BrainBlog

Building a Search Engine of the Brain, Slice by Slice By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: December 22, 2009 "The dissection of the brain of H. M., an amnesiac, has opened the door to a much more ambitious project." Read the full article

The conference homepage: American Epilepsy Society Conference

A feature article in today's New York Times : Promoting the Car Phone, Despite Risks By MATT RICHTEL The New York Times Published: December 7, 2009 "Industry pioneers have long been aware of the risks of multitasking behind the wheel, but still marketed cellphones to drivers." Read the article

The Man Who Couldn't Remember PBS NOVA February 2009 transcript

The web feed for the continued brain slicing of Patient H.M. suggests that, to the music of Stan Getz, "Primary visual cortex has surfaced. The end is in sight!" :-) If you have not yet watched some of the web stream, give it a look at this time! http://thebrainobservatory.ucsd.edu/hm_live.php Thank you Brain Observatory for providing this live feed of an historic couple of days in neuroscience and neuropsychology! Here is the transcript of an interview that NPR completed with the director of The Brain Observatory at this time last year, December 2008: transcript

The Twitter tag for the Patient H.M. brain slicing has sprouted up as #HM . Join the tweets and discuss!

From the Brain Observatory website at the end of last night's work: "We have reached the corpus callosum. The team is resting for the night. The brain will be safe surrounded by our chillers until tomorrow morning. The cutting will resume again at 8AM PST. "Tomorrow will be a big day - We will try to cover the medial temporal lobes and the area surrounding the hippocampus." The Brain Observatory Today at 0800 PST, 1100 EST, 1600 GMT. === Today's New York Times article by Benedict Carey about the brain sectioning: Dissection Begins on Famous Brain Read here

The sectioning of Patent H.M.'s brain begins today and will be streamed online live at the following location: http://thebrainobservatory.ucsd.edu/hm_live.php === H.M. recollected Famous amnesic launches a bold, new brain project at UCSD BY SCOTT LAFEE, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2009 AT 12:04 A.M. Read the article

Surgery for Mental Ills Offers Hope and Risk By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: November 27, 2009 "Hundreds have undergone brain surgery for problems like depression, anxiety, even obesity." Read the article

Inside the mind of an actor (literally) How does an actor engage with the part they are playing? Fiona Shaw undergoes a brain scan while reciting TS Eliot to help shed some light on the mystery Stuart Jeffries The Guardian Tuesday 24 November 2009 [snip] The experiment is the latest in which Scott has explored the different ways our brains control our voices. "In the past, I've worked with impressionists to see what happens in their brains when they impersonate people's voices. The literature in psychology on faces is huge, but there's a lot less work on voices – partly because when we talk about speech, we go straight to focusing on language itself. "Fiona is going to perform some lines from a text she's familiar with [Shaw performed Eliot's epic poem 13 years ago in a production directed by Deborah Warner, and will reprise that performance at Wilton's music hall in London next month]. She's conveying different people by the way they speak, and we...

Broadcast on The BBC World Service . Available on podcast here . Body, memory, perception. Gormley, Mayer-Schoenberger, Lotto 14 Nov 09 Thu, 12 Nov 09 Duration: 49 mins "We like nothing better than talking about ourselves so this week’s Forum with Bridget Kendall casts a spotlight on the human brain and human form. One of Britain’s best known sculptors Antony Gormley looks at why we need to peel back our skin in order to understand our own humanity. He also conducts an experiment inviting all BBC listeners to close their eyes and connect with deep space beyond. Information technology professor Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger offers a vista of a future nightmare world where humans may be in danger of losing the capacity to forget as digital memories become so efficient at keeping our data for ever. And we peer inside our brains with neuroscientist Beau Lotto who reveals the illusion of perception and shows - with a little help from bees - why we see the way we do."

New in the world of pig cognition research, interesting results: Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain By NATALIE ANGIER The New York Times Published: November 10, 2009 "Recent discoveries from the nascent study of pig cognition offered evidence that pigs were quick learners, slow to forget and similar to humans in many ways." Read the article

The Short Life of a Diagnosis By SIMON BARON-COHEN, Op-Ed Contributor The New Yotk Times Published: November 10, 2009 "Asperger syndrome and autism should be thoroughly tested before being lumped together in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." Read the Op-Ed piece

A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: November 10, 2009 "A new theory suggests that dreams are a warm-up for the day ahead." Read the article

An Associated Press report this evening outlines changes at a number of Wyeth and Pfizer research facilities: Read article

Listen to an interview with Dr. Michael Rutter on BBC Radio 4's All In The Mind programme: Click here for a link to the podcast.

My brain abscess and me I had no idea I had a potentially fatal infection. Now, after my life-saving surgery, I will never take my health for granted again Tim Lusher The Guardian Tuesday 3 November 2009 Read Tim's narrative report here . [snip] "Finally, on Tuesday morning, someone realises something is horribly wrong. My GP sees immediately that my gait is clumsy, my focus wild, my speech slurring. She sends me straight to A&E at the Royal London hospital and phones ahead to order a brain scan. There, I collapse gratefully into the care of doctors and nurses." [snip]

Brain food: the problem with digital memory Digital memory means we can store more than ever before. But isn't it important, sometimes, to forget? Aditya Chakrabortty The Guardian Tuesday 3 November 2009 Read the article

The Mobile Healthcare Industry Summit takes place this 1st and 2nd of December at the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel in London, England. According to the conference website, topics include: - Using Mobile Healthcare Partnership to Transform a Health System From Responsive Into Preventative - Using Mobile Healthcare to Improve Precision in the Diagnosis and Cure of Patient Illness - Freeing the Patient and the System with Intelligent Biometric Diagnostics - Defining the Data Management of Digital Healthcare - What Are The Technical Platforms For Mobile Healthcare Success? - SMS, Devices, Intelligent M2M - Globalising Mobile Healthcare: Regional Case Studies and Uniting the Service – South Korea, North America, Japan Visit the conference website for detailed information.

