Word: neuroscientists
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...well-documented way to slow memory decline is through plain old aerobic exercise, says Art Kramer, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Illinois, who found that six months of walking for about an hour three times a week improved memory, attention and decision making among study participants, whose average age was 72. "Physical activity appears to be neuroprotective," Kramer says. (See TIME's video about fitness gadgets...
...decades of experiments with rats, for instance, neuroscientist Michael Meaney at McGill University in Canada and his colleagues have shown how such environmentally induced traits can be passed down - then undone, also by environment. Meaney studied rats with differing maternal styles - some were naturally nurturing (they licked and groomed their pups constantly), others were less attentive and even neglectful (mother rats placed in stressful environments like isolation had greatly decreased capacity for nurture). What researchers found was that these behavioral traits were passed down to future generations: pups born to neglectful mothers endured stressful childhoods and grew up to become...
That study built on previous research by the Columbus-based team, which had successfully used gene therapy to treat rodents with the muscle-wasting disease muscular dystrophy. "We wanted to raise the bar and test a species closely related to humans," says neuroscientist Brian Kaspar, a co-leader of the study published in Science Translational Medicine. (Read "What Can Genetic Tests Tell...
...Pain study, which was led by Italian neuroscientist Martina Amanzio, reviewed 73 clinical trials conducted between 1988 and 2007. All the previously published trials pitted potential antimigraine medications against sugar pills. The medications included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil); triptans, which include Imitrex; and anticonvulsant drugs like Topamax. Those three categories of drugs carry different adverse effects: NSAIDs, for instance, often cause stomach problems; anticonvulsants can cause paresthesia (tingling) and memory impairment. Interestingly, patients who took sugar pills tended to report nocebo problems consistent with whatever drug they thought they might have swallowed...
...seeds of this study were planted about two years ago, when a patient named Damir Janigro was being prepped for spinal surgery. Janigro, who is also a neuroscientist at the clinic, lay captive to the nerve-racking din of the operating room and in his frazzled state thought about how dentists often give their patients earphones to help ease anxiety. (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs...