BrainBlog

Coursera rings in the new year with second offerings of two exceptional neuroscience courses. These courses are "Drugs and the Brain" and "Medical Neuroscience," first offered in December 2012-January 2013 and April through June of 2013, respectively. Both begin in 2014 by the end of the first week in January. "Drugs and the Brain" is a course by Dr. Henry Lester of CalTech . Dr. Lester is an international expert in neurotransmitter transport mechanisms and models of addiction. The course looks at the relationship between drugs (illicit, recreational, approved medications, and investigational products) and cellular activity. Mechanisms of intracellular and intercellular activity are explored. Addictions, neurodegenerative diseases, and psychiatric conditions are examined. Two additional weeks have been added to the course for this second offering. The recommended text for the course is: Eric Nestler, Steven Hyman, and Robert Malenka (2008). Molecular ...

An entry at the Dana Foundation Blog : Mahlon DeLong Wins Breakthrough Prize for Parkinson's Research 16 December 2013 Read the blog entry

From the NIH: NIH announces six funding opportunities for the BRAIN Initiative in fiscal 2014 17 December 2013 Opportunities focus on developing tools and technologies for advancing our understanding of brain circuitry Read the press release

The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder by Alan Schwarz The New York Times 15 December 2013 Read the full article

Press release from the NIH: NIH deposits first batch of genomic data for Alzheimer’s disease Researchers gain rapid access to first set of raw human genome sequence 02 December 2013 [snip] "Researchers can now freely access the first batch of genome sequence data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today. The ADSP is one of the first projects undertaken under an intensified national program of research to prevent or effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease. "The first data release includes data from 410 individuals in 89 families. Researchers deposited completed WGS data on 61 families and have deposited WGS data on parts of the remaining 28 families, which will be completed soon. WGS determines the order of all 3 billion letters in an individual’s genome. Researchers can access the sequence data at dbGaP or the National Institute on Aging Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease Data Storage Site (NIAGADS), ht...

WCU’s Helm-Estabrooks is honored by Massachusetts Neuropsychology Society The Sylva Herald 26 November 2013 Read article

A fine TED Talk made available today, from June of this year: "What is so special about the human brain?"

From the FDA: FDA approves Aptiom to treat seizures in adults 08 November 2013 "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Aptiom (eslicarbazepine acetate) as an add-on medication to treat seizures associated with epilepsy." Read the news release

From the Jacket2: Poemtalk website: "Loss in Reverse (PoemTalk #40)" Read and listen

From the FDA on the 25th of October, quoting the press release: FDA approves second brain imaging drug to help evaluate patients for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Vizamyl (flutemetamol F 18 injection), a radioactive diagnostic drug for use with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain in adults being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia. Dementia is associated with diminishing brain functions such as memory, judgment, language and complex motor skills. The dementia caused by AD is associated with the accumulation in the brain of an abnormal protein called beta amyloid and damage or death of brain cells. However, beta amyloid can also be found in the brain of patients with other dementias and in elderly people without neurologic disease. Vizamyl works by attaching to beta amyloid and producing a PET image of the brain that is used to evaluate the presence of beta amyloid. A negative Vizamyl s...

From Cardiff University News Centre: New Alzheimer’s risk genes discovered in record study 27 October 2013 "In the largest ever study of its kind, an international collaboration of scientists, jointly led by Cardiff, has uncovered 11 new susceptibility genes linked with Alzheimer’s disease. "This major breakthrough will significantly advance scientists’ knowledge of Alzheimer’s. It throws open new research avenues and enables a better understanding of the disease’s disordered functional processes." Read the full press release here .

The HarvardX edX course "Fundamentals of Clinical Trials" started yesterday. Here is some information about the course [click here] . The content for Week One is quite good and presented well by the course faculty. From the course information page: [snip] "This course will provide an introduction to the scientific, statistical, and ethical aspects of clinical trials research. Topics include the design, implementation, and analysis of trials, including first-in-human studies (dose-finding, safety, proof of concept, and Phase I), Phase II, Phase III, and Phase IV studies. All aspects of the development of a study protocol will be addressed, including criteria for the selection of participants, treatments, and endpoints, randomization procedures, sample size determination, data analysis, and study interpretation. The ethical issues that arise at each phase of therapy development will be explored. "This course contains 12 modules. The modules will be released ...