November Is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

Charlie Rose began his series of episodes about neuroscience with his show last evening, the 29th of October. Go to his website to watch the full episode from the 29th and to check in for the additional episodes: Charlie Rose homepage From the website: "Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode One. Tonight’s introductory topic-- The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain: consciousness, free will, perception, cognition, emotion and memory with a roundtable of brain researchers. Co-Host Eric Kandel from Columbia University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Cornelia Bargmann from Rockefeller University, Tony Movshon from New York University, John Searle from University of California Berkeley and Gerald Fischbach of the Simons Foundation."

The October 2009 issue of Nature's NeuroPod podcast is available for listening and download. It can be found at NeuroPod homepage . This edition includes reports about gaming mice and the relation between sleep problems and memory function. From the homepage: " About NeuroPod "NeuroPod is the neuroscience podcast from Nature, produced in association with the Dana Foundation. Each month, join us as we delve into the latest research on the brain, from its molecular makings to the mysteries of the mind. We'll also be bringing you the latest news from neuroscience conferences around the globe, along with special reports on hot areas in neuroscience. "For complete access to the original papers featured in NeuroPod, subscribe to Nature, Nature Neuroscience, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience."

Like a Skyline Is Etched in His Head By JIM DWYER The New York Times Published: October 28, 2009 "Stephen Wiltshire, working only from the memory of a helicopter flight over New York, has been rendering the city’s 305 square miles along an arc of paper that is 19 feet long." Read the full article View the slideshow, "Portrait of the Artist," which shows parts of his amazing work

From stevenroseonline.net : Prospects and Perils of the New Brain Sciences: A twenty year timescale Royal Society Science Policy Lab 20th October 2009 by Steven P R Rose Read the full paper

A Molecule of Motivation, Dopamine Excels at Its Task By NATALIE ANGIER The New York Times Published: October 27, 2009 "A view has emerged to counter the image that a neurotransmitter is the little Bacchus of our brain." Read the article

This week, the Twitter sidebar will scroll #ClinicalTrials.

The annual conference of the Society for Neuroscience is ongoing in Chicago. The event contnues through the 21st. Conference website

The Cardiff Neuroscience Centre Webpage Read about neuroscience research activities in and around Cardiff and their collaboration with Bristol via this virtual centre.

From The New York Times : OPINION Room for Debate: Does the Brain Like E-Books? By By The Editors Published: October 14, 2009 "How the reading experience differs between paper and screen." Read the entry and the debate

The One & Other Antony Gormley project ended today in Trafalgar Square, London. Among the many media reports and summaries of the project, Laura Hickman who represented Chiari Malformation awareness efforts during her hour on the Fourth Plinth has received additional attention. The Times (UK) cites her hour as being on of the best of the 2400 individual hours in the project and says this about her: "Laura Hickman: held up placards carrying the words of 30 sufferers of rare brain condition Chiari Malformation. Has since persuaded the NHS to recognise the condition, started work for Chicago's Chiari Centre Foundation, and plans to open a UK branch of the charity." Excellent work! Here is a link to the full report: Best of the Trafalgar Square plinthers (14th October, 2009).

Follow the link to the Dana Foundation Blog for a posting about a pretty-decent looking intro neuroanatomy app for your iPhone: Brain browser comes to iPhone (5th October, 2009).

From The New Yorker : Author Malcolm Gladwell has a live chat about brain injuries and sports tomorrow at 1430 hrs ET. The chat can be found at the link found below. If you wish to submit a question for the essayist and author, go to that link and you can submit a question in advance of the event. Questions for Gladwell/Live Chat

A news release from the NIH: Investment in Parkinson's Disease Data Bank Yields Potential Therapy 12th October, 2009 [snip] Individuals with Parkinson's disease who have higher levels of a metabolite called urate in their blood and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have a slower rate of disease progression, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. A clinical trial is under way to examine the safety and potential benefits of supplemental urate elevation for recently diagnosed Parkinson's patients who have low urate levels. Investigators demonstrated the link with urate by mining a repository of clinical data and tissue samples collected from Parkinson's patients more than 20 years ago as part of a pioneering study called DATATOP, funded by NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The new study appears in Archives of Neurology . It was funded primarily by NINDS, with additional support from the Department of Defense an...

In the final several days of Antony Gormley's One & Other project on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square, London, Cara is going to ascend the plinth in support of Multiple Sclerosis awareness. Her plinth hour is 1900 hrs BST, Monday the 12th of October. She writes in her bio: "I thought that this project was an unusual and unique opportunity and so put my name forward. During the hour on the plinth, I am going to try to bring awareness to www.shift.ms - an online community for young people with Multiple Sclerosis. When I was diagnosed with MS, I found the website to be a source of support and reassurance during a weird and shocking time. So, if anyone who is affected by MS, or anyone who'd like to know more about it, you are welcome to become part of the shift.ms community!" Bests wishes, Cara! Cara's plinth hour can be viewed live at http://www.oneandother.co.uk/ . If you miss it live, a refeed of the hour is available on the One&Other website within...

If you only do one thing this week … avoid multitasking Often considered the pinnacle of efficiency, multitasking can actually be a negative practice, according to latest research. So stop what else you're doing and concentrate, says Giles Morris Giles Morris guardian.co.uk Monday 5 October 2009 11.33 BST Read the full article

Read details about this year's awardees at The Nobel Prize website Awarded to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."

Di Flatt, manager of the fundraising team at Epilepsy Action, has her hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square at 1700 hrs, Saturday. She is one of the 2400 taking part in Antony Gormley's One & Other project. You can read about Di and view a refeed of her plinth hour at DiFlatt . You can watch her live at One&Other . Read all about the 60th anniversary of Epilepsy Action .

Thomas G., a member of the Alzheimer's Research Trust , was on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square this afternoon to promote Memories Matter . He was one of the 2400 plinthers of Antony Gormley's One & Other project. Watch Tom and listen to his message at Thomas_G . Take a look at the Trust's Memories Matter website.

