Jill Bolte Taylor became a brain scientist because she wanted to study her brother's schizophrenia. In this talk at TED she explains how she analyzed her own stroke after a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. She explains how she felt her own brain fuctions slip away. She says she became an "infant in a woman's body."
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.
She brings an actual human brain to the TED conference. You can see the video below or here. (via Boing Boing)
The video from the Wall Street Journal discusses the issue of hidden tramatic brain injuries. Many researchers believe that hidden traumatic brain injuries may be the cause of social or educational failure for many people. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine is behind some important research in this area.
The BBC reports that a new blood test can identify Alzheimer's six years before symptoms of the disease start to show. The article says the blood test has a 90% accuracy
The test identifies changes in a handful of proteins that cells use to convey messages to one another.
The US researchers found it could indicate who had Alzheimer's, as well as who was likely to develop the condition, with 90% accuracy.
The work, led by Stanford University, features in Nature Medicine.
One of the most distressing aspects of Alzheimer's disease is the difficulty in determining whether mild memory problems are the beginning of an inevitable mental decline.
It sounds very promising. Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease should make it easier to eventually halt or reverse the progress of the disease. Hopefully, the test won't falsely identify someone as having Alzheimer's. You wouldn't want a situation where people were falsely accused of having a disease which causes progressive mental decline.
KPHO Phoenix has a developing story about a local boy who was killed by a deadly amoeba he is believed to have picked up while swimming in Lake Havasu.
A 14-year-old Lake Havasu boy has become the sixth victim to die nationwide this year of a microscopic organism that attacks the body through the nasal cavity, quickly eating its way to the brain.
Aaron Evans died Sept. 17 of Naegleria fowleri, an organism doctors said he probably picked up a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, Naegleria infected 23 people from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials said they've noticed a spike in cases, with six Naegleria-related cases so far -- all of them fatal.
Such attacks are extremely rare, though some health officials have put their communities on high alert, telling people to stay away from warm, standing water.
The article says the amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri lives in lake bottoms where it doesn't usually come into contact with people. However, if the dirt at the bottom of the lake is stirred up and water gets up someone's nose they may obtain the unwanted amoeba as well. Once inside a human the amoeba latches onto the olfactory nerve and follows it up into the human's brain. Syptoms begin with headaches and fevers and end with hallucinations and death. The amoeba can kill a victim is as little as two weeks.
People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers, Beach said. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes.
Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs have been effective stopping the amoeba in lab experiments, but people who have been attacked rarely survive, Beach said.
The CDC's fact sheet on Naegleria fowleri says in the past cases have been very rare - only 23 reported cases in people from 1995 to 2004. It doesn't take many cases to get above that small average of 2-3 cases per year. There have already been six deaths this year. The bad news is the amoeba likes heat so as global warming increases our temperatures there will more frequent human encounters with the killer amoeba.
Technology Review reports that an Isreali company called NovoCure is testing a new cancer fighting weapon that uses a weak electric fields to destroy cancer cells. The article says the process has destroyed every type of cancer cell in animal tests. Studies are being done on breast cancer in Europe and on glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer in the U.S. and Europe. The technology works because cancer cells divide more quickly and have a different shape than normal cells. This feature of cancer cells allows them to be destroyed by the electric field while normal cells survive unscathed.
The electric fields' different effects on normal and dividing cells mostly have to do with geometry. A dividing cell has what Palti calls "an hourglass shape rather than a round shape." The electric field generated by the NovoCure device passes around and through round cells in a uniform fashion. But the narrow neck that pinches in at the center of a dividing cell acts like a lens, concentrating the electric field at this point. This non-uniform electric field wreaks havoc on dividing cells. The electric field tears apart important biological molecules, such as DNA and the structural proteins that pull the chromosomes into place during cell division. Dividing cells simply "disintegrate," says Palti.
Palti, who for years has been studying the effect of electric fields on cancer and normal cells, says that he has verified this mechanism in computer models and experiments in the lab. "The physics are solid," says David Cohen, associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School.
Patients in the glioblastoma clinical trial wear the device almost constantly, carrying necessary components in a briefcase. A wire emerging from the briefcase connects to adhesive electrodes covering the skull. Alternating electric fields pass through the scalp, into the skull, and on to the brain. The Food and Drug Administration approved the device for late-stage clinical trials for glioblastoma following promising results from a pilot study in 10 patients, one of whom had a complete recovery.
