BrainBlog

From The New York Times : The Pablo Picasso Alzheimer's Therapy By RANDY KENNEDY The New York Times Published: October 30, 2005 SITTING the other day in front of Picasso's rapturous "Girl Before a Mirror" at the Museum of Modern Art, Rueben Rosen wore the dyspeptic look of a man with little love for modern art. But the reason he gave for disliking the painting was not one you might expect to hear from an 88-year-old former real estate broker. Xanthe Alban-Davies discusses Picasso's "Girl Before a Mirror" with, from left, Rueben Rosen, Irene Brenton and Sheila Barnes at the Museum of Modern Art. "It's like he's trying to tell a story using words that don't exist," Mr. Rosen said. "It's like he's trying to tell a story using words that don't exist," Mr. Rosen said finally of Picasso, fixing the painter's work with a critic's stare. "He knows what he means, but we don't." This chasm of unders...

Pandemic-Flu (H5N1, Avian Influenza, "Bird Flu") Educational References Here is an updated version of the reference set that I will episodically post here: Background and historical references: Barry, John M. (2004). The great influenza . NY: Viking. [comment: A very readable account of what happened and why in the 1918 pandemic, with an emphasis on the political expediences and cronyism of the day and media complacency - along with accounts of the public-health leaders who needed to fight not only the virus, but politicians and newspaper editors in order to eke out ways of dealing with the virus. Also, a good description of how this type of influenza differs from the typical, yearly bouts of influenza that most all of us are aware of.] Department of Health and Human Services (2004). Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan [Executive Summary - Draft August 2004]. Garrett, L. (2005). The next pandemic? Foreign Affairs, July/August issue. Link Gibbs, W.W. & Soa...

From The City University of New York (CUNY) website: Visual Art & the Brain: At the Interface of Art and Science DATE - November 5, 2005 TIME - 10am-6pm COLLEGE NAME - Graduate Center ADDRESS - 365 Fifth Ave @ 34th St PHONE - 212/817-8215 DESCRIPTION "This conference will explore the nature of the science-art interface, the inspiration this interface provides to scientists and artists alike, and the impact of such interactions on areas of research and other human endeavors. The morning session will explore scientific perspectives: What is vision? How do we perceive art and why do we respond to it emotionally? The afternoon session will focus on the interface of art and science, and will feature discussions with artists and scientists on communicating the beauty and power of science as well as its social and ethical implications. This event is suitable for scientists interested in art, and arti...

Boing Boing posts today about a "geeky card game" that seems to call for a good dose of healthy frontal lobe functioning. The game is called "Set." Read the posting here . (Another Boing Boing post today is about an online atlas of the monkey brain.) - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

A core contemporary issue in the clinical neurology and neuropsychology of aging and dementia is discussed in an article in tomorrow's New York Times : Predicting Alzheimer's Is More Wish Than Reality By LAURIE TARKAN The New York Times Published: October 25, 2005 Read the article - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From a company press release: Synthetic Blood Announces Positive Results from Traumatic Brain Injury Preclinical Study COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2005-- Synthetic Blood International, Inc. (OTCBB:SYBD) today announced that study data suggest that its proprietary perfluorocarbon (PFC) blood substitute and therapeutic oxygen carrier Oxycyte(TM) improves cognitive recovery following traumatic brain injury in a fluid percussion injury model, a widely accepted rat model that simulates moderate head injury with prolonged cognitive deficits sustained in humans. Cognitive recovery was determined by performance in a standard water maze test. As announced previously, Synthetic Blood plans to initiate a Phase II proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and biological effects of Oxycyte in patients with traumatic brain injury. In the study "Perfluorocarbon Emulsion Improves Cognitive Recovery Following Lateral Fluid Percussion Brain Injury in ...

The November 2005 issue of Scientific American includes an article by Carl Zimmer , The Neurobiology of the Self. Update 26 October 2005 - Carl Zimmer has placed a link to a .pdf version of this article on his blog . - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From sfgate.com: Trials for stem-cell treatment of brain disease Clinical testing set to begin on kids with fatal affliction Cornelia Stolze, Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Staff Writers San Francisco Chronicle Friday, October 21, 2005 Researchers in California are about to start the first FDA-sanctioned clinical trial of a stem cell treatment for a brain disease. The trial will offer regulators one of their first opportunities to reveal what standards should apply for novel "regenerative medicine" experiments in human subjects. Special safety concerns include the long-term cancer-causing potential of stem cells and the risk that they may wire into the brain's circuitry improperly. "A great deal of attention will be paid to the outcome of this trial," said Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, a neurologist and head of a stem cell program at UCSF , who is not involved in the new study. "It really represents the first trial of its kind. Regardless of the outc...