Neuropsychology at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the UCL Institute of Child Health View the website here From the homepage: "The Paediatric Neuropsychology Service consists of the Clinical Neuropsychology Department at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Unit based at the Institute of Child Health (ICH). The academic and clinical staff in the Service work collaboratively to offer a comprehensive neuropsychology service for children, adolescents and their families."

"Inside Bill Moorier's Head" website link

Early Saturday morning, Gav C, the father of a now-deceased young boy named Tom, spent his hour for the One and Other Antony Gormley project from the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square describing life with his son. It is a narrative extraordinary in its directness. I recommend its viewing for any student training to work with young children with disabilities. You will learn something from it. To view it: Gav C. on the Fourth Plinth

From The Times (UK) Speed of digital era may be harming our ability to think The age-old rhythms of life are under assault as the distinction between work and leisure is eroded by new technology. Is it damaging our very humanity? Eva Hoffman September 26, 2009 Read the article

Barbara, a rehabilitation professional, went on Antony Gormley's One and Other Fourth Plinth project in Trafalgar Square yesterday morning. She promoted helmet use for sports and recreational activities and did so in a very nice kiddie-friendly manner. Her hour can be viewed at: oneandother.co.uk/participants/BarbaraJean

The Genesis 2009 Conference will take place on the 10th and 11th of December at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (London). From the website: " Welcome to Genesis 2009 – “Back in focus!” The challenges of the economic downturn stimulated us to build innovative new partnerships at Genesis last year. The resultant exciting mix of business and science is something many have only dreamed of. This will be retained for 2009 with a streamlined approach for delegates to maximise the return on your investment in participating." For details, please see the conference website

Dr. Leon Eisenberg, Pioneer in Autism Studies, Dies at 87 By BENEDICT CAREY Published: September 24, 2009 "Dr. Eisenberg conducted some of the first rigorous studies of autism, attention deficit disorder and learning delays." [snip] “Leon took a very courageous stand and denounced the way psychiatry treated children, this whole system in which we had a few rich kids and their parents getting psychoanalysis five days a week and still not being cured,” said C. Keith Conners, a professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. “No one even knew what a cure looked like. He had this conviction that nothing was being done for the bulk of children who needed help, and that we had very little scientific data to guide us.” [snip] Read the full article

Terry Pratchett: Britain facing tsunami of Alzheimer's disease Sir Terry Pratchett has warned of a "worldwide tsunami of Alzheimer's" facing Britain as figures show the Government spends less on researching the disease than the cost of building one mile of motorway. By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor The Telegraph Published: 7:30AM BST 22 Sep 2009 Read the article

Early next year: Third Annual Patient Recruitment in Clinical Trials conference, to be held 08th-09th March, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. From the conference webpage: "Patient recruitment and retention are critical to drug development programs. Patient recruitment if not adequately planned for can extend your development timeline by a number of years. Retention of patients throughout the life of a clinical trial is essential in order have complete data sets for your analysis and subsequent filings. In order to optimize both you have to have a plan. This conference is intended to cover the topics one should consider when drafting and strategically implementing a patient recruitment and retention plan for a clinical development program." Please see conference webpage for details.

From The Times (UK): Case study: ‘It’s hard to recognise the man I married’ Judith Magill’s retirement dreams were dashed when her husband, Patrick, had Parkinson's disease diagnosed aged 57 21 September 2009 [snip] "People die with Parkinson’s disease, not of it,” said the specialist to my husband, Patrick, when he got the diagnosis at the age of 57. He was upbeat, though leaving us in no doubt that the condition would worsen. Parkinson’s would nibble away at Patrick’s physical and, if we were unlucky, his mental reactions. It would fundamentally change our lives after just two years of marriage. [snip] Read the full piece

From The Guardian How to boost your brain power Gardening, friendship, dancing, pregnancy and the odd glass of wine could improve your mental prowess Stephen Pincock The Guardian Tuesday 22 September 2009 Read the article

Today is World Alzheimer's Day. Read something today to increase your knowledge about the disease and dementia. Here's a general-readership resource: Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery ... and a report from the Alzheimer's Association: Summary of 2009 World Alzheimer Report

From The Times (UK): The latest Parkinson’s treatment: Wii-hab Parkinson’s disease symptoms could be controlled by a game that can be bought on every high street, says a recent study Simon Crompton 21 September 2009 [snip] This summer, the Medical College of Georgia in the United States announced the striking results of its research into the effects of “Wii-hab” on people with Parkinson’s disease. In an eight-week study, 18 people were asked to play Wii Sports, including virtual versions of boxing and ten-pin bowling, for an hour a day, three times a week for four weeks. By the end of that time all the participants showed significant improvements in rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels. Importantly, their depression levels also decreased; depression affects around half of people with Parkinson’s disease. [snip} Read the full article

From The Observer : Can a daily pill really boost your brain power? In America, university students are taking illegally obtained prescription drugs to make them more intelligent. But would you pop a smart pill to improve your performance? Margaret Talbot investigates the brave new world of neuro enhancement Margaret Talbot The Observer Sunday 20 September 2009 Read the article

From The Guardian : Reading Kafka 'enhances cognitive mechanisms', claims study Subjects who had just read Kafka's The Country Doctor were better at recognising patterns in grammar test, psychologists found Alison Flood guardian.co.uk Thursday 17 September 2009 14.59 BST [snip] Research from psychologists at the University of California in Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia claims to show that exposure to surrealism enhances the cognitive mechanisms which oversee implicit learning functions. The psychologists showed a group of subjects Kafka's story The Country Doctor, a disturbing and surreal tale in which a doctor travels by "unearthly horses" to an ill patient, only to climb into bed naked with him and then escape through the window "naked, exposed to the frost of this most unhappy of ages". A second group were shown the same story, but rewritten so the plot made more sense. Both groups were then asked to complete an artificial g...