Last week, The Dana Foundation offered online this general overview to Lewy Body Dementia: Lewy Body Dementia: The Under-Recognized but Common Foe By Meera Balasubramaniam and James E. Galvin October 02, 2013 Read the article

The conference website homepage is canadianconferenceondementia.com

One of the number of media reports about today's Amyvid news: Lilly fails to persuade Medicare to pay for Alzheimer's imaging drug September 30, 2013 By Tracy Staton FiercePharma Read article [snippet] "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has handed down its final decision on Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's imaging agent Amyvid. The final answer, after appeals from Lilly and patient groups? No. Medicare won't pay for Amyvid-aided brain scans, not outside of clinical trials." [snippet]

Watch his TED talk here .

From The Washington Post : David H. Hubel, Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist, dies at 87 23 September 2013 Read the article Here is a link to his Nobel Prize lecture: link

At Coursera, Dr. Nancy Hodgson and Dr. Laura N. Gitlin , who is Director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging at Johns Hopkins University, will offer her MOOC this autumn. Here is a story on the MOOC from The New York Times "The New Old Age" blog: "Online Lessons in Dementia Management"

The author speaks about her new book "The Geography of Memory: A Pilgrimage Through Alzheimer's" The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC 06 September 2013 Listen to the interview

The Brain, within its Groove Runs evenly--and true-- But let a Splinter swerve-- 'Twere easier for You-- To put a Current back-- When Floods have slit the Hills-- And scooped a Turnpike for Themselves-- And trodden out the Mills-- -Emily Dickinson In the world of MOOCs, few courses have had the creativity and success as the course about "Modern and Contemporary American Poetry" by Dr. Al Filreis of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of its wonderful Kelly Writers House. Few courses, in real life or online, have such a dedicated teacher as Al. The course, part of Al's regular teaching at UPenn in its English Department, was first presented in MOOC form this time last year at Coursera. The ten-week course is back, having opened over the weekend to over 30,000 students, myself included (second timer). Week after week, this likely remains the largest single collection of dedicated students reading and discussing the same poets and poems at any one ...

Peter Huttenlocher, Explorer of the Brain, Dies at 82 By WILLIAM YARDLEY The New York Times August 26, 2013 Read here

Information about The ADAMS study: click here for homepage

Visit the website of the Pacific Northwest Udall Center (PANUC) . This is the location for today's Neuropsychology Abstract of the Day.

Cholerton BA, Zabetian CP, Quinn JF, Chung KA, Peterson A, Espay AJ, Revilla FJ, Devoto J, Watson GS, Hu SC, Edwards KL, Montine TJ, & Leverenz JB. (2013). Pacific northwest udall center of excellence clinical consortium: study design and baseline cohort characteristics. Journal of Parkinsons Disease, 3(2), 205-214. doi: 10.3233/JPD-130189. Geriatric Research, Education, & Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. Background: The substantial proportion of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) who have or are expected to develop concomitant cognitive impairment emphasizes the need for large, well-characterized participant cohorts to serve as a basis for research into the causes, manifestations, and potential treatments of cognitive decline in those with PD. Objective: To establish a multi-site clinical core tha...

A Multidimensional Approach to Apathy after Traumatic Brain Injury. Neuropsycholology Review 2013 Aug 7; Arnould A, Rochat L, Azouvi P, & Van der Linden M Abstract Apathy is commonly described following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is associated with serious consequences, notably for patients' participation in rehabilitation, family life and later social reintegration. There is strong evidence in the literature of the multidimensional nature of apathy (behavioural, cognitive and emotional), but the processes underlying each dimension are still unclear. The purpose of this article is first, to provide a critical review of the current definitions and instruments used to measure apathy in neurological and psychiatric disorders, and second, to review the prevalence, characteristics, neuroanatomical correlates, relationships with other neurobehavioural disorders and mechanisms of apathy in the TBI population. In this context, we propose a new multidimensional framework that...

Oversight of Clinical Investigations — A Risk-Based Approach to Monitoring (Guidance for Industry) FDA August 2013 Read the document here

Andrew Marr, after the stroke: 'I'm going to be sweeter all round' The TV presenter suffered a severe stroke after a strenuous workout in January. On the eve of his return to our screens he talks of his fight back to health Robert McCrum The Observer Saturday 3 August 2013 Read the article

From the Scientific American website: The Era of Memory Engineering Has Arrived How neuroscientists can call up and change a memory By Jason Castro Tuesday, July 30, 2013 Read the posting

From The Atlantic: Cities : How Memory Alters Our Perception of Place by EMILY BADGER Aug 01, 2013 Read the article

Graduate Admissions in Clinical Neuropsychology: The Importance of Undergraduate Training. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 2013 Jul 23; Karazsia BT, Stavnezer AJ, Reeves JW Abstract Discussions of and recommendations for the training of clinical neuropsychologists exist at the doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral level. With few exceptions, the literature on undergraduate preparations in clinical neuropsychology is sparse and lacks empirical evidence. In the present study, graduate-level faculty and current trainees completed surveys about graduate school preparations. Faculty expectations of minimum and ideal undergraduate training were highest for research methods, statistics, and assessment. Preferences for "goodness of fit" also emerged as important admissions factors. These results offer evidence for desirable undergraduate preparations for advanced study in clinical neuropsychology. Although undergraduate training in psychology is intentionally broad, resul...

