Brain

Natural 'high' could avoid chronic marijuana use

Dec 01, 2014 PM EST

Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a Vanderbilt University study suggests.

Blocking blood-brain barrier proteins may improve ALS drugs' effectiveness

Dec 01, 2014 PM EST

Through research in mice, scientists have found that proteins at the blood-brain barrier pump out riluzole, the only FDA-approved drug for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, limiting the drug's effectiveness. However, when the investigators blocked these ..

Social media data contain pitfalls for understanding human behavior

Nov 28, 2014 PM EST

Researchers urged to hone methods for mining social-media data

Problem gambling, personality disorders often go hand in hand

Nov 25, 2014 AM EST

Review highlights difficulty of treating gamblers with personality disorders

Permanent Stress Linked to Schizophrenia

Nov 21, 2014 PM EST

Chronic stress can cause permanent brain damage and raise the risk of schizophrenia, according to a new study. Scientists found that stress activates immune cells that damages and changes the brain. Researchers noted that this could then lead to ment..

A medium amount of physical activity can lower the risk of Parkinson's disease

Nov 20, 2014 PM EST

A new study, published online in Brain: A Journal of Neurology today, followed 43,368 individuals in Sweden for an average of 12.6 years to examine the impact of physical activity on Parkinson's disease risk. It was found that "a medium amount" of ph..

Caffeine counters cocaine's effects on women's estrus cycles

Nov 20, 2014 PM EST

Women are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine and more susceptible to cocaine abuse than men. Cocaine's ability to disrupt a woman's estrus cycle may explain the sex differences in cocaine addiction, and new evidence that caffeine may be neuropr..

'Being poor is not the same everywhere'

Nov 18, 2014 AM EST

Of 5 cities studied, researchers find worse health outcomes in Johannesburg and Baltimore, better ones in Nigerian city of Ibadan

Family planning programs involving men, empower women

Nov 18, 2014 AM EST

In a society where women often lead very restricted lives and men are the primary household decision makers, new research suggests women are empowered when men are included in family planning programs. A study, from the Institute for Reproductive Hea..

Stanford biologists explore link between memory deficit and misfiring circadian clock

Nov 18, 2014 AM EST

By disrupting Siberian hamsters' circadian rhythms, Stanford scientists have identified a part of the brain that, when misfiring, inhibits memory. The work could lead to therapies for neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

Cutting Carbs, Calories Could Slow Aging

Nov 17, 2014 PM EST

Banishing bread and consuming fewer calories may increase lifespan by improving genetic performance, according to scientists.

Alzheimer Drug Could Cure Binge-Eating, Study

Nov 13, 2014 PM EST

Alzheimer's drugs could cure eating disorders in binge eaters, according to a new study.

Rice U. study: Disgust leads people to lie and cheat; cleanliness promotes ethical behavior

Nov 13, 2014 PM EST

While feelings of disgust can increase behaviors like lying and cheating, cleanliness can help people return to ethical behavior, according to a recent study by marketing experts at Rice University, Pennsylvania State University and Arizona State Uni..

Modified DNA backbone enables success of existing and novel oligonucleotide therapeutics

Nov 13, 2014 PM EST

The two U.S. FDA approved oligonucleotide-based drugs on the market both have a modified chemical backbone made of phosphorothioates. The therapeutic advantages of the phosphorothioate group and the new types of gene expression-regulation oligonucleo..

Depression, overwhelming guilt in preschool years linked to brain changes

Nov 12, 2014 PM EST

In school-age children previously diagnosed with depression as preschoolers, a key brain region involved in emotion is smaller than in their peers who were not depressed, scientists have shown.