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Brain Briefings is a newsletter series explaining how basic neuroscience discoveries lead to clinical applications. Brain Briefings is published during the academic year and prepared for a lay audience.
2012
Food for Thought: Obesity and Addiction | January
Could candy be addictive, like cocaine or nicotine? Until recently, many believed overeating and obesity were caused by a lack of “willpower”. But new research suggests that certain diets — those high in fat and sugar — can lead to changes in the brain that are similar to those seen with drug addiction. These findings are changing our understanding of what may drive overeating.
2011
A Tiny Worm with a Mighty Scientific Impact | November
It’s a very small worm — only one millimeter in length — with a big name: Caenorhabditis elegans. But few organisms of any size have made as large a contribution to science as this tiny roundworm. In neuroscience, C. elegans helped researchers make giant strides in understanding how the human nervous system develops — knowledge that could lead to better treatments for a variety of neurological diseases and conditions, including spinal cord injury and some cancers.
Sensory Illusions | October
Now you see it, now you don’t. Tricks and illusions are not just for magicians. Actually, brain researchers use these tools to learn about sensory perception. Continued research in this field not only helps to reveal how the human brain processes sensory information, but also may help design computer systems that can perform valued human tasks, like facial recognition or security screening.
A Matter of Taste | September
Why do some people enjoy the taste of broccoli while others find it bitter and unpleasant? Why do some seek out spicy and tangy meals on a restaurant’s menu while others stick with the bland and familiar? New research is uncovering the neurobiological and genetic sources of taste preferences, which can influence not just eating habits but also health.
Neurotransmitters: How Brain Cells Use Chemicals to Communicate | May
Whether it is learning a new fact or deciding which way to move, tasks executed by our brains rely on the smooth and efficient release of neurotransmitters, chemicals that send messages from one brain cell to another. Research has unlocked the molecular and cellular mysteries of this complex process — discoveries that one day may help treat some of the most severe and deadly diseases of the brain.
Addiction and Brain Circuits | April
Humans have always struggled with addictions to mind-altering substances. Yet, only in the past few decades have neuroscientists begun to understand precisely how these substances affect the brain — and why they can quickly become a destructive and even deadly habit.
Healthy Aging | March
We all want to age well. Exercise, eating right, and avoiding stress help maintain a healthy body as we age, but what about the brain? New research indicates these same strategies also promote brain health.
Language and the Brain: What Makes Us Human | February
No other species on the planet uses language or writing — a mystery that remains unsolved even after thousands of years of research. Now neuroscientists are taking advantage of powerful new ways to peer into the brain to provide remarkable insights into this unique human ability.
Stroke: Prevention and Treatment | January
Stroke, a disruption in the blood supply to the brain, is a leading cause of disability around the world and the fourth leading cause of death. But what most people don’t know is that the same habits that help protect the heart — keeping active, eating healthy, and staying fit — also can help safeguard the brain.
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2010
Itch: More Than Skin Deep | November
Itch is a sensation most of us rarely think about. We get an itch. We scratch. But severe, chronic itch can become debilitating and even life-threatening. Thanks to continuing brain research, scientists are developing a better understanding of the nerve pathways and genetic factors that underlie itch. This knowledge may help bring more effective treatments to people who live with itchy skin conditions.
About Face: How the Brain Recognizes and Processes Faces | October
To most of us, pigeons all look the same, but human faces do not, despite also being similar to each other in appearance. Brain scientists are now developing a thorough understanding of the specialized circuits that distinguish faces. In the process, they have discovered the inability to recognize familiar faces, called prosopagnosia, may be far more common than once thought.
Glia: The Other Brain Cells | September
Until recently, neuroscientists thought that cells called glia were the nervous system’s supporting players, helping keep brain cell communication in working order. Researchers focused more attention on the brain’s 100 million nerve cells called neurons. Recent studies, however, suggest glia play a vital role in brain cell communication, and perhaps in the development of human intelligence.
Protein Folding: A New Twist on Brain Disease | May
Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s are some of the most common brain diseases — each causing a unique form of progressive brain cell death. However, they may not be so different after all. New research suggests these and many other neurological diseases may be versions of the same basic disorder: a breakdown in the body’s ability to fold proteins into their correct shapes. Based on these findings, brain researchers are hoping for a common treatment for these conditions, using new kinds of drugs that prevent misfolding or minimize harm done to the cell.