The Neurodudes have opened an interesting discussion on their blog about knowledge management software for neuroscientists: Neurodude post . Thanks for the good info! - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

The Parkinson Disease event presented by the NIH, which I noted here earlier [ BrainBlog post on 11 October 2005 ] was broadcast live today on C-SPAN: Advances in Parkinson's Disease . Check the C-SPAN website for any reairing dates and times. - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

This week's issue of the British Medical Journal includes a news report about the Meeting of Minds project funded by the European Commission, "in which a group of 126 citizens from nine countries has been meeting over the last 18 months to consider the implications of developments in brain science." Read the full article - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From The Arizona Republic : Fading memory Forgetfulness and compensating for it are part of life Mary Beth Faller The Arizona Republic Oct. 18, 2005 12:00 AM Aaron P. Nelson and his family were driving on their vacation and were about 50 miles from their home in Massachusetts. They realized they had forgotten their child's beloved blanket, and drove back home to retrieve it. When they got home, they found that they had left a set of keys in the ignition of their other car - with the engine running. That's a doozy of a memory lapse, and Nelson should know. He's the chief of neuropsychology in the division of cognitive and behavioral neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and also a professor at Harvard Medical School. As a memory expert, he knows that even an embarrassing incident like that does not mean Alzheimer's disease is imminent. But many people worry about that when they start to forget things. Many of his patients, especially those in their 4...

From tomorrow's New York Times : Can Brain Scans See Depression? By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: October 18, 2005 They seem almost alive: snapshots of the living human brain. Not long ago, scientists predicted that these images, produced by sophisticated brain-scanning techniques, would help cut through the mystery of mental illness , revealing clear brain abnormalities and allowing doctors to better diagnose and treat a wide variety of disorders. And nearly every week, it seems, imaging researchers announce another finding, a potential key to understanding depression , attention deficit disorder, anxiety. Yet for a variety of reasons, the hopes and claims for brain imaging in psychiatry have far outpaced the science, experts say. After almost 30 years, researchers have not developed any standardized tool for diagnosing or treating psychiatric disorders based on imaging studies. [ ... Read the full article. ... ] - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsych...

Read an interview with Dr. Don Dansereau by Cliff Atkinson on the topic of what the cognitive psychologist terms "map shock." - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Sticking with the confabulation theme, here are some of the most recent publications on the topic: Schnider A, Bonvallat J, Emond H, & Leemann B. Reality confusion in spontaneous confabulation. Neurology. 2005 Oct 11; 65(7): 1117-1119. PMID: 16217071 [PubMed - in process] Fujii T, Suzuki M, Suzuki K, Ohtake H, Tsukiura T, & Miura R. Normal memory and no confabulation after extensive damage to the orbitofrontal cortex. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 2005 Sep; 76(9): 1309-1310. PMID: 16107380 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Moulin CJ, Conway MA, Thompson RG, James N, & Jones RW. Disordered memory awareness: recollective confabulation in two cases of persistent deja vecu. Neuropsychologia. 2005; 43(9): 1362-1378. PMID: 15949520 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Hecht-Nielsen R. Cogent confabulation. Neural Networks. 2005 Mar; 18(2): 111-115. Epub 2005 Jan 18. PMID: 15795109 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Nys GM, van Zandvoort MJ, Roks G, Kappelle LJ, de Ko...

Mind Hacks continues its good work of updating readers about its favorite radio show, Australia's All in the Mind . This week, it blogs that the show was about the fascinating topic of confabulation . Their report includes links to the audiostream and the podcast for the show. - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

The new, 13 October 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine includes a series of free full-content-downloard perspective pieces on the health-care experience of Hurricane Katrina. It also includes a research article and an editorial commentary on a treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in neonates. The research article is S. Shankaran et al. Whole-body hypothermia for neonates with hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy [ Abstract ]. - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

