Rewarding drug users with vouchers that they exchange for food, clothing, or, as one did, a robe for singing in a church choir, was effective in keeping patients drug free and on a medication regimen, according to research at Yale University. The principal investigator of the study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Kathleen Carroll, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, said the intent was to evaluate the best way to encourage patients addicted to opioids, among them, codeine, morphine and heroin, to take naltrexone regularly.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 454 - Posted: 10.20.2001

The medium and the message: Eyes and ears understand differently,
Carnegie Mellon scientists report in the journal Human Brain Mapping PITTSBURGH- A new study by Carnegie Mellon University scientists shows that because of the way the brain works, we understand spoken and written language differently, something that has potential implications in the workplace and in education, among many other areas. In the first imaging study that directly compares reading and listening activity in the human brain, Carnegie Mellon scientists discovered that the same information produces systematically different brain activation. And knowing what parts of the brain fire during reading or listening comprehension affects the answer to one of the classic questions about language comprehension: whether the means of delivery through eyes or ears makes a difference. "The brain constructs the message, and it does so differently for reading and listening. The pragmatic implication is that the medium is part of the message. Listening to an audio book leaves a different set of memories than reading does. A newscast heard on the radio is processed differently from the same words read in a newspaper,"

Keyword: Language; Dyslexia
Link ID: 453 - Posted: 10.20.2001

As orientated as a newt Newts may use the Earth's magnetic field as a map.
JOHN WHITFIELD Wandering newts know where they are by sensing variations in the Earth's magnetic field, suggests new research1. Whether animals use magnetic maps has long been controversial - evidence that they do is "groundbreaking", claim the study's authors. Armed with a compass, you can use the Earth's magnetic field to work out which way to go. Because the field's contours and intensity vary across the planet's surface, you can also, in theory, figure out where you are. For example, the field is more steeply angled closer to the poles. 1.Fischer, J. H., Freake, M. J., Borland, S. C. & Phillips, J. B.Evidence for the use of magnetic map information by an amphibian. Animal Behaviour, 62, 1 - 10, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: None
Link ID: 451 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Trial drugs for Huntington's Disease inconclusive in slowing disease
A large-scale clinical trial that tested the ability of the investigational drugs remacemide and Coenzyme Q10 to slow the progression of Huntington's disease showed that neither drug resulted in any significant improvement for the patients. Although after one year of treatment, the disease seemed to progress more slowly in patients treated with Coenzyme Q10, the investigators say that overall the results are inconclusive as to whether there is real benefit from this drug. The study is published in the August 14, 2001, issue of Neurology.* "A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Coenzyme Q10 and Remacemide in Huntington's Disease (CARE-HD);" Huntington Study Group; Neurology Aug. 14, 2001; 57: 397

Keyword: Huntingtons
Link ID: 450 - Posted: 10.20.2001

One of the problems of the aged is getting a good night's sleep. Often, the elderly sleep fitfully through the night only to be overcome by drowsiness during the day and nodding off then. A general feeling of tiredness and irritability goes hand-in-hand with this condition. Now a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues from France and the University of Virginia have found this problem may be traced to a faulty biological clock - at least in aged rats. Erik Herzog, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Washington University, examined cells involved in the generation of circadian rhythms - the 24-hour cycles in things like alertness and hormone levels. In collaboration with Fabienne Aujard, D.V.M., Ph.D., of France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Gene Block, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of Virginia, Herzog found that the electrical activity of the clock cells in aged rats was not regular compared with that of young and middle-aged rats.

Keyword: Sleep; Alzheimers
Link ID: 449 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Researchers in Spain have isolated for the first time a by-product of the illicit drug Ecstasy that is believed to cause some of the brain damage associated with the drug. They believe their finding will help them measure, with greater precision, the long-term neurotoxicity of Ecstasy in human users. The report will be published in the September issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The findings may corroborate speculation that HHMA (3,4 dihydroxymethamphetamine), is at least partially responsible for Ecstasy's harm to the human brain.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 448 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Doctors Test Therapy for a Brain Malady
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE Two patients with forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, one of which was contracted from eating infected beef, have been treated at a San Francisco hospital with an obsolete malaria drug that doctors hope will alleviate the fatal brain malady. The drug, quinacrine, was widely used during World War II to treat malarial infections of the brain, but was replaced by newer drugs. When researchers found in a random screening process that the drug killed mouse cells infected with the agent that causes mad cow disease, they decided to test it quickly in people. A clinical trial is scheduled to begin in the fall. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 446 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Left in music Musicians' brains may use language modules listening to music.
ERICA KLARREICH At a performance of Beethoven's Fifth, you could tell which audience members were musicians - if you happened to be carrying a brain scanner. Professional musicians use their left brain more than other people when listening to music, a magnetic-resonance study suggests1. Musicians, unlike others, may process music much as a language, the result hints. When played a recording of Bach's Italian Concerto, all the study's 28 subjects showed activity in the planum temporale, part of the temporal lobe above the ear canal that is thought to be responsible for many auditory tasks. Non-musicians' brain activity was concentrated in the right side of the planum temporale, but in musicians the left side dominated. 1.Ohnishi, T. et al.Functional anatomy of musical perception in musicians. Cerebral Cortex, 11, 754 - 760, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Hearing; Brain imaging
Link ID: 443 - Posted: 10.20.2001

