BrainBlog

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.