BrainBlog

Werz MA, Schoenberg MR, Meador KJ, Loring DW, Ray PG, Kaul-Gupta R, & Ogrocki P. Subjective preference for lamotrigine or topiramate in healthy volunteers: Relationship to cognitive and behavioral functioning. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2005 Dec 21; [Epub ahead of print]. Department of Neurology, University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA. OBJECTIVE: Outcomes research emphasizes patient self-assessment and preferences in optimizing treatment. We previously showed that lamotrigine produces significantly less cognitive and behavioral impairment compared with topiramate. In the current study we extend these observations to subject self-report of preference for lamotrigine or topiramate independent of potentially confounding effects of seizures or seizure control. Additionally, drug preference was related to effects of lamotrigine and topiramate on objective neuropsychological tests as well as self-perception on behavior...

Jackman AH & Doty RL. Utility of a three-item smell identification test in detecting olfactory dysfunction. Laryngoscope. 2005 Dec; 115(12): 2209-2212.   From the Smell and Taste Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. OBJECTIVE:: Physicians rarely assess smell function, largely because of time considerations. Therefore, there is clinical need for very brief cranial nerve I screening tests. Although a few such tests exist, none have been adequately validated. The goal of this study was to empirically assess the utility of a three-item microencapsulated odor identification test in detecting olfactory dysfunction. SETTING:: Smell and taste center at a university medical center. METHODS:: The test was administered to 224 consecutive patients (98 men and 126 women ranging in age from 15-88 years). As part of their overall assessment, the well-validated 40-item University of Pennsy...

Untitled Theater Company #61 explores the nexus of science and art in NEUROfest, the first-ever theater festival dedicated to neurological conditions. NEUROfest 5-29 January 2006 Theater 5 311 West 43rd Street, 5th floor Additional info: NEUROfest homepage A collection of theater artists from around the country will present work inspired by various neurological conditions, including: Amnesia (Korsakov's Syndrome), Aphasia, Autism, Capgras Syndrome, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), Dementia, Meniere's Disease, Synesthesia, and Tourette's Syndrome. Taken from an e-mailed release, here is the program: CJD Written and Directed by James Jordan The Boondogglers Condition dealt with: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (a relative of Mad Cow) A multimedia one man show written and performed by a neurologist about his experience with a patient with CJD, augmented with live music performance. IMPOSTERS by Justin Warner Directed by Ari Laura Keith Glass House Productions Condition dealt ...

The December issue of Postgraduate Medicine includes a series of articles on the topic of current epilepsy management. These articles can be accessed from the issue's table-of-contents page . - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Nakai T, Kato C, & Matsuo K. An FMRI study to investigate auditory attention: A model of the cocktail party phenomenon. Magnetic Resonance Medical Science. 2005; 4(2): 75-82. Functional Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Gerontechnology, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology. In human life, discrimination of a target voice from other voices or sounds is indispensable, and inability for such discrimination results in sensory aphasia. To investigate the neuronal basis of the attentional system for human voices, we evaluated brain activity during listening comprehension tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3T. Diotic listening comprehension tasks, in which a narration was superimposed by another given by the same speaker (SV experiment) or by a different speaker (DV experiment), were presented to normal volunteers. The story indicated in the baseline task blocks, in which only one narration was presented, was intensively followed during the super...

From the BBC, a report about a recent research study published in the journal Neuron : 'Jekyll and Hyde' dementia clue BBC 10 December 2005 [snip] In the study, the researchers "switched on" p25 at will in the brain's learning and memory centre, the hippocampus. In these mice, they found that switching on p25 for only two weeks boosted learning and memory compared to normal mice. But if the p25 was switched on for six weeks, mice displayed impaired learning and memory in tests. Physiological studies showed that these mice showed significant brain damage and lost nerve cells in the hippocampus. But those who had elevated p25 levels for just two weeks had no such effects. The researchers concluded that short-term production of p25 boosts learning - but long term exposure affects the ability to form new memories. The researchers, led by Dr Li-Huei Tsai, say the study suggested that the protein was normally beneficial, helping form memories and enable learning. B...

Mikkola K, Ritari N, Tommiska V, Salokorpi T, Lehtonen L, Tammela O, Paakkonen L, Olsen P, Korkman M, & Fellman V. Neurodevelopmental outcome at 5 years of age of a national cohort of extremely low birth weight infants who were born in 1996-1997. Pediatrics. 2005 Dec; 116(6): 1391-1400. Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. OBJECTIVE: Increasing survival of extremely low birth weight (ELBW; birth weight PMID: 16322163 [PubMed - in process] - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From an NIH press release earlier today: NIDCD-funded Researchers Find Missing "Piece of the Pie" in Understanding Taste Scientists funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health, are a step closer to unraveling the mystery of taste. In a study published in the December 2, 2005, issue of Science, researchers have pinpointed the chemical responsible for transmitting signals from the taste buds — small sensory bumps on the tongue, throat, and roof of the mouth — to the taste nerves leading to the brain. Today’s findings provide scientists with a more complete picture of this complicated process, helping advance the study of taste and taste disorders. “People with taste disorders might not be able to enjoy the fun of eating and are at risk for other health pr...