From The New York Times : Biotech Tries to Shrug Off Setbacks By JAMES FLANIGAN Published: September 17, 2009 "While some investors are pulling back, life sciences companies continue to innovate, and hope the capital to expand will come." Read the piece

A United BioSource Corporation press release from 10th September, 2009: United BioSource Corporation (UBC) today announced the acquisition of Cognitive Drug Research, Ltd. (CDR) , the leader in computerized cognitive testing for clinical trials. The CDR System is the most widely used computerized cognitive testing system in the world: it is used in more than 1000 trials encompassing approximately 50 different disease areas, validated in over 60 languages, and cited in more than 700 publications and abstracts. Additionally, CDR maintains the industry’s largest healthy subject, patient, and drug databases of cognitive effects, providing the standard for establishing the clinical relevance of compounds. Read the full press release

From the FDA: Information on Natalizumab (marketed as Tysabri) Updated Information: [9/2009] The FDA continues to receive reports of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in patients receiving Tysabri. Tysabri was approved by the FDA for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in November 2004 and for moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease in January 2008. From July 2006, (when Tysabri marketing resumed) to September 8, 2009, 13 reported cases of Tysabri-related PML were confirmed worldwide in patients being treated for MS with Tysabri monotherapy. Of these, four cases were patients in the United States (U.S.). There have been no postmarketing reports of PML in patients treated with Tysabri for Crohn’s disease. Less than 2% of Tysabri use in the U.S. has been in patients with Crohn's disease. The risk for developing PML appears to increase with the number of Tysabri infusions received. The number of monthly infusions of Tysabri in the 13...

van der Meulen I, van de Sandt-Koenderman WM, Duivenvoorden HJ, & Ribbers GM (2009). Measuring verbal and non-verbal communication in aphasia: Reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the Scenario Test. International Joutnal of Language and Communication Disorders Background: This study explores the psychometric qualities of the Scenario Test, a new test to assess daily-life communication in severe aphasia. The test is innovative in that it: (1) examines the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal communication; and (2) assesses patients' communication in an interactive setting, with a supportive communication partner. Aims: To determine the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the Scenario Test and discuss its clinical value. Methods & Procedures: The Scenario Test was administered to 122 persons with aphasia after stroke and to 25 non-aphasic controls. Analyses were performed for the entire group of persons with aphasia, as well as for a subgrou...

This Monday, Bev Ashby, an artist, will take the plinth for her hour in the One & Hour Fourth Plinth event in Trafalgar Square. She will create a sculpture representing ataxia to promote ataxia awareness. Read article Follow at One&Other for live media stream.

For Speech-Impaired, Insurance Fights Remedy By ASHLEE VANCE The New York Times Published: September 15, 2009 "Despite their usefulness and lower cost, devices like iPhones and netbook PCs that can help the speech-impaired are not covered by Medicare or insurers." Read the article

World Alzheimer's Day

From The Utica Observer-Dispatch : Obama adviser speaks about epilepsy locally Axelrod also touts healthcare reform By ELIZABETH COOPER Observer-Dispatch Posted Sep 12, 2009 @ 09:01 PM Last update Sep 12, 2009 @ 10:59 PM WHITESBORO —Amid the national debate on health care, a top White House adviser related his personal story about troubles his family encountered in getting care for a daughter with epilepsy. David Axelrod, a close adviser to President Barack Obama, was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, known as CURE, at Hart's Hill Inn Saturday evening. Axelrod's wife, Susan Landau, is one of the founders of CURE, and she has come to the Mohawk Valley in the past for CURE fundraisers, though Saturday was Axelrod's first visit. More than 700 people attended Saturday's fundraiser, which raised $207,000. Before the event, he took questions from reporters about his personal story, and said it had been “the cause of our lives to...

From FierceBiotech : Merck KGaA pulls ahead in hot oral MS drug race By John Carroll September 11, 2009 — 8:22am ET Researchers for Merck KGaA say that new analysis of the late-stage data for their oral drug cladribine highlight the drug's potential as a new therapy for multiple sclerosis. Patients taking a short course of the therapy were more likely to go two years without seeing the disease flare up, and that could prove crucial for the developer as it prepares to make its case that cladribine should be neurologists' preferred choice among a slate of experimental oral MS therapies. Read the full article

After a Diagnosis, Someone to Help Point the Way By LESLEY ALDERMAN The New York Times Published: September 12, 2009 "Patient advocates can help research treatment options, sort out insurance claims and open doors to specialists." Read the full article

The 10th international conference on Alzheimer's disease drug discovery takes place next week on the 14th and 15th in Jersey City, NJ. From the conference website: "The 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery is presented by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), the only public charity solely dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery and development of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease and cognitive aging. This conference brings together academic and industry scientists to accelerate the development of novel drug discovery programs for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias." Visit the conference website

From the CBC : McGill neuroscientist wins $1M research prize Last Updated: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 | 5:26 PM ET [snip] McGill University Prof. Brenda Milner has won the International Balzan Prize for 2009 . The prize is one million Swiss francs, or about $1 million Cdn, for her groundbreaking research into cognitive neuroscience and how we remember. [snip] Read the full article Dr. Milner was interviewed on the 9th of September on As It Happens . You can download the podcast at this link (tune in to the last 10 minutes). She speaks about several aspects of her work, including Patient H.M., and the Balzan Prize.

Study Spells Out Spread of Brain Illness in Animals By SANDRA BLAKESLEE The New York Times Published: September 10, 2009 The infectious agent that leads to chronic wasting disease is spread in the feces of infected animals long before they become ill, new research indicates. Read the full article

A report from The Guardian about ongoing genetics research in Alzheimer's disease: Alzheimer's research links three genes to disease Findings hailed as 'huge step' towards earlier testing and better treatment for Alzheimer's Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk Sunday 6 September 2009 18.05 BST Read the article

My blog turns five years old today.

