The Brain Receptor Responsible For OCD Has Been Identified. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can manifest itself in a variety of curious ways, ranging from a repetitive urge to wash one’s hands to a constant need to check that the front door is locked. In spite of the condition’s diverse symptoms, new research suggests that OCD may be mediated by a single brain receptor, thereby providing a clear target for new medications and treatments for the disorder. To investigate, the study authors began by measuring the neural activity in a region of the mice’s brains called the dorsolateral striatum (DS), which contains cells called striatal projection neurons (SPNs) that play a major role in coordinating activity. Emerging from the DS are two types of SPNs, forming pathways known as the direct and indirect pathways. Stimulation of the SPNs belonging to the direct pathway tends to promote action, while the indirect pathway inhibits activity.
Image: Some OCD sufferers feel the need to repeatedly wash their hands. Male and female brain differences negligible, says Rosalind Franklin University study. There has long been a debate -- and a living to be made in comedy clubs -- around the differences between male and female brain differences. But a new study says there are actually "minimal differences" between the two. A study at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, led by Lise Eliot, has found that the hippocampus is the same size in both men and women. The team's discovery came from a meta-analysis of more than 6,000 structural MRI scans, which showed that there was "no significant difference in hippocampal size between men and women".
The discovery also counters many popular explanations of the differences between men and women. "Sex differences in the brain are irresistible to those looking to explain stereotypic differences between men and women," said Eliot. "And they often make a big splash. The hippocampus is the area of the brain often linked to short and long term memories and connecting the emotions to the senses. Your 'mind's eye' can make its own decisions. The part of the brain responsible for seeing can essentially make decisions just like the brain’s traditional “higher level” areas. Neuroscientists say it’s a surprising discovery that could help unlock the brain’s secrets. “As a field, we’re only at the beginning of trying to figure out how the brain works, and the visual system is a very good place to start,” says Jan Brascamp, assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University and lead investigator of the study. “In that light, the current findings, which show that the visual system has a capacity we previously didn’t expect, are an important step in the right direction.”
Study participants were placed in an MRI scanner and shown two adjacent patterns of dots on a projection screen while their brain activity was monitored. But in those past studies, participants knew the moment their perception changed because the illusion was obvious (such as the famous duck-rabbit image), meaning they were surprised. Page. York U neuroscientists decode brain maps to discover how we take aim | York Media Relations.
Toronto, Sept. 10, 2014 − Serena Williams won her third consecutive US Open title a few days ago, thanks to reasons including obvious ones like physical strength and endurance. But how much did her brain and its egocentric and allocentric functions help the American tennis star retain the cup? Quite significantly, according to York University neuroscience researchers whose recent study shows that different regions of the brain help to visually locate objects relative to one’s own body (self-centred or egocentric) and those relative to external visual landmarks (world-centred or allocentric). “The current study shows how the brain encodes allocentric and egocentric space in different ways during activities that involve manual aiming,” explains Distinguished Research Professor Doug Crawford, in the Department of Psychology.
“Take tennis for example. York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow.
Better Cognition Seen with Gene Variant Carried by 1 in 5 People. A scientific team led by the Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco has discovered that a common form of a gene already associated with long life also improves learning and memory, a finding that could have implications for treating age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s. The researchers found that people who carry a single copy of the KL-VS variant of the KLOTHO gene perform better on a wide variety of cognitive tests. When the researchers modeled the effects in mice, they found it strengthened the connections between neurons that make learning possible – what is known as synaptic plasticity – by increasing the action of a cell receptor critical to forming memories.
Lennart Mucke, MD, left, speaks to Dena Dubal, MD, PhD, in the lab. The discovery is a major step toward understanding how genes improve cognitive ability and could open a new route to treating diseases like Alzheimer’s. First to Link Between Klotho Variant and Better Cognition Learning Better at All Stages of Life.
Psychology. Sleep. Disease Management.