According to an NIH press release , Dr. Daniel Weinberger will be speaking tomorrow on a live webcast on the topic, Complex Genetics in the Human Brain: Lessons from COMT, tomorrow from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET at http://videocast.nih.gov . The talk may be viewed live or at a later time. The NIH page streams via RealPlayer . According to the press release: "Weinberger will explain why such psychiatric genetics has proven to be a daunting challenge, using as an example the gene that codes for catecho-O-methyltransferase (COMT), the enzyme that breaks down the chemical messenger dopamine. A tiny variation in its sequence results in different versions of the gene. One leads to more efficient functioning of the prefrontal cortex, the other to less efficient prefrontal functioning and slightly increased risk for schizophrenia." - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

A press release from the NIH: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 CONTACT: Margo Warren 301-496-5751 Science Reporters Briefing: New Advances in Parkinson’s Research and Treatment What: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in partnership with the Parkinson’s community is bringing together a panel of leading physicians, scientists, and caregivers to provide an overview of the newest advances in Parkinson’s disease. Researchers will discuss genetic aspects of the disease, new approaches to therapeutics, and environmental and other factors that may impact onset of Parkinson’s. Panelists will discuss their work and respond to questions from the audience. Why: After Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. There are an estimated 6.3 million people...

On the 4th of November, the opening of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology takes place. A day-long celebration is scheduled. According to the website: "The McGovern Institute is conducting interdisciplinary research that combines and extends the results of recent breakthroughs in three major, interrelated areas: systems and computational neuroscience, imaging and cognitive neuroscience, and genetic and cellular neuroscience. Fundamental studies in genetics and cell biology, live measurement of brain physiology in humans and other animals performing cognitive tasks, and modeling of brain function using advanced tools in biocomputation and cognitive sciences -- such research will lay a foundation for a comprehensive description of the brain, including how it learns and communicates. " - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Here is an update of the references I posted last week during Pandemic Flu Awareness Week : Background and historical references: Barry, John M. (2004). The great influenza . NY: Viking. [comment: A very readable account of what happened and why in the 1918 pandemic, with an emphasis on the political expediences and cronyism of the day and media complacency - along with accounts of the public-health leaders who needed to fight not only the virus, but politicians and newspaper editors in order to eke out ways of dealing with the virus. Also, a good description of how this type of influenza differs from the typical, yearly bouts of influenza that most all of us are aware of.] Department of Health and Human Services (2004). Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan [Executive Summary - Draft August 2004]. Garrett, L. (2005). The next pandemic? Foreign Affairs, July/August issue. Link National Intelligence Estimate (2000). The Global Infectious Disease Threat and Its Implication...

From the BBC : Brain area 'more than just motor' A brain area presumed to be involved only in co-ordinating movement also controls higher functions, such as vision, mounting evidence suggests. [ ... Read the article ... ] - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

This week's British Medical Journal includes a short review of, definitely, the best recent book about mitochondria: Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane (published by Oxford University Press). - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

An excellent piece in tomorrow's New York Times : Memorizing Her Lines Is Out of the Question By DAVID CARR The New York Times Published: October 9, 2005 THE first time I met Caris Corfman after her one-woman show at the Flea Theater, she looked - almost stared - into the very backs of my eyes as I told her how I enjoyed her performance. She was flattered and incredibly gracious. The second time I met Ms. Corfman, she again stared and responded graciously. But she had no idea who I was. It was exactly five minutes later. She can't remember. Ten years ago doctors detected a benign tumor in her brain. A series of four operations removed the tumor but damaged the part of the brain that regulates short-term memory. As a result, she not only forgets who she met five minutes ago, but she also can't remember if she took her medicine, if she ate, if she should go right or left or just stay put. The long-term memory remains, which is both a sad and a wonderful thing. [snip] She is ...

Also from the CDC: Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings . Among other material, the page includes links to the "Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings - 2002" . From the site: "The hand hygiene guidelines were developed by the CDC's Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), in collaboration with the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). The hand hygiene guidelines are part of an overall CDC strategy to reduce infections in health care settings to promote patient safety." - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has put together a "tool kit" of material and resources for high school coaches called Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports , which is accessible at this link on the CDC website . The material includes content for students and their parents, too. According to the CDC introductory webpage for the topic: "Concussions can happen to any athlete—male or female—in any sport. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI), caused by a blow or jolt to the head that can range from mild to severe and can disrupt the way the brain normally works. More than 300,000 people sustain sports- and recreation-related TBIs every year in this country. Coaches, athletic directors and trainers play a key role in helping to prevent concussion and in managing it properly if it occurs. To reduce the number of this type of injury, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the support of partners and experts in the fiel...