Looking for reading material for a longish train trip I am about to take, I decided to hit to bookshelves of my Square's Barnes & Noble to see what popular neuroscience titles might be a good diversion (as well as potential supplementary 'lighter' references, should I re-teach an introductory course to neuroscience sometime over the next year). I chose three. The first is by Elkhonon Goldberg, a revision of an earlier work, which is titled "The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World" and is available in paperback by Oxford University Press. I first met the author when I was a graduate student, so I am looking forward to reading up on what he's been up to. The second is about glial cells and is entitled, "The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia" by Andrew Koob. Five years ago, if someone said there would be a popular offering about glia, I would have thought 'Yeah, right...' Though I do enjoy adding discussion about glia to my...

FierceBiotech reported today about a failed Phase III trial of Acadia's Pimavanserin in a study of Parkinson's Disease Psychosis (sometimes abbreviated as "PDP"): ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Announces Results from Phase III Trial of Pimavanserin in Parkinson's Disease Psychosis Pimavanserin Misses Primary Endpoint of Antipsychotic Efficacy; Meets Key Secondary Endpoint of Motoric Tolerability [snip] SAN DIEGO -- Sep. 1, 2009-- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced top-line results from the first pivotal Phase III trial with pimavanserin in patients with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PDP. The study did not meet its primary endpoint of antipsychotic efficacy as measured using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, or SAPS. Pimavanserin met the key secondary endpoint of motoric tolerability as measured using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale , or UPDRS. Pimavanserin was safe and well tolerated, with the frequency of...

I received the September 2009 issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society yesterday. If you (or your library) have access to it) it is chock-full of excellent articles, including an overview to the anterior temporal lobes and semantic memory, a paper about the Brixton Spatial Anticipation Test, several papers relevant to problems and deficits in executive functioning in different pathologies, and a look at the phenomenon of "closing-in" behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease

An article in The Times (U.K.): Blood test could predict severity of multiple sclerosis Mark Henderson, Science Editor August 31, 2009 [snip] Patients whose MS is thought likely to progress quickly could be started swiftly on therapies that can reduce the frequency and severity of attacks, while those at lower risk could be spared medication they do not need immediately. More accurate ways of assessing prognosis could also help to prepare patients for what they should expect in the future, removing the uncertainty that can be a distressing feature of the disease. [snip] Read the full article Dr. Rachel Farrell, of the Institute of Neurology at University College London, is the principal investigator.

A report from BusinessWeek from 27 August 2009: Drug, Biotech Research Spending Hangs Tough Overall U.S. corporate R&D spending is down 4% since the end of 2007, but some companies have chosen to buck the trend By Emily Thornton and Frederick Jespersen [snip] Corporate America's research spending shrank 4% overall, or $1.9 billion, from the fourth quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of this year, according to data compiled by Capital IQ on 961 U.S. companies. But many health-care companies have boosted their research outlays. BusinessWeek sought out 25 companies that most aggressively increased their research budgets during the first six months of 2009. Thirteen members of the group, which collectively boosted its spending by $2 billion, were pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Only eight were high-tech outfits, such as Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). [snip] Read the full article

From today's Guardian : Major drug trial highlights a new approach in stroke prevention The success of Pradaxa in a 44-country trial indicates a possible end to the use of the rat poison warfarin as a primary treatment to prevent stroke Press Association guardian.co.uk Sunday 30 August 2009 23.27 BST Read the full article Boehringer Ingelheim's (BI) corporate website information about their clinical trial programmes: click here

Pharmafocus reported earlier in the week about a plan by Pfizer to roll out some social networking options for patients considering clinical-trial participation: Pfizer to develop online community to find new trials patients Monday , August 24, 2009 Read the report . The report indicates that Pfizer has teamed with Private Access in this product. I know I have been involved in co-hosting online communities for Alzheimer's disease and in oncology and such online communities can be very exciting for patients, caregivers, and scientists.

Tara Calishain and her diverse service specialty called Research Buzz provides a link to a new Google Custom Search Engine specific to hospital websites in the U.S., 2800 of them at current count. For specifics, please see her website/blog entry: click here

From The Guardian's ScienceBlog , 27 August 2009: Is quantum mechanics messing with your memory? For all we know we may live in a world in which windows un-break and cold cups of coffee spontaneously heat up, we just don't remember. The explanation is quantum entanglement. Read the piece here

2nd Conference on Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) From the conference website: "Dear Colleague, "It is a great pleasure for us to invite you to attend the 2nd conference Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD), which will take place in Las Vegas on October 29-30, 2009. "This conference is co-organized by the Montpellier and Toulouse European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium (EADC) Centers and the Cleveland Clinic : Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. "The aims of the meeting are to bring together the current leaders in clinical trials in Alzheimer’s Disease to discuss new results, drugs in development, and future methodological issues (disease modifying, outcomes, biomarkers, health economics)." Full details available at the conference website: http://www.ctad.fr/01-presentation/presentation.asp

Center for Bioethics Fall Seminar Series Time: 12:15 to 1:30 pm Location: 1-451 Moos Tower, University of Minnesota campus (unless noted otherwise) Minneapolis, MN ITV to University of Minnesota, Duluth, Room 160 Life Science November 13 “Family Stories: Decision Making in Advanced Dementia” Presented by Barbara Elliott, PhD Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical School, Duluth; Director, Clinical Research, Department of Family Medicine; Adjunct Professor, Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Duluth Seminars are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided. For more information email visit www.bioethics.umn.edu

An upcoming presentation at the Newcastle University Institute of Neuroscience: IoN Seminar: The evolution of brain systems for vocal learning Erich Jarvis (Duke University) Venue: Room 218, Henry Wellcome Building Date: 7th September 2009 Time: 13:00 - 14:00 The title "The evolution of brain systems for vocal learning" is a provisional title, to be confirmed. Host: Tom Smulders

Hojat, Mohammadreza; Vergare, Michael J.; Maxwell, Kaye; Brainard, George; Herrine, Steven K.; Isenberg, Gerald A.; Veloski, Jon; Gonnella, Joseph S. The Devil is in the Third Year: A Longitudinal Study of Erosion of Empathy in Medical School Academic Medicine , September 2009 - Volume 84 - Issue 9 - pp 1182-1191. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181b17e55 The full text of this research paper is available at: Click here This issue of Academic Medicine includes additional commentary and research papers on the topic of empathy, available as courtesy full-text downloads.

