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ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News |
| If blood pressure rises upon standing, so may risk for heart attack Posted: 17 Mar 2022 06:47 AM PDT Young and middle-aged adults with high blood pressure whose systolic blood pressure (top-number) rose more than 6.5 mm Hg upon standing were more likely to later have a heart attack, stroke, heart-related chest pain or other major heart disease-related event than those with lower systolic blood pressure in response to standing. The researchers highlight the importance of measuring standing blood pressure in young and middle-aged adults with hypertension, suggesting early treatment for those who have elevated blood pressure upon standing. |
| Do ‘behavioral psychedelics’ help patients make lasting, positive change? Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:33 PM PDT Psychedelics may find new, legitimate roles in treatment for anxiety, depression, stress disorders, addiction, and other mental and behavioral health problems. But ensuring they do requires developing rigorous, standardized methods to study and apply the results, according to a new report. |
| Even with statins, high triglycerides may increase risk of second stroke Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:33 PM PDT Stroke can have many causes. An atherothrombotic stroke is caused by a clot that forms from plaques that build up within blood vessels in the brain. A new study suggests that people who have this type of stroke who also have higher levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in their blood may have a higher risk of having another stroke or other cardiovascular problems one year later, compared to people who had a stroke but have lower triglyceride levels. The study found an association even when people were taking statin drugs meant to lower triglycerides and protect against heart attack and stroke. |
| Exposure to phthalates — the 'everywhere chemical' — may increase children’s cancer risk Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:58 AM PDT New research has linked phthalates, commonly called the 'everywhere chemical,' to higher incidence of specific childhood cancers. |
| Largest ever psychedelics study maps changes of conscious awareness to neurotransmitter systems Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT In the world's largest study on psychedelics and the brain, a team of researchers have shown how drug-induced changes in subjective awareness are anatomically rooted in specific neurotransmitter receptor systems. |
| What regulates the 'glue' needed for nerve repair? Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT Researchers have identified a molecule essential for regulating the repair of injured nerves, which could help people recover from nerve damage. |
| Researchers may have unlocked the blood-brain barrier Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT The brain is composed of billions of neurons -- vulnerable cells that require a protective environment to function properly. This delicate environment is protected by 400 miles of specialized vasculature designed to limit which substances come into contact with the brain. This blood-brain barrier is essential for protecting the organ from toxins and pathogens. But it also blocks the passage of therapeutic drugs. |
| What's the prevailing opinion on social media? Look at the flocks, says researcher Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:26 AM PDT A communication researcher has developed a framework for measuring the slippery concept of social media public opinion. Murmuration identifies meaningful groups of social media actors based on the 'who-follows-whom' relationship. The actors attract like-minded followers to form 'flocks,' which serve as the units of analysis. As opinions form and shift in response to external events, the flocks' unfolding opinions move like the fluid murmuration of airborne starlings. |
| Molecular imaging uncovers effects of COVID-19 on the brain Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT A significant number of COVID-19 neurological complications -- such as fatigue, headache, and cognitive impairment--are ultimately reversible, according to new research. The comprehensive literature review of molecular imaging findings sheds light on how COVID-19 affects the brain and identifies important implications for other neurological conditions, like Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. |
| How the brain encodes social rank and 'winning mindset' Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT Researchers have made inroads into understanding how the mammalian brain encodes social rank and uses this information to shape behaviors. In mice engaged in a competition, the team discovered, patterns of brain activity differ depending on the social rank of the opposing animal. Moreover, the scientists could use brain readouts to accurately predict which animal would win a food reward -- the victor was not always the more socially dominant animal, but the one more engaged in a 'winning mindset.' |
| For accuracy, brain studies of complex behavior require thousands of people Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT Scientists rely on brain-wide association studies to measure brain structure and function -- using brain scans -- and link them to mental illness and other complex behaviors. But a new study shows that most published brain-wide association studies are performed with too few participants to yield reliable findings. |
| Discovery of an immune escape mechanism promoting Listeria infection of the central nervous system Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT Some 'hypervirulent' strains of Listeria monocytogenes have a greater capacity to infect the central nervous system. Scientists have discovered a mechanism that enables cells infected with Listeria monocytogenes to escape immune responses. This mechanism provides infected cells circulating in the blood with a higher probability of adhering to and infecting cells of cerebral vessels, thereby enabling bacteria to cross the blood-brain barrier and infect the brain. |
