Dyslexia-linked genetic variant decreases midline crossing of auditory pathways

Finnish scientists have found that a rare dyslexia-linked genetic variant of the ROBO1 gene decreases normal crossing of auditory pathways in the human brain. The weaker the expression of the gene is, the more abnormal is the midline crossing. The results link, for the first time, a dyslexia-susceptibility gene to a specific sensory function of the human brain. This collaborative study between Aalto University and University of Helsinki in Finland and the Karolinska Insitutet in Sweden was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Scientists learn how stem cell implants help heal traumatic brain injury

For years, researchers seeking new therapies for traumatic brain injury have been tantalized by the results of animal experiments with stem cells. In numerous studies, stem cell implantation has substantially improved brain function in experimental animals with brain trauma. But just how these improvements occur has remained a mystery.

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Novel brain tumor vaccine acts like bloodhound to locate cancer cells

A national clinical trial testing the efficacy of a novel brain tumor vaccine has begun at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the only facility in the Southeast to participate.

The vaccine will be tested in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and highest grade malignant glioma. Wake Forest Baptist will treat a minimum of 25 patients in this randomized, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial of ICT-107. A total of 20 sites across the country are participating in the trial to test the safety and efficacy of this novel cancer vaccine.

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UCLA neuroscientists demonstrate crucial advances in ‘brain reading’

At UCLA’s Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ computerized machine learning (ML) methods to study these patterns and identify the cognitive state — or sometimes the thought process — of human subjects. The technique is called “brain reading” or “brain decoding.”

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Scientists discover how brain corrects bumps to body

Researchers have identified the area of the brain that controls our ability to correct our movement after we’ve been hit or bumped — a finding that may have implications for understanding why subjects with stroke often have severe difficulties moving.

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Bioengineering yields new approaches for diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injury

Bioengineering — the application of engineering principles to understand and treat medical conditions — is delivering innovative solutions for diagnosing and repairing damage to the brain caused by a traumatic injury. A broad sample of these new, cutting-edge techniques is presented in a special issue of Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) The entire issue is available online at http:// www.liebertpub.com/neu

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Phase I trial begins using gene therapy and bone marrow stem cells in the treatment of brain cancer

Initiated by Lentigen and UH Case Medical Center

Cleveland, OH. and Gaithersburg, MD. – University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Lentigen Corporation announced today the initiation of a novel Phase I clinical trial of LG631 gene therapy for the protection of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from the dose limiting toxicity of chemotherapy with Temodar.

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Einstein study indicates brain plays role in regulating blood sugar in humans

November 7, 2011 — (Bronx, NY) — Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have demonstrated for the first time that the brain is a key player in regulating glucose (sugar) metabolism in humans. The findings, published today in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that drugs targeting the brain and central nervous system could be a novel approach to treating diabetes.

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Zinc’s role in the brain

Zinc plays a critical role in regulating how neurons communicate with one another, and could affect how memories form and how we learn. The new research, in the current issue of Neuron, was authored by Xiao-an Zhang, now a chemistry professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), and colleagues at MIT and Duke University.

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How the brain makes memories: Rhythmically!

The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.

Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.

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