(Medical Xpress) — Researchers funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) at the University of Cambridge have identified a brain abnormality which is found in drug-dependent individuals as well as their siblings who have had no history of drug addiction. The brain abnormality identified by the researchers makes it more difficult for individuals to exercise self-control.
Psychology
Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer’s
One of the most distinctive signs of the development of Alzheimer’s disease is a change in the behavior of a protein that neuroscientists call tau. In normal brains, tau is present in individual units essential to neuron health. In the cells of Alzheimer’s brains, by contrast, tau proteins aggregate into twisted structures known as “neurofibrillary tangles.” These tangles are considered a hallmark of the disease, but their precise role in Alzheimer’s pathology has long been a point of contention among researchers.
Could brain size determine whether you are good at maintaining friendships?
(Medical Xpress) — Researchers are suggesting that there is a link between the number of friends you have and the size of the region of the brain known as the orbital prefrontal cortex that is found just above the eyes.
Study flags over-reliance on computer tests in return-to-plan decisions after concussion
A new study by researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus and Pace University is critical of the widespread use of computerized neuropsychological tests (CNT) in decisions regarding when athletes can return to play after suffering a concussion.
Study shows Alzheimer’s disease may spread by ‘jumping’ from one brain region to another
For decades, researchers have debated whether Alzheimer’s disease starts independently in vulnerable brain regions at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads to neuroanatomically connected areas. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers strongly supports the latter, demonstrating that abnormal tau protein, a key feature of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s, propagates along linked brain circuits, “jumping” from neuron to neuron.