Busch RM, McBride A, Curtiss G, & Vanderploeg RD. The components of executive functioning in traumatic brain injury. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 2005 Nov; 27(8): 1022-1032. James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA. Theorists have proposed models of executive functioning, and functional neuroimaging and factor analytic studies have attempted to examine the components of executive functioning. These studies have arrived at different conclusions and many empirical studies are wrought with methodological confounds. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the subcomponents of executive abilities while addressing some of the limitations common in previous studies. Neuropsychological test data were obtained from a sample of individuals with a history of TBI seen at one-year follow-up (n=104). Principal components factor analysis was conducted and yielded three factors that accounted for 52.7% of the variance. The first factor...

A UC Berkeley Press Release: Jeff Hawkins, computing pioneer, endows new center to develop model of brain By Robert Sanders, Media Relations 06 October 2005 BERKELEY – Jeff Hawkins, creator of the first commercially successful handheld computer and author of the book "On Intelligence," has endowed a new research center at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop mathematical and computational models of how the brain works. The founding of the new Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, which will operate within the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, is being celebrated this Friday, Oct. 7, with a day-long symposium at the campus's Faculty Club. Read the full press release - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

The cover story of the October 2005 issue of the American Psychological Association Monitor is one of several articles in the issue about mirror neurons: "The Mind's Mirror" by Lea Winerman. - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Here are some references that I would recommend for Pandemic Flu Awareness Week , which is promoted by the folks at FluWiki and which we are in the middle of right now: Background and historical references:   Barry, John M. (2004). The great influenza. NY: Viking. [comment: A very readable account of what happened and why in the 1918 pandemic, with an emphasis on the political expediencies and cronyism of the day and on the concurrent media complacency - along with accounts of the public-health leaders who needed to fight not only the virus, but politicians and newspaper editors, in order to eke out ways of dealing with the pandemic. Also, the book offeres a good description of how this type of influenza differs from the typical, yearly bouts of influenza that most all of us are aware of.]   Department of Health and Human Services (2004). Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan [Executive Summary - Draft August 2004]. Garrett, L. (2005). The next pandemic? Foreign Affair...

The 25th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) will be held in Tampa, Florida from the 19th of October through the 22th. The conference will take place at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina. Information about the conference program and registration can be found at the NAN Conferences webpage . - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Congratulations to blogs The Loom by Carl Zimmer and Mind Hacks by Tom Stafford, Matt Webb, and Vaughan Bell and Harvard's website The Whole Brain Atlas for being three neuroscience-related sites among 25 scientific sites chosen for recognition by Scientific American . Read the announcement - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From The Scotsman : Passwords add up to information overload for brain FIONA MACGREGOR The Scotsman 03 October 2005 INCREASING use of PIN numbers and passwords has left the average person struggling to remember at least 20 digits or characters on a daily basis. With codes necessary to access e-mails and internet sites, pay for goods while shopping with chip and PIN cards, telephone banking, accessing voice mails and numerous other common activities, a new study by ICM found that one in five people has lost money, important data and even their job as a result of forgetting important pass details. According to a survey of more than 1,000 adults, the average person now has to instantly recall 21 digits or characters from memory, but at least 40 per cent of people say they have forgotten codes at vital moments. [snip] Michael Saling, head of neuropsychology at Melbourne University, calls it "busy-line syndrome" and has reported that a growing number of those who can't keep up...

From The Cornell Daily Sun : Father of Hum Ec Dies September 27, 2005 By Melissa Korn Sun Senior Editor Urie Bronfenbrenner ’38, longtime Cornell professor, co-founder of Head Start and one of the world’s most renowned developmental psychologists, died in Ithaca Sunday of complications from diabetes. He was 88. Bronfenbrenner was the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Studies and of psychology. He retired in 1987. A giant in the field of psychology, Bronfenbrenner is credited with creating the discipline of human ecology with his 1979 theory of “human bioecology.” This breakthrough forced sociologists, economists and psychologists to reconsider child development through a more holistic lens that considered community, race and other factors. The rise of human ecology led to the drastic revision of national and international child and family development programs. Bronfenbrenner was described by long-time colleague Prof. Stephen Ceci, the Helen L. Car...