There is some equipment patients have to carry with them but no one is going to mind having to lug around equipment if it will cure them of their deadly cancer. You can see a video of a presentation by Mike Ambrogi of NovoCure to the Central New Jersey Brain Tumor Support Group here.
The BBC reports that new studies have shown that healthy brain cells are very vulnerable to chemo drugs.
Drug therapy for cancer can prompt a wide range of neurological side effects, even the onset of dementia.
But they were thought not to be directly linked to the drug treatment itself.
Instead, some doctors have put them down to the patient's vulnerable psychological state.
The latest study found that dose levels typically used when treating patients killed 40% to 80% of cancer cells - but 70% to 100% of human brain cells grown in the lab, and caused serious damage to brain cells when given to mice.
Several types of healthy brain cell continued to die for at least six weeks after exposure.
It is very unfortunate that there are not better ways to kill tumors than by using harmful chemotherapy drugs. At least doctors won't think their parents are crazy anymore when they claim about memory loss and other brain-related problems. On the positive side maybe this will lead to less harmful drugs or some kind of method to protect the brain when the body is undergoing chemotherapy.
The AFP reports that a new study by scientists from Swinburne University of Technology's Brain Sciences Institute in Melbourne have found cellphones can affect brain function. They study of patients making a 30-minute phone call found a lower reaction time but increased memory.
The researchers conducted a series of psychological tests on 120 volunteers as they were exposed to mobile phone emissions for half an hour. Another set of tests was conducted on volunteers who were not exposed to mobile phone radiation but thought they were.
The results, published in April's edition of the journal Neuropsychologia, showed a small but discernable change in brain function among those who were exposed to the electromagnetic fields that mobile phones generate. "The study showed evidence of slower response times for participants undertaking simple reactions and more complex reactions, such as choosing a response when there is more than one alternative," lead researcher Con Stough said.
"This could equate to driving a car and being distracted by another car pulling out in front of you. The drivers reaction time to chose between braking, turning or sounding the horn, could be affected, albeit slightly." The study also found that radiation from mobile phones seems to improve working memory, used for example when remembering a phone number long enough to dial it. He said further work was needed using magnetic resonance imaging to clarify the way mobile phones alter on the way the brain works.
The study only focused on the single phone call so it did not measure the risk of long term mobile phone use. They only wanted to prove that cellphones can affect brain function. Con Stough, the lead researcher, told the AFP: "We're just showing that the radiation is actually active on the brain. But the impairment is small. The convenience and the way that we communicate now these days outweighs that effect."
Now if they would only do a follow-up study to see what causes those phantom cellphone rings.
A new study using brain scans has determined that differences in the thickening of the cortex and not brain size have more to do with intelligence. The BBC says the study followed the brain of over 300 children.
The US National Institute of Mental Health used scans to study development of the cortex, which is responsible for thinking, in 307 children.
They found smarter youngsters tended to have a thin cortex aged seven, but this thickened rapidly by the age of 12.
Average children had an initially thick cortex which peaked in size aged eight.
In both cases, the cortex thinned after reaching this peak but this was more gradual in children of average IQ as their cortex had reached peak thickness at an earlier age.
The scientists believe the longer thickening period gives the brain more time to develop "high-level thinking circuitry." It's pretty weird that human brains grow in different patterns. Clearly more research in this area is needed to understand exactly why this happens and how much impact it has on learning abilities and cognitive skills.
Reuters reports that a new Swedish study has found that long term use of cell phones does carry an extra risk of brain cancer -- especially on the side of the head where the phone is held.
The Dutch Health Council, in an overview of research from around the world, last year found no evidence radiation from mobile phones and TV towers was harmful. A four-year British survey released in January showed no link between regular, long-term use of cell phones and the most common type of tumor.
However, researchers at the Swedish National Institute for Working Life said they looked at the mobile phone use of 905 people between the age of 20 and 80 who had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and found a link.
"A total 85 of these 905 cases were so-called high users of mobile phones, that is they began early to use mobile and, or wireless telephones and used them a lot," the study said.
"The study also shows that the rise in risk is noticeable for tumors on the side of the head where the phone was said to be used," it added.
The study was able to follow a long term use of mobile phones because mobile phones have been around for some time in Sweden -- since 1984.
MSNBC.com reports on a study from last year that links different jobs to different types of degenerative brain diseases. People working in specific fields were found to be more likely to develop these brain diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, possibly because of greater exposure to chemicals or bio hazards.
In their analysis, Park and his colleagues found that the bank tellers, clergy, aircraft mechanics and hairdressers had highest odds of dying from Alzheimer's disease. For Parkinson's disease, the highest risks were among biological scientists, teachers, clergy members and other religious workers.
