procedures to rule out other possible causes of dementia. But the most definitive diagnosis can be made only after death, when the brain can be dissected. • MSNBC Terms and Conditions © 2001

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain imaging
Link ID: 939 - Posted: 11.07.2001

By ANDREW POLLACK LOS ANGELES, - In a development that may sidestep some of the ethical issues surrounding stem cell research, a scientist here says he has created stem cells that can turn into nerve cells using a kind of embryo that cannot develop into a baby. The work, done in mice, is one of several recent experiments that explore the usefulness of asexual reproduction in deriving stem cells. The researcher, Dr. Jerry L. Hall, uses chemicals to coax an egg to grow into an embryo of sorts without being fertilized by a male's sperm. Such embryos, even if implanted into a womb, would not grow to become viable babies, Dr. Hall and other experts said. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Stem Cells
Link ID: 935 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Hermaphrodite fish are on the rise, thanks to the birth control pill and other natural and unnatural forms of estrogen that have made their way into the water. Feminized fish were first found downstream from sewage plants in the United Kingdom. "Closer to home, we have observed intersex White Perch in various locations in the Great Lakes, " explained Chris Metcalfe, professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University in Ontario. "And in the Columbia River, there is a much higher proportion of female salmon than males, indicating that some feminization process may be going on." Metcalfe conducted lab experiments on aquarium fish to try to find out which of the various forms of estrogen were the culprit in the sexual alteration of fish.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 933 - Posted: 11.06.2001

TAMPA, Fla (Nov. 5, 2001) -- Rats that suffered from stroke recovered much of their neurological function quicker following intraveneous injection with cells from human umbilical cord blood, a study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, and the University of South Florida, Tampa, found. The cord blood cells survived, migrated to the areas of the brain injured by the stroke and improved the rats' motor and sensory abilities, even when administered a week after the onset of stroke, the researchers report in this month's issue of the journal Stroke. The cord cells included a significant number of stem cells -- immature. undifferentiated cells with the potential to become any cell in the body, including neurons. "The study suggests that human umbilical cord blood may be a noncontroversial, more readily available source of therapeutic cells for treating early stroke and other traumatic brain injuries," said Paul Sanberg, PhD, DSc, director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair and a senior author of the report.

Keyword: Stroke; Stem Cells
Link ID: 932 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Reuters VIENNA -- Sports doctors say evidence suggests that some athletes may be genetically predisposed to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or concussion, but warn that the misuse of such information could harm athletes' careers. These findings were discussed on Saturday by delegates attending a conference in Vienna organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Olympic medical committee and FIFA, world soccer's governing body, to draw up international guidelines on concussion and how it should be treated. Barry Jordan, Chief Medical Officer for the New York State Athletic Commission, said evidence that it may be possible to isolate genes showing if an athlete is vulnerable to TBI or concussion could create an ethical quagmire for sports doctors.

Keyword: Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 930 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Twins have almost the same amount of grey matter A degree of intelligence is written in the genes and determined before birth, according to a new genetic study of twins. It suggests that ability to do well in intelligence tests is linked with the amount of grey matter in the brain, something that depends largely on genes. Scientists in the United States compared 20 pairs of twins, half of whom were identical and half non-identical. Their brains were examined using a medical scanner that can distinguish between grey matter and white matter. Grey matter, so named because it looks grey to the naked eye, refers to the areas of the brain that are mainly composed of the heads of nerve cells. (c) BBC

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 929 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Naturally occurring molecules called beta-synucleins (b-synucleins) may have the ability to halt the excessive build-up of plaque-like deposits, called Lewy bodies, that are found in the dying neuron cells of Parkinson's disease patients, according to researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. In findings published recently in the journal Neuron, investigators in the lab of senior author Eliezer Masliah, M.D., professor of neurosciences and pathology, showed in mice that b-synuclein inhibits the Lewy body-producing activity of a cousin molecule called alpha-synuclein, which has been linked to abnormal accumulation of Lewy bodies characteristically seen in the brain's of Parkinson's patients.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 928 - Posted: 11.06.2001

by Timothy Lesaca, M.D. Psychiatric Times November 2001 Vol. XVIII Issue 11 Over the past two decades, there has been considerable progress in understanding the functions of the prefrontal cortex of the brain and its regulation of mental activities that allow for self-control and goal-directed behaviors. These mental activities are unified under the term executive functions. Executive functions are thought to enable a person to successfully engage in independent, purposeful and self-serving behaviors. The major executive functions include response inhibition, which permits impulse control, resistance to distraction and delay of gratification; nonverbal working memory, which permits the holding of events in the mind and allows self-awareness across time; verbal working memory, which comprises the internalization of speech and permits self-description, questioning and reading comprehension; and self-regulation of emotion and motivation, which permits motivation, persistence toward a goal and emotional self-control. Copyright 1995-2001 CME, Inc.

Keyword: ADHD
Link ID: 926 - Posted: 11.05.2001

by K. Elan Jung, M.D. Psychiatric Times November 2001 Vol. XVIII Issue 11 The introduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) into psychiatric nosology has brought new insights as well as controversy. It has deepened our understanding of how severe traumas that exceed ordinary coping mechanisms affect the human mind; however, complex clinical manifestations of PTSD have created serious confusion in diagnostic and therapeutic practice. The majority of psychiatric disorders are diagnosed according to symptoms, signs and traits. Posttraumatic stress disorder is unique in that etiology is a primary diagnostic factor; and, in patients with PTSD, etiology and symptoms are not always in harmony. Both DSM-IV and ICD-10 are often impractical in regard to PTSD because many patients exhibit multiple symptoms concomitantly or at different times. In addition, the current categorization of PTSD under the umbrella of anxiety disorders is inadequate and misleading, as the PTSD symptom complex overlaps with psychoses, affective disorders, dissociative disorders, personality disorders and numerous other psychiatric disorders. Copyright 1995-2001 CME, Inc.

Keyword: Stress
Link ID: 924 - Posted: 11.05.2001

by Ileana Berman, M.D. Psychiatric Times November 2001 Vol. XVIII Issue 11 In order to improve the outcome of schizophrenia, we must deepen our understanding of its heterogeneous aspect. At the same time, we must search for homogeneous subtypes characterized by consistent clinical aspects so that we may develop specific and more effective treatments. Researchers have long categorized schizophrenia as a syndrome manifested through a number of distinct subtypes that share the same morbid process but have sufficient differences to warrant distinct subtyping (Berman et al., 1995a; Fenton and McGlashan, 1986; Rosen, 1957; Stengel, 1945). Using genetic, neurological, biochemical and outcome markers, research continues to focus on the search for homogeneous subtypes (Goldstein and Tsuang, 1988). In this article, we will discuss the significance of the obsessive-compulsive (OC) phenomenon in schizophrenia and focus on whether an OC subtype of schizophrenia makes clinical and theoretical sense. One of the yet unanswered questions is whether OC symptoms constitute the expression of schizophrenic psychosis or if they are the manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Copyright 1995-2001 CME, Inc.

Keyword: Schizophrenia; OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Link ID: 923 - Posted: 11.05.2001

By NICHOLAS WADE Plunging into the roiled waters of human intelligence and its heritability, brain scientists say they have found that the size of certain regions of the brain is under tight genetic control and that the larger these regions are the higher is intelligence. The finding is true only on average and cannot be used to assess an individual's intelligence, said Dr. Paul M. Thompson, the leader of the research team and a pioneer in mapping the structure of the brain. The measurement of intelligence has long been a controversial issue, and even more so the efforts to tease out the relative contributions of heredity and environment. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Brain imaging; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 922 - Posted: 11.05.2001