News tagged with mental retardation

Nov 08, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

The loss of a gene through deletion of genetic material on chromosome 15 is associated with significant abnormalities in learning and behavior, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report ...

Back to (brain) basics

Nov 03, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (8) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In his own words, MIT neuroscientist Mark Bear admits he did not "wake up one day and say 'Hey, I'm going to cure autism.'" But, after decades of painstaking basic research on how the brain ...

Could some forms of mental retardation be treated with drugs?

Oct 20, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Growth factors. They are the proteins that trigger a countless number of actions in cells. Drugs that increase or decrease certain growth factors have lead to treatments for cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Georgetown ...

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

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.

Fly eyes help researchers 'see' new proteins involved in memory

Aug 24, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

With more than 1,500 eyes, not much escapes the fruit fly's sight. Now, a new research report in the journal Genetics, describes how researchers from the United States and Ireland used those eyes to "see" new proteins necess ...

Common variation in gene linked to structural changes in the brain

Aug 17, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

An international group of researchers is the first to show that common variations in a gene - previously shown to be associated with Retts Syndrome, autism, and mental retardation - are associated with differences in brain ...

Unlikely genetic suspect implicated in common brain defect

Aug 09, 2009 | 5 / 5 (5) | 0

A genetic search that wound its way from patients to mouse models and back to patients has uncovered an unlikely gene critically involved in a common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays ...

Scientists discover a new mechanism controlling neuronal migration

Jul 15, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The finding offers new insight into the forces ...

Genetic changes involved in learning disability identified

Jun 26, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first comprehensive effort to pinpoint the genetic causes of learning disability has narrowed down the genes involved from a potential list of thousands to several dozen key genes.

Measuring intellectual disability

Jun 24, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Researchers from the University of California, Davis have developed a specific and quantitative means of measuring levels of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) protein (FMRP), which is mutated in fragile X syndrome. ...

Protein linked to mental retardation controls synapse maturation, plasticity

Jun 01, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has demonstrated the mechanism by which a signaling protein found throughout the brain controls the maturation and strength of excitatory synapses, the tiny ...

Findings in epilepsy gene in animals may guide treatment directions for infants

Jun 01, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Researchers studying a difficult-to-treat form of childhood epilepsy called infantile spasms have developed a line of mice that experiences seizures with features closely resembling those occurring in patients with infantile ...

Discovery could lead to new autism treatment

Feb 04, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

A Brown University research team has discovered something in the brain that could serve as a target for future autism and mental retardation treatments.

Fruit Fly Brains Provide Clues to Autism Research

Jan 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Linda L. Restifo of the Arizona Research Laboratory at The University of Arizona has developed a highly unique and promising methodology that uses fruit fly brains to screen for drugs that ...

Johns Hopkins neuroscientists discover a critical early step of memory formation