Thomas P, Lalloue F, Preux PM, Hazif-Thomas C, Pariel S, Inscale R, Belmin J, & Clement JP. Dementia patients caregivers quality of life: The PIXEL study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2005 Dec 2; [Epub ahead of print] University Department of Psychogeriatrics & Memory Clinic CH Limoges, France. BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease and related syndromes have heavy social and human consequences for the patient and his family. Beyond the neuropsychiatric effects of specific therapies for dementia, one of today's challenges is the quality of life for both patients and their informal caregivers. OBJECTIVES: This survey tends to determine parameters influencing caregivers' quality of life, and its possible link with patients' quality of life. METHODS: A scale measuring caregivers' quality of life, developed from data from previous PIXEL studies was used. It is a questionnaire composed of 20 items. The scale was related to the socio-demographic data...

Briefing Information for the FDA's psychopharmacologic drugs advisory committee meeting on Friday. - Anthony H. Risser neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain | ADHD

THURSDAY: From The Washington Post website: Problem Found With Potential ADHD Patch The Associated Press Thursday, December 1, 2005; 3:01 PM WASHINGTON -- A patch developed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children received a negative review from a Food and Drug Administration scientist, who concluded the drug cannot be safely marketed. The patch uses methylphenidate, the same drug that is in Ritalin. But FDA reviewer Dr. Robert Levin found the patch produces troubling side effects too often to be considered safe. His findings were in briefing documents released by the agency on Thursday in advance of a public meeting on the drug. The reviewer's findings are not the final word. An independent panel of experts convened by the FDA is expected to consider on Friday whether the patch is effective and safe. The FDA has the final call on whether the patch can be made available, but the agency often follows the advice of its panels. The patch, developed by Noven Pharm...

From the December issue of The APA Monitor : Feed the birds Songbird study offers new insights into how malnutrition impairs development and cognition By Rachel Adelson The APA Monitor December 2005 Print version: page 16 Slim postpartum pickings for young birds may stunt their brain growth and impede their ability to later remember where they store food. In fact, early deprivation may send adult birds into a downward spiral and thwart their survival, according to new research by Vladimir Pravosudov, PhD, of the University of Nevada, Reno, and Pierre Lavenex, PhD, and Alicja Omanska, PhD, of the University of California, Davis. They studied the impact of early malnutrition on the western scrub-jay, a long-tailed, blue-feathered songbird. They underfed scrub-jay chicks. Then a year later, when these scrawny chicks grew up, they were worse off as adults than birds who ate better when young–even though the experimental group had caught up by then in weight. The experimental birds had smal...

Northwestern University's Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center has a helpful overview of PPA online here: PPA Handbook . - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

From an NIH press release from earlier today: Study Links Progressive Aphasia Syndrome to Prion Gene Most people with a rare type of dementia called primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have a specific combination of prion gene variants, a new study shows. The study is the first to link the prion protein gene to this disorder. It was funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and appears in the December 2005 issue of the Annals of Neurology. The researchers, led by James A. Mastrianni, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Chicago , also looked at the prion protein gene in people with Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and did not find any association with specific gene variants in those disorders. PPA is classified as a type of frontotemporal dementia because of the pattern of brain degenerat...

The N=1: Population of One blog discusses and points to an upcoming academic workshop about HCI and cognitive factors related to faces: Read the post . - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Csernansky JG, Wang L, Miller JP, Galvin JE, & Morris JC. Neuroanatomical predictors of response to donepezil therapy in patients with dementia. Archives of Neurology. 2005 Nov; 62(11): 1718-1722. Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. BACKGROUND: Patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) respond variably to treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether measures of hippocampal volume and shape predict the response to donepezil in patients with DAT. DESIGN: T1-weighted, magnetic resonance images were obtained from patients with DAT, who subsequently underwent treatment with donepezil. Brain-mapping algorithms were used to quantify hippocampal volume and shape, and growth curves were used to estimate clinical outcome. SETTING: A referral outpatient center specializing in treatment of dementia. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven patients with very mild or...

Henry JD, Beatty WW. Verbal fluency deficits in multiple sclerosis. Neuropsychologia. 2005 Nov 14; [Epub ahead of print] School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. A quantitative review of 35 studies with 3673 participants was conducted to estimate and compare the magnitude of deficits upon tests of phonemic and semantic fluency for participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to healthy controls. Participants with MS were substantially but similarly impaired on tests of phonemic and semantic fluency. These deficits were larger than deficits on measures of verbal intelligence, confrontation naming and another widely used measure of executive functioning, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, but were of a comparable or smaller magnitude relative to deficits on the oral version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). This is consistent with other research suggesting that measures of verbal fluency and the SDMT may be amongst the most sensitive ne...

From the AP : Elan Shares Jump As Tysabri to Get Review By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: November 18, 2005 Filed at 12:52 p.m. ET DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- Shares in Irish drug maker Elan Corp. PLC jumped Friday after U.S. regulators announced they would accelerate their review of a key suspended drug, Tysabri. On the Irish Stock Exchange in Dublin, Elan shares rose 4.4 percent to close at 9.24 euros ($10.81) amid renewed optimism about the multiple sclerosis-fighting drug. Elan is developing Tysabri in conjunction with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen Idec Inc. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday night it had granted Tysabri ''priority review'' status, which means that a decision on whether the drug can return to the U.S. market will be made within six months instead of the standard 10. [ ... Read the full article ... ] - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscienc...

In the current issue of the British Medical Journal : Jennifer Glass, Krista L Lanctôt, Nathan Herrmann, Beth A Sproule, & Usoa E Busto. Sedative hypnotics in older people with insomnia: meta-analysis of risks and benefits. British Medical Journal ;  2005; 331: 1169. [doi:10.1136/bmj.38623.768588.47] [ ... Read the full article ... ] - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain

Boing Boing posts about and links to an NPR report about Howard Dully's story. - Anthony H. Risser | neuroscience | neuropsychology | brain