People with multiple sclerosis may find that smoked cannabis provides relief from muscle tightness spasticity and pain, although the benefits come with adverse cognitive effects, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Development
Let there be light: It’s good for our brains
(Medical Xpress) — Swiss scientists have proven that light intensity influences our cognitive performance and how alert we feel, and that these positive effects last until early evening.
Brain oscillations reveal that our senses do not experience the world continuously
(Medical Xpress) — It has long been suspected that humans do not experience the world continuously, but rather in rapid snapshots.
Gene therapy for hearing loss: Potential and limitations
Regenerating sensory hair cells, which produce electrical signals in response to vibrations within the inner ear, could form the basis for treating age- or trauma-related hearing loss. One way to do this could be with gene therapy that drives new sensory hair cells to grow.
Study raises questions about use of anti-epilepsy drugs in newborns
A brain study in infant rats demonstrates that the anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital stunts neuronal growth, which could prompt new questions about using the first-line drug to treat epilepsy in human newborns.