ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Study reveals lack of data on opioid drugs for chronic pain Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:35 PM PST Researchers have found little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive recent growth in the use of the drugs.

Century-old drug reverses autism-like symptoms in fragile X mouse model Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:35 PM PST Researchers previously reported that a drug used for almost a century to treat trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, reversed environmental autism-like symptoms in mice. Now, a new study suggests that a genetic form of autism-like symptoms in mice are also corrected with the drug, even when treatment was started in young adult mice.

Inventors choose to reveal their secret sauce before patent approval Posted: 15 Jan 2015 11:22 AM PST Common wisdom and prior economic research suggest that an inventor filing a patent would want to keep the technical know-how secret as long as possible. But a new study of nearly 2 million patents in the United States shows that inventors are not as concerned with secrecy as previously thought. Researchers found that since 2000, most inventors when given the choice opted to disclose information about their patents before patent approval -- even small inventors -- and this disclosure correlates with more valuable patents.

In the Mood to Trade? Weather May Influence Institutional Investors' Stock Decisions Posted: 15 Jan 2015 11:16 AM PST Weather changes may affect how institutional investors decide on stock plays, according to a new study. Their findings suggest sunny skies put professional investors more in a mood to buy, while cloudy conditions tend to discourage stock purchases.

Facebook sharing can boost involvement with news, information Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:21 AM PST People who share news on social media sites may connect more with that information -- and stay connected longer -- than people who casually read the news, according to a team of researchers.

The secret of empathy: Stress from the presence of strangers prevents empathy, in both mice and humans Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:20 AM PST The ability to express empathy -- the capacity to share and feel another's emotions -- is limited by the stress of being around strangers, according to a new study. Empathy is increasingly being studied by scientists because of its known role in psychological disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and psychopathy.

Opioids administered in ER don't influence patient satisfaction, study shows Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:15 AM PST There is no correlation between opioids administered in the emergency room setting and patient satisfaction scores, researchers report. Other factors such as wait time and physician and nurse communication play a far greater role in patient satisfaction, according to authors.

People can be convinced they committed a crime that never happened Posted: 15 Jan 2015 07:28 AM PST Innocent adult participants can be convinced, over the course of a few hours, that they had perpetrated crimes as serious as assault with a weapon in their teenage years. This research indicates that the participants came to internalize the stories they were told, providing rich and detailed descriptions of events that never actually took place. fictitious

When heavy metals go off-kilter: Study in C. elegans shows excess iron promotes aging Posted: 15 Jan 2015 07:28 AM PST It's been long known that some metals, including iron, accumulate in tissues during aging and that toxic levels of iron have been linked to neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's. Common belief has held that iron accumulation happens as a result of the aging process. But research in C. elegans shows that iron accumulation itself may also be a significant contributor to the aging process causing dysfunction and malfolding of proteins already implicated in the aging process.

No more neuronal gibberish: How 100 billion nerve cells produce a clear thought or an action Posted: 15 Jan 2015 07:27 AM PST We have approximately 100 billion nerve cells in our brains, all of which communicate with one another. Why do they lead to clear thoughts or purposeful actions instead of mere gibberish? The reason lies, among other things, in a small group of inhibitory nerve cells that can use the messenger GABA to curb the activity of other nerve cells, scientists say.

Extra-short nanowires best for brain Posted: 15 Jan 2015 06:19 AM PST If in the future electrodes are inserted into the human brain -- either for research purposes or to treat diseases -- it may be appropriate to give them a 'coat' of nanowires that could make them less irritating for the brain tissue. However, the nanowires must not exceed a certain length, according to new research.

Imaging test for autism spectrum disorder under development Posted: 15 Jan 2015 06:18 AM PST A two-minute brain-imaging test that may be able to aid in the diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorder is currently under development in the United States. Usually, diagnosis -- an unquantifiable process based on clinical judgment -- is time consuming and trying on children and their families. That may change with this new diagnostic test.

Alzheimer's plaques reduced by targeting sugar attachment to the BACE1 enzyme Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:31 AM PST Hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease can be reduced when sugars are prevented from binding to one of the key enzymes implicated in the disease, scientists report. The new findings show that abnormal attachment of a particular sugar to the enzyme BACE1 is a critical factor leading to the formation of plaques in the brain.

Holistic assessment needed for wheelchair users with multiple sclerosis Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:31 AM PST People with multiple sclerosis (MS) need to be holistically assessed when being offered an electric wheelchair, a study suggests. The unique study of 91 wheelchair users, each severely affected by MS, found that 15% of the trial group had problematic pain, showing the need for a much more professional assessment.

Academies call for long-term investments in education, care of small children Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:30 AM PST The experiences we have as small children have a long-term impact on the entire course of our development. High-quality education and upbringing from an early age is thus crucial both for every individual and for society as a whole. In a new statement, European experts are calling for long-term investments in the high-quality education and care of small children.

Difficult behavior in young children may point to later problems Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:28 AM PST It's normal for a very young child to have tantrums and be otherwise disruptive, but researchers have found that if such behavior is prolonged or especially intense, the child may have conduct disorder. The research teams recommends that children who exhibit these symptoms be referred to mental health professionals for evaluation and possible intervention.

Debunking aging myths in financial decisions Posted: 14 Jan 2015 05:28 PM PST Cognitive decline is real, but does not spell doom for making financial choices, new research indicates. "An alternative route to making sound financial decisions comes from experience--and that improves with age," one author notes.

Research shows promise for reducing risk of breast cancer spreading to brain Posted: 12 Jan 2015 03:10 PM PST New research seeks to better understand why and how breast cancer can spread to the brain with the goal of developing a way to reduce the risk of this phenomenon. "Unfortunately, the rate of secondary breast tumors in the brain is now threefold higher than it was 10 years ago," the lead researcher said. "Once a woman has a brain tumor coming from the breast, we have few effective therapies."