By BARRY MEIER
The maker of the widely abused narcotic painkiller OxyContin knew that other companies had used a chemical safeguard to reduce misuse of their products but decided not to take similar steps before marketing the drug, company officials said yesterday. Officials of the manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, said in statements over the weekend that they had not expected abusers to crush the powerful drug and then inject or snort it so they had not initially considered adding a compound that blocks the drug's narcotic effect when it is taken those ways. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 441 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Stem cell research is vital to finding cures for blinding diseases
BOSTON - Stem cell research, which holds promise for treatments of a wide variety of diseases, is just as promising for curing some forms of blindness, vision scientists say. In diseases of both the retina – the back of the eye – and the cornea – the front of the eye – stem cells derived from adult or postnatal animals show remarkable ability to replace damaged cells that may be the cause of visual impairment.

Keyword: Stem Cells; Vision
Link ID: 435 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists hope to raise the neural curtain on sleep's virtual theater Bruce Bower After his father's death in 1896, Viennese neurologist Sigmund Freud made a momentous career change. He decided to study the mind instead of the brain. Freud began by probing his own mind. Intrigued by his conflicted feelings toward his late father, the scientist analyzed his own dreams, slips of the tongue, childhood memories, and episodes of forgetfulness. Freud's efforts culminated in the 1900 publication of The Interpretation of Dreams. In that book, he depicted dreams as symbolic stories in which sleepers' unconscious sexual and aggressive desires play out in disguised forms. From Science News, Vol. 160, No. 6, Aug. 11, 2001, p. 90. Copyright ©2001 Science Service. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 433 - Posted: 11.06.2001

Researchers from disparate fields find female menstrual hormones influence much more than reproduction
By Karen Young Kreeger
Ask a woman if her period affects her body beyond the reproductive system and she'll probably answer with a resounding yes. This seemingly basic question is now being asked by numerous investigators in various areas of women's health research. From the timing of mammograms to the mind-altering effects of drugs, researchers are now learning that the hormonal swings during a woman's menstrual cycle affect more than just reproduction, like metabolism rates and pain. A woman's menstrual cycle starts when menses flow begins, is followed by the follicular phase when estrogen rises and peaks at ovulation mid-cycle, then ends with the luteal phase when progesterone dominates. Until recently, researchers didn't include women in significant numbers in clinical trials, let alone consider the effects of menstrual cycles on female health.1 Several pieces of history combine to explain this lack of attention, says John M. Johnson, a physiology professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, who studies hormonal effects on body temperature regulation. "One is the overall assumption that reproductive hormones had to do with reproduction, period, until it became obvious that these hormones have global effects." The Scientist 15[15]:20, Jul. 23, 2001 © Copyright 2001, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 431 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Evidence for chaos in the neocortex, the most complex brain structure specific to humans and other mammals, has been obtained in a model by researchers in Australia (David Liley, Swinburne University of Technology, 011-61-3-9214-8812, dliley@swin.edu.au). Chaos in the brain would manifest itself as unpredictable and seemingly random electrical activity in a population of nerve cells, or neurons. Chaos may have an important neurological function: it could provide, as researchers have speculated, a flexible and rapid means for the brain to discriminate between different sounds, odors, and other perceptual stimuli.

