ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that organoids -- lab-grown collections of cells that mimic a patient's tumor -- are a promising avenue for drug discovery to improve outcomes in patients with cancer, particularly rare cancers for which clinical data on drug effectiveness is often lacking.

There has been debate over the best treatment for a certain type of stroke caused by a blockage of a large artery in the brain. A new meta-analysis finds that people who have this kind of stroke who can be treated within four-and-a-half hours after their symptoms start may do better after their stroke when treated with both a clot-busting drug and physical clot removal, compared to physical removal only. Combining the two therapies, called bridging therapy, was linked to better chances of a person surviving and living independently after stroke.

A new study suggests that people with mild traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to have cognitive impairment, cognitive decline or both one year later, compared to people who were not injured. People with poor cognitive outcomes were also more likely to have other symptoms like anxiety and lower satisfaction with life.

Huntington's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and multiple other neurodegenerative diseases share a commonality: they are all characterized by proteins (different ones for each disease) aggregating in neurons within the brain and nervous system. Now, scientists have found that the cells have the mechanisms to clear those aggregates -- they just fail to activate them.

Researchers have studied the immune system of pairs of monozygotic twins to identify the influence of the environment and of genetics in cases of multiple sclerosis. In the process, they may have discovered precursor cells of the disease-causing T cells.

We give meaning to our world through the categorization of objects. When and how does this process begin? By studying the gaze of one hundred infants, scientists have demonstrated that, by the age of fourth months, babies can assign objects that they have never seen to the animate or inanimate category. These findings reveal measurable changes in neural organization, which reflect the transition from simply viewing the world to understanding it.

A new study among young Danish men confirms the assumption that risk-tolerant, impatient and self-centered people are more likely to commit crimes than risk averse, patient and altruistic people are.

Researchers have identified a gene linked to fetal brain development and autism. Their work shows that the gene is influenced by the mother's early prenatal vitamins use and placental oxygen levels.

Researchers have made an android child named Nikola that successfully conveys six basic emotions -- happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. Facial expressions are generated by moving 'muscles' in Nikola's face. This is the first time that the quality of android-expressed emotion has been tested and verified for these six emotions.

Weight gain produces feelings of despondency and low self-worth among middle-aged men, but it is also seen as an inevitable consequence of family and career responsibilities, according to a new study.

Productivity gurus claim that the best time of day to perform different types of cognitive tasks varies substantially based on the body's biological clock, but a new study led by sleep scientists challenges this long-held belief. The researchers analyzed data from a laboratory experiment that put participants on either a simulated day or night shift schedule for three days, allowing them to dissociate the biological clock effects on task performance from the effects of how long the participants had been awake. After completing their shifts, participants were kept in a 24-hour constant routine protocol designed to study humans' internally generated biological rhythms independent of any external influences. Comparing participants' performance on three distinct cognitive tests completed throughout the constant routine, the researchers found that the timing of peak performance was not task specific.

People who have had a heart attack are at increased risk of stroke and vascular dementia; however, a new study found they may be less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. A large, nationwide study in Denmark found that the risk of Parkinson's disease was moderately lower among people who have had a heart attack than among the general population.

Taste loss in people infected with COVID-19 is in fact genuine and distinguishable from smell loss. A new study examines the prevalence of taste loss in COVID-19 patients and how the way the symptom was measured might impact the prevalence estimate.

Human-computer interaction researchers have developed a new prototype that can monitor people's brain signals while they are coloring mandalas and produce real-time feedback on a peripheral display to represent levels of mindfulness. The researchers, who specialize in thinking about how new computing technologies can be designed to help people, believe systems like these could be developed to aid the learning, and training, of focused attention mindfulness techniques and help people deal with stress, depression and other affective health disorders.