Reading Minds: the Science, not the Fiction | April
Can a scientist read your mind by scanning your brain? Only in the pages of science fiction. However, by combining advanced brain imaging techniques with computer software that can detect patterns of brain activity, neuroscientists are getting an unprecedented look into how the brain perceives, decides, and remembers. This fascinating area of research, which neuroscientists call brain decoding, may be useful in designing better prosthetics and communication devices for people who are paralyzed.
New Treatments From Nature's Poisons | March
Neuroscientists have uncovered an unlikely source of new treatments for neurological disorders and diseases — the toxins and venoms of fish, snails, frogs, scorpions, and other creatures of land and sea. Brain researchers are finding that what makes these poisonous substances dangerous in the wild may also make them useful tools in the clinic. Already, they are helping to relieve chronic pain, and they may one day prove effective in treating brain cancer.
Neuroeconomics: Money and the Brain | February
In good times and bad, individuals often face important economic decisions — whether to save or spend, invest or sell. Especially in difficult times, these decisions can be stressful, rewarding, or both. Researchers in a new field called neuroeconomics are studying how the brain evaluates economic information and weighs financial risks and social exchanges.
Unraveling Alzheimer's Disease | January
Whether it is a grandparent, older relative, or friend, most people know someone who is affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease degenerate as the cells that carry information disappear. As a result, patients with the disease, usually the elderly, suffer memory loss and cognitive impairment. This disease is a significant problem across the globe, and as populations grow and life expectancies rise, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease may skyrocket. However, new research is helping to identify its cause and is pointing the way to potential treatments that may help delay the onset of this devastating neurological disorder.
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2009
Genes and Language | November
Although animals have the ability to communicate, the capacity for complex speech and language skills is exclusively human. Scientists have long puzzled over the origins of this amazing human ability to organize vocal sounds into words and words into meaningful sentences. Within the past decade or so, molecular biologists have begun to identify genes linked to speech and language. These findings are helping to decode the evolutionary and neurological enigma of human language. They are also offering possible explanations for how autism and other language-related disorders develop.
Decision-Making | October
Decision-making is such a seamless brain process that we're usually unaware of it — until our choice results in unexpected consequences. Then we may look back and wonder, "Why did I choose that option?" In recent years, neuroscientists have begun to decode the decision-making process. What they’re learning is shedding light not only on how the healthy brain performs complex mental functions, but also on how disorders, such as stroke or drug abuse, affect the process.
Mapping Brain Circuits | September
Neuroscientists are diligently working to create detailed maps of the major routes — or neural circuits — in the brain. This is an enormously challenging endeavor, for the brain consists of billions of cells, and each cell contacts thousands of others. But it’s also a very important task, for these circuits underlie every thought, emotion, and action we take.
Birdsong | May
Like humans learning to speak, many birds must hear the song of adults during a critical period and then hear their own voices while learning to sing or chirp. Researchers identified a brain pathway that is important for birdsong and may shed new light on both language and motor learning in humans.
Brain-Controlled Prosthetics | April
Thoughts can operate machines. With the aid of a tiny brain implant known as a brain-computer interface (BCI), scientists have developed technology that enables communication between brain activity and an external device. Advances in brain-controlled prosthetics are the result of decades of basic research into how the brain turns thought into physical action.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | March
With a new generation of U.S. soldiers coming home after prolonged exposure to combat-related stress or trauma, understanding and treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has taken on an increased sense of urgency.
Synapse Communication and Developmental Brain Disorders | February
New research now suggests that inherited developmental brain disorders, such as fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and autism, may result from disruptions at the trillions of tiny junctures, or synapses, between brain cells — disruptions that may one day prove reversible.
Brain Atlases | January
Brain atlases have become important tools for scientific discovery and are helping scientists address medical issues, from discovering the effect of aging on the brain to improving diagnoses for neurological impairment in preterm infants.
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2008
Mirror Neurons | November
The ability to instinctively and immediately understand what other people are experiencing has long baffled neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers alike. Recent research now suggests a fascinating explanation: brain cells called mirror neurons.
Cochlear Implants | October
Thanks to continuing research into the neuroscience of hearing, biomedical engineers are creating new generations of cochlear implants that will more closely mimic the complex workings of the inner ear.
The Bilingual Brain | September
As scientists unlock more of the neurological secrets of the bilingual brain, they're learning that speaking more than one language may have cognitive benefits that extend from childhood into old age.
Glioma Brain Tumors | June
An understanding of the biological makeup and survival mechanisms of glioma tumors is helping researchers develop cancer-killing methods.
