BrainBlog

Palmer BW, Dawes SE, & Heaton RK. (2009). What Do We Know About Neuropsychological Aspects Of Schizophrenia? Neuropsychology Review . Jul 30 [e-pub ahead of print]. Application of a neuropsychological perspective to the study of schizophrenia has established a number of important facts about this disorder. Some of the key findings from the existing literature are that, while neurocognitive impairment is present in most, if not all, persons with schizophrenia, there is both substantial interpatient heterogeneity and remarkable within-patient stability of cognitive function over the long-term course of the illness. Such findings have contributed to the firm establishment of neurobiologic models of schizophrenia, and thereby help to reduce the social stigma that was sometimes associated with purely psychogenic models popular during parts of the 20th century. Neuropsychological studies in recent decades have established the primacy of cognitive functions over psychopathologic symptom...

e-patient Connections 2009 Health marketing Meeting website

ALMA Asociación Lucha contra el Mal de Alzheimer y alteraciones semejantes de la República Argentina http://www.alma-alzheimer.org.ar/

Bits: If You’re Happy and You Know It, Tell Your Phone By Jenna Wortham Published: July 29, 2009 A Harvard graduate student is surveying iPhone users to help answer an age-old question: What makes people happy? click here to read

Usui N, Haji T, Maruyama M, Katsuyama N, Uchida S, Hozawa A, Omori K, Tsuji I, Kawashima R, & Taira M. (2009). Cortical areas related to performance of WAIS Digit Symbol Test: a functional imaging study. Neurosci Lett. Jul 21. Many neuropsychological studies have shown that the Digit Symbol Test (DST) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is useful for screening for dysfunctions of the brain. However, it remains unclear which brain areas are actually involved in the performance of DST and what brain functions are used for executing this test. In this study, we examined the cortical areas related to cognitive aspects of DST using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and determined executive brain functions involved in this test on the basis of fMRI results. Eleven healthy young adults (mean=21.6 years) performed a modified DST (mDST) task and its control task, which required a simple graphomotor response during fMRI data acquisition. The direct comparison of bra...

In Battle, Hunches Prove to Be Valuable Assets By BENEDICT CAREY The New York Times 28 July 2009 U.S. soldiers are at the center of an effort to understand how it is that some people’s brains can sense danger and act on it before others’ do. Read article

Work longer, stay sharper Working beyond normal retirement age appears to keep dementia at bay The Boston Globe 27 July 2009 Read article

Visit The Neuro Times at http://www.dictionaryofneurology.com/

medGadget presents and links to a new fMRI report on 'mind-reading': Can Neuroscientists Read Your Mind with fMRI? Read post here

Bassil, N & Grossberg, GT. (2009). Novel regimens and delivery systems in the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease. CNS Drugs, 23(4) , 293-307. The mainstay of current management of patients with Alzheimer's disease involves drugs that provide symptomatic therapy. Research approaches for future therapy of Alzheimer's disease are focusing on disease modifying and/or preventive approaches. Two classes of medications have been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: the cholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine), mostly for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, and the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist memantine for the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer's disease. Management of comorbid medical problems can be more complex in patients with dementia than in those without dementia. Unfortunately, medication adherence in Alzheimer's disease is low and good adherence is essential fo...

From The New York Times , accounting of pediatric neurological complications from Texas: Read article [snippet] “The usefulness of this case report is that many doctors who deal with outpatient flu only may never have seen a case with neurological complications,” Dr. Pavia said. “It’s an important reminder that flu can present as seizures or as encephalitis.” [snippet]

Swiss scientists aim to build a synthetic brain within a decade The brain would provide insights into how our perceptions of the world are interpreted and stored, and how consciousness arises Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk Thursday 23 July 2009 15.16 BST [snippet] The world's first synthetic brain could be built within 10 years, giving us an unprecedented insight into the nature of consciousness and our perception of reality. Scientists working on the Blue Brain Project in Switzerland are the first to attempt to "reverse-engineer" the mammalian brain by recreating the behaviour of billions of neurons in a computer. Professor Henry Markham, director of the project at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, has already simulated parts of the neocortex, the most 'modern' region of the brain, which evolved rapidly in mammals to cope with the demands of parenthood and social situations. Markham's team created a 3D simulation of around 10,00...

Commentary and link to original article at medGadget : Read posting

A conversation with neurologist V.S. Ramachandran, on the 14th of July: Watch the interview .

Regional branch of the Alzheimer's Society at King's Lynn: webpage

A Bloomberg News report about the state of clinical trials of those Alzheimer's disease candidates in the processes/stages in amyloid levels and amyloid deposition: read article here

"Getting Smarter" The Atlantic August 2009 Read essay here

Alphavax , of Research Triangle Park, reported completing preclinical work and is developing product for clinical trials of its H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine, per company press release ( click here ). GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) tasks order for 195 million doses of vaccine The Times (UK) click here

The neuropsychological community was saddened last month by the death of Dr. Esther Strauss of Victoria, Canada. Here is her obituary, which appeared in the Victoria Times-Colonist on 19 June 2009: Victoria Times-Colonist 19 June 2009 Esther Strauss STRAUSS, Esther Helen It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Esther Strauss of Victoria, British Columbia, the beloved wife of Dr. Josef Cherniawsky, mother of Ze'ev, Avital and Tamar, sister of Howard Strauss (Donna) and aunt of Jessica, Nathan, Cathy and Dana. Esther passed away on June 17, 2009 at the Palliative Care Unit at Royal Jubilee Hospital after a 3 and a half year battle with ovarian cancer. Esther never gave up fighting, always saying that she wanted to be with us forever. The love of her life was her family, which always came first. Esther excelled both in family life and in her chosen profession. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree at McGill University in 1969 where she majored in psychology and...

Anyone with an interest in science of any type should spend a little time tomorrow to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's lunar landing and subsequent moonwalk. President Obama will have the three Apollo 11 astronauts at the White House tomorrow. Watch some of the video or listen to some of the audio available online of mission communications.