| AI to predict antidepressant outcomes in youth Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Researchers have taken the first step in using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict early outcomes with antidepressants in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder. |
| Those with facial scars rate their own appearance more critically than surgeons and strangers Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:49 AM PDT Patients who undergo facial surgery think their surgical scars look worse than surgeons and independent observers do, according to a new study. |
| Alzheimer’s pathology, not cognitive decline, drives neuropsychiatric symptoms Posted: 16 Mar 2022 07:04 AM PDT Alzheimer's disease (AD) eventually leads to severe cognitive decline, but most affected individuals also develop distressing neuropsychiatric symptoms. These earlier effects may be more subtle and are not well understood; it remains unclear whether they arise directly from AD pathology or secondarily as psychological reactions due to the cognitive deficits. Now, a new study examines the connections between biomarkers of AD's hallmark neuropathology, cognition, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms. |
| Mechanism underlying Alzheimer-like damage in the brain of patients with Down Syndrome elucidated Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT Precisely why Alzheimer-like changes -- marked by the build-up of harmful amyloid and tau proteins -- occur in the brain in Down syndrome has been unclear. But now, in new research, scientists show that reduced efficiency of a key protein transport system is partly to blame. |
| A new brain-computer interface with a flexible backing Posted: 15 Mar 2022 01:50 PM PDT Engineering researchers have invented an advanced brain-computer interface with a flexible and moldable backing and penetrating microneedles. Adding a flexible backing to this kind of brain-computer interface allows the device to more evenly conform to the brain's complex curved surface and to more uniformly distribute the microneedles that pierce the cortex. The microneedles, which are 10 times thinner than the human hair, protrude from the flexible backing, penetrate the surface of the brain tissue without piercing surface venules, and record signals from nearby nerve cells evenly across a wide area of the cortex. This novel brain-computer interface has thus far been tested in rodents. |
| Brain differences in children with binge eating disorder Posted: 15 Mar 2022 01:28 PM PDT Brain scans of children ages 9-10 with a type of eating disorder that causes uncontrollable overeating showed differences in gray matter density compared to their unaffected peers, according to a new study. The study's findings suggest that abnormal development in the brain's centers for reward and inhibition may play a role. In the children with binge eating disorder, researchers saw elevations in gray matter density in areas that are typically 'pruned' during healthy brain development. Disturbed synaptic pruning is linked to a number of psychiatric disorders. |
| Skin biopsy can help identify patients with Parkinson's disease Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:19 AM PDT Accumulation of the biomarker p-syn in the skin distinguishes patients with Parkinson's disease from patients with symptoms of parkinsonism due to other neurodegenerative disorders, scientists report. |
| Fruit fly study uncovers functional significance of gene mutations associated with autism Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:18 AM PDT Researchers applied sophisticated genetic strategies in laboratory fruit flies to determine the functional consequences of de novo variants identified in the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC), which includes approximately 2,600 families affected by autism spectrum disorder. Surprisingly, their work also allowed them to uncover a new form of rare disease due to a gene called GLRA2. |
| Senolytic drugs boost key protective protein Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:17 AM PDT Researchers say senolytic drugs can boost a key protein in the body that protects older people against aspects of aging and a range of diseases. Their findings demonstrate this in mice and human studies. |
| Immune cells linked to neurological disease prognosis and survival Posted: 15 Mar 2022 09:14 AM PDT Immune cells could help predict the prognosis of patients with the rare neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), says a new study. |
| Cell fusion ‘awakens’ regenerative potential of human retina Posted: 15 Mar 2022 09:14 AM PDT Fusing human retinal cells with adult stem cells could be a potential therapeutic strategy to treat retinal damage and visual impairment, according to the findings of a new study. The hybrid cells were injected into a growing retinal organoid, a model that closely resembles the function of the human retina. The researchers found that the hybrid cells successfully engrafted into the tissue and differentiated into cells that closely resemble ganglion cells, a type of neuron essential for vision. The hybrid cells act by awakening the regenerative potential of human retinal tissue, previously only thought to be the preserve of cold-blood vertebrates. |
| Living near green areas reduces the risk of suffering a stroke by 16 percent, study finds Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:30 AM PDT The risk of suffering an ischaemic stroke, the most common type of cerebrovascular event, is 16 percent less in people who have green spaces less than 300 meters from their homes. The study took into account information on exposure to three atmospheric pollutants linked to vehicle traffic in more than three and a half million people selected from among the 7.5 million residents of Catalonia, over the age of eighteen who had not suffered a stroke prior to the start of the study. |
| Permeability of the blood-brain barrier in mice Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:30 AM PDT The blood-brain barrier plays an essential role in protecting the central nervous system from harmful bacteria, toxins, and other blood-borne pathogens. |
| Reduced inhibition of hippocampal neurons impairs long-term memory recall in Rett syndrome Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:30 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that diminished memory recall in Rett syndrome mice can be restored by activating specific inhibitory cells in the hippocampus. |