Epilepsy | April/May
New research is helping scientists develop better ways of controlling and preventing the excitable brain activity that causes the recurring seizures characteristic of epilepsy.
The Neural Regulation of Thirst | March
By unraveling the complexity of the thirst mechanism, scientists are developing better treatments for people who lose their sense of thirst and are gaining greater knowledge about many other basic human behaviors.
Diabetes, the Brain, and Cognition | February
New research indicates that the brain has its own insulin receptors and plays a big role in normal blood sugar control. Better treatments for people with diabetes are sure to follow.
Smoking and Schizophrenia | January
Thanks to research advances, scientists are learning how and why smoking and schizophrenia are so tightly linked.
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2007
Beyond Marijuana: Endocannabinoids and Therapies | December
Several decades of research has provided a better understanding of how cannabis works, allowing scientists to harness the therapeutic effects of its main mind-altering ingredient and the proteins on which it acts.
Appetite and Food Intake | November
With obesity now a major health epidemic, the search to understand the brain's role in regulating appetite and food intake has taken on a new urgency.
Gambling and Risk Taking | October
Thanks to new advances in brain imaging, scientists are beginning to identify the neural mechanisms that go awry in the brains of pathological and problem gamblers.
Tourette Syndrome | September
Advances in research technology are now allowing researchers to look in ever more detail at a critical component of Tourette syndrome, the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that regulates patterns of behavior and movement.
Sleep Deficits | Summer
Sleep plays a critical role in how well we concentrate and perform, helps consolidate memories and set the stage for learning, and may affect how the immune system responds to attack. Teasing apart patterns like these will help us understand why we sleep and how sleep helps keep us healthy.
Adult Neurogenesis | June
Research has shown that neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells, actually occurs in the adult human. Currently, work is shifting to find out where neurogenesis happens, how it happens, why it happens, and, more importantly, how it might help the brain heal itself.
Gender and Pain | May
Men and women respond differently to pain. Recent research indicates that the way the nervous systems of men and women process and react to pain appears to be the key.
Rett Syndrome | April
Traditionally, children affected by Rett Syndrome have had few options for treatment. But research has uncovered the genetic causes behind the disease, providing possible targets.
Pathological Aggression | March
Researchers have uncovered specific brain chemicals that can be manipulated to control different kinds of aggression in humans.
Treating Tay-Sachs Disease | February
Over the past several decades, researchers have developed screening tools that have reduced the occurence of Tay-Sachs disease in certain populations. Now, animal studies indicate that combining treatments can multiply therapeutic benefits.
The Adolescent Brain | January
Current findings indicate that important brain regions undergo refinement through adolescence and at least into a person's twenties. Thanks to advanced brain imaging techniquest, scientists now can map brain tissue growth spurts and losses, allowing researchers to compare brain growth in both health and disease.
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2006
Myasthenia Gravis | December
Scientists now are gaining a more thorough understanding of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis that could help treat this disorder and a spectrum of similar diseases that turn the body's immune system against specific tissues.
Muscular Dystrophy | November
Two decades after scientists first identified a gene linked to the disease, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first gene therapy trial in muscular dystrophy patients.
New Models of Migraine | October
Many suffer migraines undiagnosed or undertreated. New models now aid the study of migraine and one day may contribute to new treatments for relieving pain and preventing attacks.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder | Summer
Discoveries are leading to an expanded list of treatments for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a serious anxiety disorder that can significantly hinder a person's daily life, work, and relationships.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration | June
People struck with the blinding disease age-related macular degeneration once found little help. But now research is leading to a better understanding of the disease and to the development of improved treatments.
Autism in Children | May
Genetic studies, along with imaging studies, may lead to biologically based diagnostic techniques that could help speed detection of autism in children and allow early, more effective intervention.
Treating Opiate Addiction | April
Some of the latest work shows that newly developed long-acting versions of addiction medicines hold promise. These new formulations could increase the likelihood that addicts would comply with treatment and not fall back into drug use.
Huntington's Disease | March
The outlook for those with Huntington's disease is improving. A direct genetic test has helped confirm diagnosis and has helped reveal new insights generating excitement for possible future treatments.
Reading Failure | February
Scientific research is now providing insights how to prevent the development of poor reading and accompanying problems.
Gene Silencing | January
A newly-developed technique, gene silencing, can dramatically reduce problem gene activity and impede disease process.
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