The risk of death from presenile dementia - a form of dementia that arises before the age of 65 - was greatest among dentists, graders and sorters in industries other than agriculture and, again, clergy.
Veterinarians, hairdressers and graders and sorters had the highest risks of dying from motor neuron disease, the most common form of which is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease - an invariably fatal degeneration of the central nervous system that causes muscle wasting and paralysis.
The findings, based on death records from 22 states for the years 1992 to 1998, are published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
The study looked at more than 2.6 million U.S. death records. Some of the deaths suggest a more obvious environmental link -- such as hairdressers and a possible "role for hair dyes, solvents or other chemicals used in salons." But the higher percentage of degenerative brain disease deaths found in bank tellers or clergy members is much less obvious.
The BBC reports on a television show about acupuncture that shows acupuncture works by deactivating pain centers in the brain. This was proven by using brain scans to show acupuncture deactivating the limbic system.
During these two procedures, the volunteers underwent brain scans to see what, if any, effect there was in the brain.
The team, including leading scientists from University College London, Southampton University and the University of York, found the superficial needling resulted in activation of the motor areas of the cortex, a normal reaction to pain.
But with deep needling, the limbic system, part of the pain matrix, is deactivated.
The finding was surprising because experts had always assumed acupuncture activates the brain in someway.
The television show also show acupuncture being used during surgery in China. Clearly there is much to be learned by studying acupuncture and other practices of Eastern medicine.
Scientists have discovered that astrocytes act independently of neurons to connect with blood vessels and control the flow of nutrients and oxygen in the brain. A LiveScience.com article discusses the new findings that were reported in Nature Neuroscience.
Astrocytes produce fat-like lipid neurons used to create their outer membranes and they also produce glutamate, the most abundant neurotransmitter in the nervous system and one of the most important chemical messengers in the brain.
Recent experiments, however, revealed that astrocytes form connections with blood vessels and control the flow of nutrients, including oxygen, to neurons. When brain activity increases, neurons trigger astrocytes to release calcium, which in turn affects other chemical messengers that can cause blood vessels to either dilate or contract.
Astrocytes may be one of the keys to the brain repairing after brain damage and to finding cures for alzheimer's and dimensia.
The classical symptoms of memory loss and dementia associated with Alzheimer's are the result of neurons dying over a period of years. Brain scans of Alzheimer's patients show decreased blood flow to critical parts of the brain, and doctors have always assumed that this was because there was less of a demand for blood because there were fewer neurons to feed.
The new result could mean that Alzheimer's affects mainly astrocytes and not neurons and that blood flow to the brain is not decreased because the neurons are dying, but that the neurons are dying because there is decreased blood flow.
"It may be that for whatever reason, astrocytes are not doing their job properly, and then blood flow decreases," Nedergaard said. "This could lead to the death of the neurons, which would starve from a lack of nutrients, since the neurons depend on the astrocytes for their survival."
Healthy astrocytes equals healthy neurons it would seem.
WebMD.com reports on a new study that has found caffeine boosts short-term memory. The findings might encourage college kids to move their next college cram session to the local Starbucks.
The caffeine dose used in the study was 100 milligrams. That's roughly the amount of caffeine in an 8-ounce cup of coffee, depending on how you brew it.
Participants were told to avoid caffeine for 12 hours and nicotine for four hours before the study. They were tested twice -- once with caffeine and once with a placebo. The tests were done a day or two apart.
The brain scans showed more activity in brain regions tied to attention and short-term activity with caffeine, compared with the placebo.
It's the first time caffeine has been scientifically shown to have that effect, the researchers write.
The study used 100 milligrams of caffeine which can be found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee according to WebMD. The downside for students and others looking for a quick memory boost is that the study didn't test how long the memory boost will last. Caffeine is already a mainstay of most cram sessions anyway so if caffeine really is a memory aide students are already using it.
MSNBC.com reports that a new study revealed in NeuroReport provides evidence that confirms what many have thought for some time -- that meditation alters the brain. The study found that meditation thickens important part of the brain and may delay age-related thinning in the frontal cortex.
Meditation alters brain patterns in ways that are likely permanent, scientists have known. But a new study shows key parts of the brain actually get thicker through the practice.
Brain imaging of regular working folks who meditate regularly revealed increased thickness in cortical regions related to sensory, auditory and visual perception, as well as internal perception — the automatic monitoring of heart rate or breathing, for example.
The study also indicates that regular meditation may slow age-related thinning of the frontal cortex.