From The Guardian : First person: My condition means people always assume I'm drunk Jayne Wallace The Guardian Thursday 27 August 2009 Read the article

The New York Times : Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies The Independent : Legacy of the only Kennedy brother to grow old The White House : Statement by the President The Office of the Vice President : Statement by the Vice President (includes YouTube link.) (Photo: The White House)

The September 2009 issue of Wired has a nifty little article on the impact of placebo effects on pharmaceutical clinical trials and pharma company decision making: "Real. Fake. Both Can Cure Depression." by Steve Silberman. === Addendum on 28th August: As you will see from the comments, this piece is available on Wired magazine's website. You can access it here ===

Neuropsychologist Stephen Rao is in the news, with a recent publication in the journal Neurology looking at fMRI of individuals who had frisk factors for Alzheimer's disease and normal contols as they identify famous faces. Here is a report from Time magazine's website: What Britney Spears Can Reveal About Alzheimer's By ALICE PARK Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 Read article

Available at BMC Neurology Proceedings of the 2009 Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference Proceedings from Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference Washington, DC, USA. 2–3 February 2009 Edited by Diana W Shineman and Howard M Fillit BMC Neurology Contents of Volume 9 Suppl 1 Click here for open access to contents of this issue

From The Guardian : 'Dramatic' breakthrough in MS research Scientists find a substance called galanin is resistant to a multiple sclerosis-like disease in both mice and human brain tissue The Guardian 24 August 2009 Read the article About a research finding from a neuroscience team at the University of Bristol.

An article written by Carl Zimmer for the September issue of Discover magazine: read the article The Dark Matter of the Human Brain Meet the forgotten 90 percent of your brain: glial cells, which outnumber your neurons ten to one. And no one really knows what they do. === Neuropsychology and neuroscience students" One of Carl's books, Soul Made Flesh , is an excellent story about Thomas Willis and his times. Must-read history about neuropsychology, alongside that of the later times of Broca, Wernicke, and Hughlings Jackson.

Cleveland Clinic considering telemedicine services for ICUs, home health care MedCity News August 20, 2009 by Chris Seper Read the article

From a press release by the FDA: Sabril Approved by FDA to Treat Spasms in Infants and Epileptic Seizures Sabril (vigabatrin) Oral Solution has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat infantile spasms in children ages 1 month to 2 years. Sabril is the first drug in the United States approved to treat the disorder, characterized by a severe type of seizure that usually appears in the first year of life, typically between ages 4 months and 8 months. The disorder can be debilitating because of the frequency of difficult-to-control daily seizures. Sabril (vigabatrin) Tablets have been approved for adult use in combination with other medications to treat complex partial seizures that have not responded adequately to previous drug therapies. “Seizures can cause impaired nervous system function and reduced quality of life,” said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Infantile spasms i...

From The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog : AUGUST 17, 2009, 11:12 AM ET Novartis’s Big Plans for Multiple Sclerosis By Jeanne Whalen [snippet] The FDA gave Novartis the green light today to start selling a copy of Betaseron, the multiple sclerosis drug long sold by Bayer. Why would Novartis want to sell somebody else’s years-old drug? Largely to gain experience in the MS marketplace as Novartis plots a future launch of the MS drug FTY720. “It’s a way to build a strong commercial organization and a strong medical organization ahead of FTY,” Novartis pharmaceuticals chief Joe Jimemez told the Health Blog recently. [snippet] Read the full blog entry ========== Note: Here is a reference to FTY720: Horga A, & Montalban X. (2008). FTY720 (fingolimod) for relapsing multiple sclerosis. Expert Rev Neurother., 8(5) 699-714. Clinical Neuroinmunology Unit, Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEM-Cat), Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain. FTY720 (fingolimod) ...

From The New York Times : Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop By NATALIE ANGIER Published: August 18, 2009 "Chronic stress changes the brain, but relaxation can change it back." Read the full article

Settling in in my coffeehouse for a reading of an interesting new publication by Dr. Brian Brooks and his colleagues on the topic of "Minimizing Misdiagnosis: Psychometric Criteria for Possible or Probable Memory Impairment." The authors seek to develop new psychometric criteria for identification of memory problems in older individuals. This has both clinical and research implications; my primary interest at this time is the accuracy of such identification for including or excluding individuals in clinical trials that test potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's and related dementias.

From The New York Times : And You Thought a Prescription Was Private By MILT FREUDENHEIM Published: August 9, 2009 "Prescriptions and the information on them are bought and sold in a murky marketplace, often without the patients’ knowledge or permission." Read the article

From the Brainstrust.org.uk website: link here Lizzie Hudson to appear on the 4th plinth for brainstrust! "Fantastic news just in that Lizzie Hudson from Ipswich has won the chance to appear on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square for an hour. Better still, she's devoting her time on the plinth to braintrust and our battle against brain cancer. Lizzie's appearance is part of sculptor Anthony Gormley's 'One & Other' project, wherein he is asking the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals. Gormley's idea is that successful applicants then become an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity. Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, a different person will make the Plinth their own, including lucky Lizzie! Lizzie, 26, states "I wanted to do something useful with my time, and so have decided to raise money for t...

From the website of the Parkinson's Disease Society: PDS fundraiser to stand on the Fourth Plinth in London Tim Andrews, from Milford in Surrey, is taking part in the Antony Gormley project 'One & Other' on Saturday 15 August 2009, taking his place on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London from 6pm to 7pm. Tim is taking part in the project as part of a new found determination to live life to the full since he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2005, at the age of 54. Despite being afraid of heights, Tim intends to stand on the Fourth Plinth for the full hour. Tim will play tracks from the new album, The Liberty of Norton Folgate by one of his favourite bands, Madness, who have given their permission for it to be played. Tim has chosen the album because the lyrics recount various stories about the city of his birth, London, which he adores. Tim hopes that many will come along, show their support and perhaps dance with him. Tim says: "Being d...