| When it comes to sleep, it’s quality over quantity Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:29 AM PDT Some people are gifted with genes that pack the benefits of slumber into an efficient time window, keeping them peppy on only four or six hours of sleep a night. In addition, the scientists said, these 'elite sleepers' show psychological resilience and resistance to neurodegenerative conditions that may point the way to fending off neurological disease. |
| Scientists find brain network that makes mice mingle Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:29 AM PDT The difference between a social butterfly and a lone wolf is actually at least eight differences, according to new findings by a team of brain researchers. By simultaneously spying on the electrical activity of several brain regions, researchers can both identify how social or solitary an individual mouse is, and, by zapping nodes within this social brain network, can prompt mice to be even more gregarious. |
| Many patients with severe COVID-19 recover consciousness, but recovery can take days or even weeks Posted: 15 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT Researchers report on a multicenter study to better understand the recovery timeline and the causes of delayed recovery of consciousness in patients with severe COVID-19. |
| Mechanism linking type 2 diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 15 Mar 2022 06:50 AM PDT A research group has revealed that amyloid-beta detected in blood is secreted from peripheral tissues (pancreas, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, etc.) that are sensitive to glucose and insulin. |
| Discovery of novel brain fear mechanisms offers target for anxiety-reducing drugs Posted: 15 Mar 2022 06:50 AM PDT A new target in the brain which underpins the eliciting of anxiety and fear behaviors such as 'freezing' has been identified by neuroscientists. Researchers say the discovery of a key pathway in the brain offers a potential new drug target for treating anxiety and psychological disorders, which affect an estimated 264-million people worldwide. |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2022 03:15 PM PDT Planned movement is essential to our daily lives, and it often requires delayed execution. As children, we stood crouched and ready but waited for the shout of 'GO!' before sprinting from the starting line. As adults, we wait until the traffic light turns green before making a turn. New research explores how cues in our environment can trigger planned movement. |
| Cognitive decline key factor in predicting life expectancy in Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 14 Mar 2022 03:14 PM PDT Cognitive decline is the biggest factor in determining how long patients with Alzheimer's disease will live after being diagnosed, according to a new study. |
| Close the blinds during sleep to protect your health Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:43 PM PDT Exposure to even moderate ambient lighting during nighttime sleep, compared to sleeping in a dimly lit room, harms your cardiovascular function during sleep and increases your insulin resistance the following morning, reports a new study. Just a single night of exposure to moderate room lighting during sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation, which are risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:42 AM PDT Scientists have shown in rats how several brain regions need to work together to acquire a skill and replicate it flawlessly with each rat adding their own personal flair in the form of a 'dance.' |
| A third of new moms during early COVID had postpartum depression Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PDT One in three new mothers during early COVID-19 screened positive for postpartum depression -- nearly triple pre-pandemic levels -- and 1 in 5 had major depressive symptoms, say researchers. |
| Smartphone app calculates genetic risk for heart attack Posted: 14 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PDT Researchers have developed a smartphone app that can calculate users' genetic risk for coronary artery disease (CAD)--and found that users at high risk sought out appropriate medication after using the app. |
| Link between high cholesterol and heart disease 'inconsistent', new study finds Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:07 AM PDT New research has revealed that the link between 'bad' cholesterol (LDL-C) and poor health outcomes, such as heart attack and stroke, may not be as strong as previously thought. |
| Photo or the real thing? Mice can inherently recall and tell them apart, experiments show Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT The ability to make perceptual and conceptual judgements such as knowing the difference between a picture of an object and the actual 3D object itself has been considered a defining capacity of primates, until now. A study provides the very first behavioral evidence that laboratory mice are capable of higher-order cognitive processes. Findings also provide strong support that the mouse's hippocampus, like that of humans, is required for this form of nonspatial visual recognition memory and picture-object equivalence. |
| Air pollution linked to depressive symptoms in adolescents Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:56 AM PDT Exposure to ozone from air pollution has been linked to an increase in depressive symptoms for adolescents over time, even in neighborhoods that meet air quality standards, according to new research. |
| Fight friendly fire with fire: An antibody for treating autoimmune disease Posted: 11 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PST Researchers have found that repulsive guidance molecule-a (RGMa) induces macrophages to recruit neutrophils to nerve lesions in neuromyelitis optica, where they kill off astrocytes, causing pain and paralysis. Treating rats with an anti-RGMa antibody interrupted this signaling process, resulting in decreased neutrophil recruitment, increased astrocyte survival, and improvement in disease-associated symptoms. |
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