The July edition of "Neuropod" includes a discussion of risk factors in Alzheimer's disease. Access the podcast here

From the NIH: NIH launches neurological drug development projects Wednesday, July 31, 2013, 8 a.m. EDT Read the press release

The cover of this week's Science : About the research study represented by the cover: here

Lost in the Forest Ian Hacking London Review of Books 08 August 2013 Read the article

Proposed Decision Memo for Beta Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease CMS.gov 03 July 2013 Read the memo

From The Guardian : Embryonic stem cells could help restore sight to blind Photoreceptors grown from embryonic stem cells have been successfully implanted in the retinas of blind mice Alok Jha, Science Correspondent The Guardian Sunday 21 July 2013 18.00 BST Read the article

Alzheimer's roundup: Investigators carve out small gains against a brutal disease Fierce Biotech By John Carroll July 18, 2013 Read the article

From The New York Times blog "The New Old Age": When Aggression Follows Dementia By PAULA SPAN July 12, 2013, 4:38 pm Read the article

Physical Activity and Risk of Cognitive Impairment Among Oldest-Old Women. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013 Jul 3; Wang S, Luo X, Barnes D, Sano M, & Yaffe K. Abstract OBJECTIVES: Physical activity may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly, but its effects among the oldest-old (i.e., those aged 85 years and older) are not well known. Our study assessed the association between very late-life physical activity and 5-year risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and neuropsychological test performance among oldest-old women. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted at three sites. Participants included 1,249 women (mean [standard deviation] age: 83.3 [2.8] years). Baseline physical activity was measured by self-reported blocks walked per week and analyzed according to tertile. Five years later, surviving participants who were 85 years and older (oldest-old) completed neuropsychological testing and underwent adjudication of clinical cog...

A pilot evaluation of a brief non-verbal executive function assessment in Parkinson's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013 Jul 4; Hobson PJ, Meara RJ, & Evans R Abstract OBJECTIVE: Screening for cognitive impairment in the clinical or community setting is often hampered by the lack of a suitable assessment that is not overburdened with complex administration and scoring methods. We have developed non-verbal cognitive screening instrument: the Weigl Token Test (WTT) from two existing instruments, the Weigl's Colour-Form Sorting Test (WCFST) and the Token Test. The aim of this investigation is to compare the modified WTT with a battery of 'Gold Standard' cognitive assessments, to determine its utility, sensitivity and specificity as a brief cognitive screen in a cohort of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. METHODS: A total of 50 PD patients consented to participate in this investigation. All participants were assessed with a battery o...

Suicidal Behavior in Dementia: A Special Risk in Semantic Dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 2013 Jul 1; Sabodash V, Mendez MF, Fong S, & Hsiao JJ Abstract Background: Some studies report a low suicide risk in general dementia and in Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objective:To evaluate suicidal behavior among patients with semantic dementia (SD), a disorder that impairs semantic knowledge. Methods: We reviewed the presence of active suicidal behavior and related factors among 25 patients with SD compared to 111 age-matched patients with early-onset AD. Results: In all, 5 (20%) patients with SD had suicidal behavior (2 successfully killed themselves) compared to 1 (0.9%) with AD (P PMID: 23821774 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

"Dopamine Is ___" By Bethany Brookshire Slate.com Posted Wednesday, July 3, 2013, at 8:06 AM Read the article

Active brain 'keeps dementia at bay' By Helen Briggs BBC News 3 July 2013 Last updated at 19:54 ET Read the article

From the NIH: Altered protein shapes may explain differences in some brain diseases Wednesday, July 3, 2013, Noon EDT NIH-funded study finds that various strains of alpha-synuclein have diverse effects in neurons Read the press release

The relationship between computer experience and computerized cognitive test performance among older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2013, 68(3), 337-346 Fazeli PL, Ross LA, Vance DE, & Ball K Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study compared the relationship between computer experience and performance on computerized cognitive tests and a traditional paper-and-pencil cognitive test in a sample of older adults (N = 634). METHOD: Participants completed computer experience and computer attitudes questionnaires, three computerized cognitive tests (Useful Field of View (UFOV) Test, Road Sign Test, and Stroop task) and a paper-and-pencil cognitive measure (Trail Making Test). Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine differences in cognitive performance across the four measures between those with and without computer experience after adjusting for confounding variables. RESULTS: Although computer experience had a significant main effect across all cognitive measures,...