From the FDA: FDA Approves Saphris to Treat Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Saphris tablets (asenapine) to treat adults with schizophrenia, a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, and to treat bipolar I disorder in adults, a serious psychiatric disorder that causes shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. “Mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be devastating to patients and families, requiring lifelong treatment and therapy,” said Thomas Laughren, M.D., director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Effective medicines can help people with mental illness live more independent lives.” Read the full FDA press release S-P corporate press release

On Saturday, the 15th, from 1100 to 1200 hrs, plinther Laura Hickman of the One&Other art project in Trafalgar Square will be promoting Chiari Malformation awareness. The Chiari Center Foundation Chiari Malformation information page here and here [credits: Photo courtesy Laura Hickman}

From a National Institutes of Health (NIH) press release: Imitation Promotes Social Bonding in Primates Capuchin Monkeys Predisposed Toward Individuals Who Imitate Them Imitation, the old saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery. It also appears to be an ancient interpersonal mechanism that promotes social bonding and, presumably, sets the stage for relative strangers to coalesce into groups of friends, according to a study by a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health and two Italian research institutions. The study authors found that capuchin monkeys preferred the company of researchers who imitated them to that of researchers who did not imitate them. The monkeys not only spent more time with their imitators, but also preferred to engage in a simple task with them even when provided with the option of performing the same task with a non-imitator. Read the full press release

C-SPAN-3 is currently airing an earlier session by the subcommittee on aging on the topic of Alzheimer's Disease. All C-SPAN channels can be streamed online. Information about the program can be found here .

I have a fun task to complete later today: Recommend to a client five new neuroscience books that have been published in 2009 to be purchased to "freshen up" their company library shelves.

The blog Brain Ethics posted a blog entry last month with links to several YouTube videos of historical figures in neuroscience and psychology: Read Brain Ethics post here

Morrow S, Weinstock-Guttman B, Munschauer F, Hojnacki D, & Benedict R. (2009). Subjective fatigue is not associated with cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Multiple Sclerosis, 15(8), :998-1005. School of Medicine, The Jacobs Neurological Institute, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA. Background Studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) report conflicting conclusions regarding fatigue and cognition, which may partly be due to the use of small sample sizes and frequent reliance on a cross-sectional approach. Objective The ability to distinguish between these two disabling symptoms is necessary in order to properly assess and treat MS patients. Methods In a retrospective analysis, we assessed the correlation between fatigue and neuropsychological (NP) testing using a cross-sectional (n = 465) and longitudinal approach (n = 69). Cognition was measured using a comprehensive battery called the Minimal Assessment o...

Yet another case from the UK: Woman dies of meningitis after swine flu diagnosis • Woman prescribed Tamiflu and paracetamol dies in hospital • Son urges doctors to heed symptoms of other illnesses Karen McVeigh guardian.co.uk Wednesday 12 August 2009 17.02 BST A man whose mother died of meningitis days after being misdiagnosed with swine flu has called on doctors to pay more heed to other illnesses when treating patients. Jasvir Kaur Gill, 48, a mother of three from Leicester, began suffering from a sore throat and vomiting during the evening of Saturday 1 August. She was told to take Tamiflu after a telephone diagnosis, but 12 hours later she suffered a heart attack and was taken to hospital. She died without regaining consciousness, four days later. An inquest, which opened today, heard how her death was caused by meningococcal septicaemia, or blood poisoning caused by meningitis. After the hearing, her son Sukhvinder Gill, 25, said: "We said to the doctors in the hospital, ever...

Bangirana P, Giordani B, John CC, Page C, Opoka RO, & Boivin MJ (2009). Immediate Neuropsychological and Behavioral Benefits of Computerized Cognitive Rehabilitation in Ugandan Pediatric Cerebral Malaria Survivors. Journal of Development and Behavioral Pediatrics. Aug 7. OBJECTIVE:: Our earlier studies on Ugandan children surviving cerebral malaria showed cognitive deficits mainly in attention and memory. We now present the first study in sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the feasibility and potential benefits of computerized cognitive rehabilitation training on neuropsychological and behavioral functioning of children surviving cerebral malaria. METHODS:: A randomized trial in which 65 children admitted 45 months earlier with cerebral malaria were recruited at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. For 8 weeks, 32 of the children received weekly training sessions using Captain's Log cognitive training software and the other 33 were assigned to a nontreatment condition. Pre- and...

From a National Institutes of Health (NIH) press release : Statement of Duane Alexander, M.D., Director Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health On the Contributions of Eunice Kennedy Shriver in Advancing Research in Child Health, Human Development, and Intellectual Disability The entire world owes a debt to Eunice Kennedy Shriver for her foresight in calling for an institute at the National Institutes of Health to study the myriad aspects of human development, both as it unfolds without problems and when medical and environmental factors prevent it from doing so. In 1961, Mrs. Shriver persuaded her brother, then-President Kennedy, to include in his first health message to Congress the proposal for an NIH institute focusing on child health and human development research. After the bill that would establish the new institute was introduced, Mrs. Shriver testified in support of that bill and worked to persuade members ...

Following up on a posting earlier this week: From a General Electrics press release 11 August 2009 FDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS DaTSCAN™ (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) PRINCETON, NJ--GE Healthcare announced today that the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted to recommend DaTSCAN (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) to the FDA. The panel determined DaTSCAN has a favorable risk to benefit profile, voting 11 to two with one abstention. The proposed indication for DaTSCAN is for the visualization of the dopamine transporter (DaT) distribution within the striata by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in patients presenting with symptoms or signs suggestive of dopaminergic neurodegeneration. In May 2009, the FDA accepted the New Drug Application and granted DaTSCAN priority review, a designation identified for areas of unmet medical need. If approved, DaTSCAN will be the first radiopharmaceut...

