News tagged with brain development

Nov 25, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (8) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- You wouldn't want a car with no brakes. It turns out that the developing brain needs them, too.

Study uses brain scans to discover how children 'read' faces

Nov 20, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Oxford University scientists are using brain-scanning technology to understand how we learn to recognise and 'read' faces as children.

Pilot study relates phthalate exposure to less-masculine play by boys

Nov 16, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (9) | 9

A study of 145 preschool children reports, for the first time, that when the concentrations of two common phthalates in mothers' prenatal urine are elevated their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, ...

Baby Einstein Controversy: Professor Offers Healthy Language Learning Alternatives for Young Children

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Baby Einstein videos have become a staple in many American households until recently when the Walt Disney Company decided to refund the product, acknowledging that these ever-popular videos were not intended ...

Sex-based prenatal brain differences found

Oct 23, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (4) | 0

Prenatal sex-based biological differences extend to genetic expression in cerebral cortices. The differences in question are probably associated with later divergences in how our brains develop. This is shown by a new study ...

Scientists demonstrate link between genetic defect and brain changes in schizophrenia

Oct 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (5) | 0

For decades, scientists have thought the faulty neural wiring that predisposes individuals to behavioral disorders like autism and psychiatric diseases like schizophrenia must occur during development. Even so, no one has ...

Genetics of patterning the cerebral cortex

Oct 13, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

The cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex component of the brain, is unique to mammals and alone has evolved human specializations. Although at first all stem cells in charge of building the cerebral ...

Study pinpoints key mechanism in brain development, raising question about use of antiseizure drug

Oct 08, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 1

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a key molecular player in guiding the formation of synapses — the all-important connections between nerve cells — in the brain. This discovery, based ...

USC neuroscientists awarded $9 million to map gene expression during human brain development

Oct 02, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Two University of Southern California (USC) neuroscientists have been awarded nearly $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to map how genes are expressed in different regions of the human brain throughout ...

Cholesterol necessary for brain development

Oct 02, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (6) | 0

A derivative of cholesterol is necessary for the formation of brain cells, according to a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. The results, which are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, can he ...

Researchers restore missing protein in rare genetic brain disorder

Sep 06, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 3

UCSF researchers have successfully used protease inhibitors to restore to normal levels a key protein involved in early brain development. Reduced levels of that protein have been shown to cause the rare brain disorder lissencephaly, ...

Researchers identify critical gene for brain development, mental retardation (w/ Video)

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Sep 04, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

In laying down the neural circuitry of the developing brain, billions of neurons must first migrate to their correct destinations and then form complex synaptic connections with their new neighbors.

Getting wired: How the brain does it

Aug 26, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (6) | 0

In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have found an important mechanism involved in setting up the vast communications network of connections ...

Fragile period of childhood brain development could underlie epilepsy