A blog by Dr. David Hilfiker: Watching The Lights Go Out A Memoir from Inside Alzheimer's Disease

From Reuters : KKR to buy clinical trials firm PRA International Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:48pm BST Read the article = = = PRA press release: here

From WRAL TechWire : TransTech readies Alzheimer's disease treatment for late-stage clinical trials Posted Jul. 1, 2013 at 12:34 p.m. Read the article

From Bloomberg : Scientists Back Alzheimer’s Test Amid Doubts Over Value By Elizabeth Lopatto - Jun 30, 2013 11:01 PM CT "The U.S. government is set to decide this month whether federal health insurance should cover the cost of a $3,000 test..." Read the news article

From The Guardian : Permanent Present Tense: The man with no memory, and what he taught the world by Suzanne Corkin – review This fine and moving book reveals as much about the limitations of neuropsychology as about the scope of human memory A review by Jonathan Rée The Guardian , Thursday 27 June 2013 08.00 BST Read the book review

A news release from the NIH: Researchers discover two-step mechanism of inner ear tip link regrowth Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 5 p.m. (EDT) Read the press release

Today is the formal end of a MOOC course on Coursera that was as good an introduction to neuroscience as can be found online, anywhere. Dr. Leonard White at Duke did an incredible job bringing neuroscience alive to thousands of interested students from secondary education on through persons with advanced degrees in, I believe, over 40 countries. A course that forewarned the need to devote 16 to 20 hours a week to attend to lecture material and text (the fifth edition of Purves and colleagues) proceeded with surprising ease (made so by an excellent TA for the course) and sustained interest. Run, don't walk, to enroll should a second offering of the course be announced over the next year!

Still Charting Memory's Depths The New York Times 20 May 2013 Read here

From the company press release: Baxter Announces Topline Results of Phase III Study of Immunoglobulin for Alzheimer's Disease DEERFIELD, Ill., May 7, 2013 - Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) today announced that its Phase III clinical study of immunoglobulin (IG) did not meet its co-primary endpoints of reducing cognitive decline and preserving functional abilities in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The Gammaglobulin Alzheimer's Partnership (GAP) study was conducted by Baxter in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), a clinical trial consortium supported by the United States National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health. Topline analyses from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial found that after 18 months of treatment, patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease taking Baxter's IG treatment at either the 400 mg/kg or the 200 mg/kg dose did not de...

The first week of the new offering "Medical Neuroscience" has ended and the second begun. I read somewhere that 40-odd thousand people had registered for it. This likely means that about 4000 people will see it through, in terms of the trajectories I have seen in other Coursera offerings. A good group of people contributing to the Discussion Forums, including the Instructor (which is good to see). It is an intensive course for a Coursera offering, with a suggested time commitment of 16-to-20 hours per week. Whether this commitment effects un-enrollments over time will be a curious phenomenon. The first week's lectures were a top-notch job of gross neuroanatomy and of cross-sections of interior gross neuroanatomy. Excellent video and presentations. In all, an excellent start to a course that holds a lot of promise for an educational experience!

The new course "Medical Neuroscience" formally opens on Monday at Coursera. Developed and offered by Dr. Leonard E. White at Duke, it looks like an excellent course. The Twitter hashtag for the course is #MedNeuro.

FDA approves new multiple sclerosis treatment: Tecfidera 27 March 2013 Resd the press release

The Technology of Touch by Dr. Katherine Kuchenbecker TEDEd Talk Watch

A recipient of the US National Medal of Science. Announced in December, the ceremony was held today. White House release

I am synaptic with jealous for those who are in! :-) Course Description

From the NIH: NIH launches collaborative effort to find biomarkers for Parkinson's New online resource will support data sharing NIH News 15 January 2013 [snip] "A new initiative aims to accelerate the search for biomarkers — changes in the body that can be used to predict, diagnose or monitor a disease — in Parkinson's disease, in part by improving collaboration among researchers and helping patients get involved in clinical studies. "A lack of biomarkers for Parkinson's has been a major challenge for developing better treatments. The Parkinson’s Disease Biomarkers Program (PDBP) supports efforts to invent new technologies and analysis tools for biomarker discovery, to identify and validate biomarkers in patients, and to share biomarker data and resources across the Parkinson's community. The program is being launched by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health." [snip] R...

Professor Ray Dolan awarded the 2013 Klaus Joachim Zülch Prize The Wellcome Trust Holly Story 07 Jan 2013 Read article