ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

BPA exposure linked to autism spectrum disorder, study reports Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:07 PM PST A newly published study is the first to report an association between bisphenol-A (BPA), a common plasticizer used in a variety of consumer food and beverage containers, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.

Is 'the dress' white and gold or blue and black? Visual perception expert weighs in Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:42 AM PST On Feb. 26, a picture of a cocktail dress originally uploaded to the blog Tumblr swept the Internet and managed to divide the population over a simple question: What color is the dress? Some viewers saw gold and white while others insisted the dress is blue and black. Some people claimed they could see either interpretation, but only one of them at a time. It made people stop and ask, "What exactly is going on with this image?"

New assessment tool can predict successful teachers Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:08 AM PST A new video assessment tool that can inform teacher selection and hiring has implications for education reform, a new study concludes. The researchers say there is a growing focus as part of education reform and accountability efforts to improve mechanisms for selecting individuals into teacher preparation and eventually into the field who will be successful.

Low sugar uptake in brain appears to exacerbate Alzheimer's disease Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST A deficiency in the protein responsible for moving glucose across the brain's protective blood-brain barrier appears to intensify the neurodegenerative effects of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new mouse study. The research suggests that targeting the protein called GLUT1 could help prevent or slow the effects of Alzheimer's, especially among those at risk for the disease.

Scientists crack piece of neural code for learning, memory Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST Researchers describe how postmortem brain slices can be 'read' to determine how a rat was trained to behave in response to specific sounds, a new article suggests. The work provides one of the first examples of how specific changes in the activity of individual neurons encode particular acts of learning and memory in the brain.

Minors easily able to purchase electronic cigarettes online Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST Teenagers in North Carolina were easily able to buy electronic cigarettes online because both Internet vendors and shipping companies failed to verifying ages in a study that assessed compliance with North Carolina's 2013 e-cigarette age-verification law, according to an article.

Survey of teen dating violence among US high school students Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST A survey of US high school students suggests that 1 in 5 female students and 1 in 10 male students who date have experienced some form of teen dating violence (TDV) during the past 12 months. "These results present broader implications for TDV prevention efforts. Although female students have a higher prevalence than male students, male and female students are both impacted by TDV, and prevention efforts may be more effective if they include content for both sexes," the study concludes.

Cerebral blood flow as a possible marker for concussion outcomes Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST Cerebral blood flow recovery in the brain could be a biomarker of outcomes in patients following concussion, a new imaging study suggests. Most of the 3.8 million sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that occur annually are concussions. Developing methods to diagnose the presence and severity of concussions is imperative, the authors say.

Basal cell carcinoma drug encourages both cancer regression and loss of taste in patients Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:16 AM PST Many patients undergoing chemotherapy experience severe taste disruptions that make eating a challenge at a time when maintaining good nutrition is extremely important. Now, researchers report that they have identified the pathway responsible for taste changes among users of chemotherapy drugs that treat basal cell carcinoma.

Results challenge conventional wisdom about where the brain begins processing visual information Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:16 AM PST Neuroscientists generally think of the front end of the human visual system as a simple light detection system: The patterns produced when light falls on the retina are relayed to the visual cortex at the rear of the brain, where all of the "magic" happens that transforms these patterns into the three-dimensional world view that we perceive with our mind's eye. Now, however, a brain imaging study challenges this basic assumption.

Sleep-walking neurons: Brain's GPS never stops working -- even during sleep Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:15 AM PST Navigational brain cells that help sense direction are as electrically active during deep sleep as they are during wake time, scientists have discovered. Such information could be useful in treating navigational problems associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

Insulin resistance in the brain, behavioral disorders: Direct link found Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:15 AM PST People with diabetes are more prone to anxiety and depression than those with other chronic diseases that require similar levels of management. Genetically modifying mice to make their brains resistant to insulin, scientists first found that the animals exhibited behaviors that suggest anxiety and depression, and then pinpointed a mechanism that lowers levels of the key neurotransmitter dopamine in areas of the brain associated with those conditions.

Psychology has important role in changing cancer landscape Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PST Psychology has played, and will continue to play, a critical role in cancer prevention, treatment and control, according to newly published research.

One step closer to defeating Alzheimer's disease Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PST Researchers show that toning down the activity of the receptor TREM2 may help put a stop to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Long-term care may not be best for adults with traumatic brain injury; other housing needed Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PST A new, large-scale Canadian study shows that many adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) live in a long-term health setting – such as a nursing home- which may not be appropriate for their condition and younger age.

Protections, not money, can boost internal corporate whistleblowing Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:17 AM PST Research finds that strong, reliable anti-retaliation policies can encourage employees to notify internal authorities of possible wrongdoing, but that offering monetary incentives does not necessarily influence whistleblowing behavior – or at least not right away.

Study identifies teens at-risk for synthetic marijuana use Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:16 AM PST One of the first American national studies to examine risk factors for use of synthetic marijuana among a large, nationally representative sample of teens. Popular among teens, in 2011, synthetic marijuana was used by more than one out of ten (11.4%) high school seniors in the US, making it the most commonly used drug after real marijuana.

New target identified in fight against Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:16 AM PST Highlighting a potential target in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests that triggering a protein found on the surface of brain cells may help slow the progression of these and other neurological diseases.

Licorice manufacturers encouraged to state daily limit of consumption Posted: 02 Mar 2015 05:11 AM PST A recent case study details the account of a 10-year-old boy who suffered seizures after over-indulging in licorice sweets. The boy was admitted to hospital in Bologna, Italy after suffering a 2 minute tonic-clonic seizure. A cluster of another three generalized seizures occurred in the next few hours. The boy also complained of a bad headache and had high blood pressure. Doctors discovered that he had been eating at least 20 licorice sweets each day for the past four months. This resulted in the consumption of 2.88 mg/kg of glycyrrhizic acid (one of the active ingredients of licorice), well above the World Health Organization's recommended maximum of 2 mg/kg.

With kids' antipsychotic treatment on the rise, study looks at prescriber decision-making Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:13 AM PST More kids nationwide are taking medications designed to treat such mental health illnesses as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Pediatricians and psychiatrists have conducted a study to determine why.

Alzheimer amyloid clumps found in young adult brains Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:13 AM PST Amyloid -- an abnormal protein that's a hallmark of Alzheimer's -- starts accumulating inside neurons of people as young as 20, reports a study. This is the first time amyloid accumulation has been shown in such young human brains. Small toxic amyloid clumps were found in neurons of deceased young adults. The clumps grew larger in the brains of normal older adults and those with Alzheimer's. The clumps likely damage and eventually kill memory-related neurons.

Kids who lack sympathy more likely to share with virtuous friends Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:11 AM PST Children who sometimes lack sympathy for others are more likely to share resources with those friends if they respect their morals suggests a paper. The study sought to explore the reciprocal relations of sympathy and respect in promoting sharing among children and adolescents.

Teachers become healthier when they learn Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:10 AM PST Several studies have indicated a connection between learning and health. Researchers have now found that the health of school teachers is related to their level of work integrated learning.

Heart valve repair significantly improves emotional wellbeing in patients with mitral regurgitation Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:08 AM PST Patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) often suffer from psycho-emotional symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, but after undergoing mitral valve repair surgery patients experience a marked improvement in emotional and physical wellbeing, scientists report.