Keyword: None
Link ID: 430 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Neuroscientists at Jefferson Medical College have clarified how the human eye uses light to regulate melatonin production, and in turn, the body's biological clock. They have discovered what appears to be a fifth human "photoreceptor," and which is the main one to regulate the biological – and non-visual – effects of light on the body. They have identified a novel photopigment in the human eye responsible for reacting to light and controlling the production of melatonin, which plays an important role in the body's circadian rhythms. They also discovered that wavelengths of light in the blue region of the visible spectrum are the most effective in controlling melatonin production. ©2001 Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Keyword: Biological Rhythms; Vision
Link ID: 429 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Placebo mimics drug effects on Parkinson's brains.
HELEN PEARSON Expectation can be an effective drug. A placebo stimulates the brain in the same way as drug treatment in Parkinson's disease, shows a Canadian study. Both increase the release of the brain chemical dopamine, fuelling recent controversy over whether the placebo effect exists at all. Thought to affect around 30% of patients, the placebo effect, in which patients benefit from treatment because of expectation alone, is a long-standing medical conundrum. 1.Fuente-Fernandez, R. et al. Expectation and dopamine release: mechanism of the placebo effect in Parkinson's disease. Science, 293, 1164 - 1166, (2001). 2.Hrobjartsson, A. & Gotzsche, P. C.Is the placebo powerless? An analysis of clinical trials comparing placebo with no treatment. The New England Journal of Medicine, 344, 1594 - 1602, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Parkinsons; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 428 - Posted: 10.20.2001

A Chip That Mimics a Retina but Strains for Light
By ANNE EISENBERG LAST week in Illinois, three patients with severe retinal disease had an unusual operation: tiny silicon chips were implanted in their eyes. The microchips are artificial retinas designed to fill in for damaged cells and help restore lost vision. Three other patients with damaged retinas had silicon chips implanted last year in similar operations. The surgeries are part of a study, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, that allows the devices to be placed in 10 volunteers. "The first three patients have tolerated the chips for a year with no problems," said Dr. Alan Chow, a pediatric ophthalmologist who, with his brother, Vincent, invented the chip and is directing work on its development. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Vision; Regeneration
Link ID: 423 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Grandmasters remember to win
Chunky chess theory shows how best brains battle. MICHAEL HOPKIN Chess grandmasters outwit opponents using different brain regions from us lesser mortals, according to new research1. Mid-match activity in grandmasters' brains is mainly in regions thought to be involved in long-term memory - the frontal and parietal cortices - Thomas Elbert and colleagues at the University of Konstanz, Germany have found. Amateurs rely more on the medial temporal lobe, which helps to encode new information, suggesting that they analyse situations afresh. 1.Amidzic, O. et al. Pattern of focal gamma bursts in chess players. Nature, 412, 603, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 422 - Posted: 10.20.2001

Lapses in memory get boomers' attention
Nancy Weaver Teichert SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Teacher Kim Parker has a Palm Pilot to help her remember but often forgets to put it in her purse. Her cell phone has beeped at her during the night when she's forgotten to turn it off. Then there are the times she walks into a room and forgets why. "It's kind of like brain fades. All of a sudden something is gone," said Parker, 44, of Elk Grove. "If we didn't think it was funny, it would be tragic." Memory lapses - dubbed "senior moments" - have been jokingly blamed for every forgotten name, missed errand and movie or book title that sits stubbornly on the tip of the tongue. © 2001 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 420 - Posted: 10.20.2001

June babies have higher risk of anorexia
Alison Motluk Anorexic women are most likely to have been born in the spring or early summer, reports a researcher in Scotland. The finding raises the possibility that a common winter infection, such as flu, may predispose an unborn baby to the condition. "It's not the whole answer," says John Eagles of the Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen. But it could be an unrecognised cause of anorexia nervosa, which affects around one per cent of girls in the US. Anorexic girls are preoccupied with dieting and being thin, often seeing themselves as fat despite being severely underweight. Their excessive weight loss can cause shrunken organs, loss of bone mineral and an irregular heartbeat. Journal reference: International Journal of Eating Disorders (vol 30, p 167)

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 419 - Posted: 10.20.2001

ADHD and Tic Disorders in Children Corrected with Guanfacine
New Haven, Conn. - Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and tic disorders showed a 37 percent improvement when they took the medication guanfacine, an alternative to drugs like Ritalin, which can worsen tics, Yale researchers found in a new study published in the July issue of American Journal of Psychiatry. "Guanfacine appears to be a safe and effective treatment for children with tic disorders and ADHD," said first author Lawrence Scahill, associate professor in the Yale Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine.

Keyword: ADHD; Tourettes
Link ID: 418 - Posted: 10.20.2001