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Brain :: Paying attention sets off symphony of cell synchronization

A Northwestern University study uses a new strategy to show precisely how paying attention alters brain activity. Digging deep to summon that extra ounce of attention engages a symphony of brain activity that comes to your rescue as millions of neurons work together to make the music of a vivid conscious experience. Think of a conductor stepping in to control a large set of unruly musicians in an orchestra so that they can all play together.

Alzheimer’s Disease :: Testosterone therapy prevents Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at the University of Southern California have discovered a direct link between loss of testosterone and the development of an Alzheimer’s-like disease in mice. They also discovered that testosterone treatment slows progression of the disease.The study, published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, predicts that testosterone-based hormone therapy may be useful in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer?s disease in aging men.

Heart Disease :: Blood transfusions raise heart patients’ infection risk

Blood transfusions save the lives of millions of heart surgery patients and others each year. But a new study suggests that patients who receive transfusions during heart bypass surgery have a higher risk of developing potentially dangerous infections, and dying, after their operation.

Brain :: Impulsiveness linked to activity in brain’s reward center

A new imaging study shows that our brains react with varying sensitivity to reward and suggests that people most susceptible to impulse — those who need to buy it, eat it, or have it, now — how the greatest activity in a reward center of the brain. The study appears in the Dec. 20 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Alzheimer’s Disease :: Androgen therapy slows Alzheimer’s disease progress

Experiments on mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease suggest that treatment with male sex hormones might slow its progression. The findings, published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, provide new insight into the relationship between testosterone loss and AD, which affects 4.5 million Americans.

Bacteria :: Study finds the air rich with bacteria

The air could be teeming with more than 1,800 types of bacteria, according to a first-of-its-kind census of airborne microbes recently conducted by scientists from the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Immunity :: Clues about how deadly bacterium gains foothold

How a potentially deadly bacterium that could be used as a bioterrorist tool eludes being killed by the human immune system is now better understood, researchers report in the December issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

Dreams :: MIT team reports new insights on animal dreams

Memories of our life stories may be reinforced while we sleep, MIT researchers report December 17 in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience.

Smell :: Biological clock for smell

Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a large biological clock in the smelling center of mice brains and have revealed that the sense of smell for mice is stronger at night, peaking in evening hours and waning during day light hours.

Blindness :: High levels of blindness in southern Sudan following years of war

Surveys conducted in southern Sudan, after conflict there ended in 2004, found much higher levels of blindness than anticipated. The results, published in PLoS Medicine, have major implications for the provision of health services in the region.