Batting Helmet is Safer, but Players Hate the Look By DAVID WALDSTEIN The New York Times Published: August 13, 2009 "Some major league players don’t want to sacrifice comfort and style for the added protection of Rawlings’ new helmet." Read article [Note: The helmet is called the Rawlings S100 and the company's website has promotional material about it's features.}

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Bethesda, MD http://www.nichd.nih.gov/ The Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Bronx, NY http://www.aecom.yu.edu/cerc/kennedy.htm

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88; member of Kennedy clan, founder of Special Olympics By Bryan Marquard Boston Globe Staff / August 11, 2009 "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who planted the seeds for the Special Olympics when she launched Camp Shriver on the lawn of her Maryland home, and then with force of will and the clout of her family name spread her vision of lifting the developmentally disabled "into the sunlight of useful living," died this morning at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis." Read full article

The Wall Street Journal's HealthBlog discusses this radiopharmaceutical and the FDA meeting to be held tomorrow about it [ read post here ]

Bauer PM, Hanson JL, Pierson RK, Davidson RJ, & Pollak SD. (2009). Cerebellar Volume and Cognitive Functioning in Children Who Experienced Early Deprivation . Biological Psychiatry . 2009 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of print] University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin. BACKGROUND: The cerebellum is a brain region recognized primarily in the coordination of movement and related accessory motor functions. In addition, emerging evidence implicates the cerebellum in cognitive processes and suggests that this brain region might be subject to experience-dependent changes in structure. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of early environmental deprivation in the maturation of the cerebellum and aspects of cognitive development. METHODS: Structural magnetic resonance imaging volumes of 12 cerebellar sub-regions from 31 previously neglected and 30 typically developing children were compared with subjects' corresponding neuropsychological test scores. RESULTS: Negl...

An interesting feature article from the front page of yesterday's New York Times : After Injury, Fighting to Regain a Sense of Self By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times Published: August 9, 2009 "Scientists are investigating delusions caused by brain trauma for clues to one of the most confounding problems in brain science: identity." Read the full article

From The Guardian : Girl, two, dies after swine flu misdiagnosis Child with possible meningitis was 'failed by system' say parents Jo Adetunji guardian.co.uk Saturday 8 August 2009 01.08 BST [snippet] The parents of a two-year-old girl thought to have died from meningitis after they were told she was suffering from swine flu said yesterday that she had been "failed by the system". Georgia Keeling, from Norwich, died after being rushed to hospital on Tuesday. Her parents, Paul Sewell, 21, and Tasha Keeling, 22, said they contacted health services, including NHS Direct, the swine flu helpline and the emergency services, five times after their daughter first developed a temperature on Saturday. The couple said that by Tuesday she had also developed a rash, bruising and had been sick, but their concerns that she might have meningitis were ignored. They said that on two occasions they were told Georgia did not need to be admitted to hospital and after one 999 call, a param...

Dr. Ed Vogel of the University of Oregon on Distraction and The Brain , a short YouTube video:

A very interesting paper about classical conditioning. Enjoy. If you are a student, you might also see this referred to as Pavlovian conditioning ... Makoto Mizunami, Sae Unoki, Yasuhiro Mori, Daisuke Hirashima, Ai Hatano, & Yukihisa Matsumoto. (2009). Roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in appetitive and aversive memory recall in an insect. BMC Biology, 7:46 [doi:10.1186/1741-7007-7-46] Published: 4 August 2009 Abstract, with link to full BioMedCentral paper Abstract (provisional) Background In insect classical conditioning, octopamine (the invertebrate counterpart of noradrenaline) or dopamine has been suggested to mediate reinforcing properties of appetitive or aversive unconditioned stimulus, respectively. However, the roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in memory recall have remained unclear. Results We studied the roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in appetitive and aversive memory recall in olfactory and visual conditioning in cric...

BASIC: Brain and Spinal Injury Centre visit website With a shout out to Andy_G, who is on the plinth in Trafalgar Square right now wearing a BASIC shirt and is a part of the One & Other art event. From the website: "BASIC is a specialist resource for people and their families in crisis followinga traumatic brain injury or neurological diagnosis. This includes people recovering from severe head injury, brain haemorrhage, brain tumour and otherbrain-related conditions such as stroke and brain cancer."

BBC Radio 4 Rewriting the Psychiatrists' Bible Matthew Hill 04 August 2009 Listen to the report (40 mins.) about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as decisions are being reached about its forthcoming revision. Visit the show's webpage Online availability ends on the 11th of August.

Mark Rosenzweig, pioneer in brain plasticity, learning and hearing, has died at 86 UCBerkeley News By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | 03 August 2009 Read the full report BERKELEY — Mark R. Rosenzweig, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, whose early studies paved the way for today's recognition of the brain's ability to grow and repair itself, died July 20 at his home in Berkeley from kidney failure. He was 86. A prolific researcher, writer and French-speaking internationalist, Rosenzweig collaborated with some of the greatest minds in neuropsychology at Harvard University, UC Berkeley and the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France. At UC Berkeley, Rosenzweig collaborated with biochemist Ed Bennett, psychologist David Krech and neuroanatomist Marian Diamond on studies that provided early evidence of brain plasticity - the now-well established notion that neural pathways change throughout our lives as we grow and learn. In additio...

Mattsson N, Zetterberg H, Hansson O, Andreasen N, Parnetti L, Jonsson M, Herukka SK, van der Flier WM, Blankenstein MA, Ewers M, Rich K, Kaiser E, Verbeek M, Tsolaki M, Mulugeta E, Rosén E, Aarsland D, Visser PJ, Schröder J, Marcusson J, de Leon M, Hampel H, Scheltens P, Pirttilä T, Wallin A, Jönhagen ME, Minthon L, Winblad B, & Blennow K. (2009). CSF biomarkers and incipient Alzheimer disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment. JAMA, 302(4), 385-393. Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Neurochemistry and Psychiatry, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden. CONTEXT: Small single-center studies have shown that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers may be useful to identify incipient Alzheimer disease (AD) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but large-scale multicenter studies have not been conducted. OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of CSF beta-amyloid(1-42) (Abeta42), total tau protein (T-tau), a...