Docs Track Autism to Brain's Fever Center

Identification of key brain proteins could aid treatment of conditions

(NEWSER) - Scientists are hailing a potential breakthrough in the treatment of 130 conditions following the identification of more than 1,400 crucial brain proteins. When faulty, these proteins have been found to contribute to conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, autism, and learning disabilities, and their identification could accelerate the development of new drugs and better diagnostic tools. “There is a potential gold rush, a whole new frontier for drug discovery,” says one scientist. More»

Study finds new neurons clear out short-term memory

(NEWSER) - The birth of new brain cells bumps old memories into long-term storage, according to new research which upends earlier theories. Researchers working with rodents found that the creation of new neurons destabilized existing connections in the hippocampus instead of strengthening them as they had expected, effectively "clearing the inbox" and causing short-term memories to be transferred elsewhere in the brain More»

...and another for every celeb you recognize, study finds

(NEWSER) - You have a neuron in your brain devoted entirely to recognizing Tom Cruise. Another specializes in Barack Obama, yet another LeBron James, and, yes, Jon and Kate are taking up two. By studying a decade worth of brain activity, researchers have discovered a series of cells that act like celebrity groupies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Each pulls together all the sensory data on a personality to create a mental image. More»

Study links risky behavior to a better crop of white matter

(NEWSER) - Conventional wisdom says that teens who experiment with drugs, sex, and other risky behaviors do so because their brains—specifically the frontal-lobe areas responsible for decision making—are immature. But a new study turns that notion upside down, suggesting that risky teens have more mature brains than teens who play it safe, reports Time. More»

(NEWSER) - A functional artificial brain could be built within the next decade, leading scientist and brain-builder Henry Markram told a tech conference. Markram, who leads a project seeking to reverse engineer the mammalian brain from lab data, says his team has already duplicated parts of the rat brain, the BBC reports. The synthetic brain will be key to understanding mental disorders, according to Markam. More»