The study only involved 20 people who had extensive training in Buddhist Insight meditation. However, the study is promising enough that later studies could test people who practice yoga and other forms of meditation and relaxation to see if they also thicken the brain. Many scientists and health experts believe meditation and yoga provide stress-relief and health benefits.
CNN reports that a new study has found that eating fish sharpens the mind and reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease and stroke.
For the new study, researchers measured how well 3,718 people did on simple tests, such as recalling details of a story. The participants, all Chicago residents 65 and older, took the tests three times over six years. They also filled out a questionnaire about what they ate that included 139 foods.
"We found that people who ate one fish meal a week had a 10 percent slower annual decline in thinking," said co-author Martha Clare Morris, an epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center. "Those who ate two fish meals a week showed a 13 percent slower annual decline."
Eating fish containing omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to have health benefits -- like preventing heart disease -- in past studies. The downside is that fish with omega-3s, like tuna and salmon, have also been linked to high levels of mercury.
The BBC reports that some expert claims that some people with strokes on the right-side of their brains may be going undiagnosed. This is because right-sided strokes are less obvious and don't usually impact speech like left-sided strokes.
Dr Christian Foerch and colleagues at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt looked at stroke data for over 20,000 patients between 1997 and 2002.
They found more of the recorded cases were left-sided strokes than right-sided ones - 11,300 cases compared to 8,700 cases, respectively.
Dr Foerch's team does not believe left-sided strokes are more common than right-sided ones but instead that strokes on the right of the brain are more often missed.
Compared to those with right-handed strokes, the patients affected on the left of the brain were more likely to get the right treatment and be admitted to hospital within three hours of their symptoms starting.
Forbes.com reports that a new study has found a possible benefit to people with allergies and asthma. The study found that people carrying genes known to be associated with asthma and allergies are less likely to develop glioblastoma multiforme, the most common form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma is also very deadly with a 5 year survival rate of only a little more than 3%.
The researchers looked for genetic variations known as polymorphisms on two genes known to be associated with asthma and allergies, IL-4RA and IL-13.
People with polymorphisms on those genes were more likely to have asthma and allergies and less likely to have a glioblastoma.
"For example, we found that one genetic variant that causes a two-fold risk in asthma susceptibility reduces the risk of glioblastoma multiforme by 40 percent," said Schwartzbaum.
Why genes that promote asthma or allergies might offer protection against brain tumors is unclear, said Schwartzbaum.
She speculated that the gene variations might hinder inflammation in the brain, even though those same genes help cause inflammation in the lungs.
A study conducted on mice suggests that damage caused by Alzheimer's may be reversible -- at least in mice. Reuters reports (via MSNBC) that mice were able to regenerate neurons in the experiment after a gene was switched off.
Outward symptoms start with memory loss, which progresses to complete helplessness as brain cells are destroyed. In the brain, neurons die as messy plaques and tangles of protein form.
The two proteins involved are unhealthy forms of natural brain compounds called amyloid beta and tau protein.
Ashe's team worked with mice genetically engineered to develop the mutant tau, but this mutation could be stopped - or de-activated - with use of a drug called doxycycline.
As expected, the mice developed dementia and had brain atrophy similar to human Alzheimer’s disease.
And when the engineered gene was turned off, memory loss stopped, as expected. But the mice did not merely stop getting worse. They got better.
"Even mice that had lost half the neurons that are involved in forming memories, when we removed the molecule causing the memory loss from the remaining neurons by turning off the genes, the mice were able to learn and remember new information," Ashe said in a telephone interview.
"No one suspected so many neurons would still be able to function."
Alzheimer's is expected to inflict over 16 million people by 2015 in the U.S. alone so it is hopeful to know that there may be a way to stop and even reverse the damage. Karen Ashe, the Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Minnesota, told Reuters that she was astonished when she discovered that some of the damage had reversed course in the mice.
BBC News reports that Foresight, a think thank, believes that brain-boosting drugs will see common usage within twenty years. The article says that drugs like Ritalin and Modafinil have already been shown to help people's concentration and memory. The Foresight study even suggested that cognitive enhancers could be used with the frequency that coffee is used today.
Ritalin, now prescribed to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has already been used by some students to improve their performance in exams.
Modafinil, used now to treat sleep disorders, has been shown to help people remember numbers more effectively.
It can also make people think more carefully before making decisions.
There is also a type of molecule called ampakins, which enhance the way some chemical receptors in the brain work, suggesting drugs could be developed to improve people's memory when they are tired.
Technology Review 