Posts Tagged ‘neuroscience’

New research published in this month’s Journal of Neuroscience shows that loss of smell could be a sign of early Alzheimer’s disease.  Although loss of smell is known to occur in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers are now showing that a subtle decrease could be an early indicator of the illness. By studying mice, scientists found a direct link between the development of amyloid plaques (protein deposit in the brain that can be seen in Alzheimer’s patients) and worsening sense of smell. The researchers found that the plaques first develop in the part of the mouse brain that’s devoted to the sense of smell. Even a tiny bit of the plaque was enough to affect smell. “This is a revealing finding because, unlike a brain scan, a laboratory-designed olfactory test may be an inexpensive alternative to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” said study author Daniel W. Wesson of the NYU School of Medicine. [via Yahoo! News]

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It appears that the human nervous system is more complex than we know. In addition to the nerves in our skin that allow us to feel pressure, vibration, temperature and pain a fine network of nerves associated with small blood vessels and sweat glands appear to have the same functional abilities. It was previously believed that these nerves simply regulated blood flow and sweating. However, by studying people who were born without conventional nerve endings in their skin, scientists realized that even though their skin sensations were severely diminished, they still had adequate sensation for daily living. “Apparently, these unique individuals are able to ‘feel things’ through these remaining nerve endings. What we learned from these unusual individuals is that there’s another level of sensory feedback that can give us conscious tactile information”, said Dr. Frank Rice, a neuroscience professor at Albany Medical College. The study is published in the December 15 issue of the journal Pain. Could these nerves be associated with pain-related conditions such as migraines and fibromyalgia? Only time will tell. [via Science Daily]

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Research presented this week at the Neuroscience 2009 meeting in Chicago revealed an interesting side effect of internet use on older brains. Researchers from University of California, Los Angeles found that frequent internet use among the elderly – even those who only recently started using the web – increased brain functioning beyond their baseline. By comparing novice users to seasoned internet veterans the researchers found that even after just one week of using the internet, the novice users’ brains showed activity in areas important for working memory and decision making – activity that wasn’t apparent on brain scans prior to engagement with the web. [via Medical News Today]

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