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Investigators Also Find That ALS Patients With Mutations in Multiple Genes Experience Earlier Disease Onset Genetics may play a larger role in causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than previously believed, potentially accounting for more than one-third of all cases, according to one of the most comprehensive genetic studies to date of patients who suffer from the condition.

Neuroscience research has been constrained by the cables required to connect brain sensors to computers for analysis. In the journal Neuron, scientists in a collaboration led by Brown University describe a wireless brain-sensing system to acquire high-fidelity neural data during animal behavior experiments.

Researchers call for more prescriber education- NIH-funded study Many patients with first-episode psychosis receive medications that do not comply with recommended guidelines for first-episode treatment, researchers have found.

A University of Texas (UT) at Dallas professor applied robot control theory to enable powered prosthetics to dynamically respond to the wearer's environment and help amputees walk.

Research shows that it can contribute to success in long-distance running The Journal of Applied Physiology has published an article by Jordan Santos-Concejero of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), and entitled `Maintained cerebral oxygenation during maximal self-paced exercise in elite Kenyan runners'.

A neurotoxin called acrolein found in tobacco smoke that is thought to increase pain in people with spinal cord injury has now been shown to accumulate in mice exposed to the equivalent of 12 cigarettes daily over a short time period.

Whether stubbing a toe or stroking a cat, the sensation of touch starts out as a mechanical force that is then transformed into an electrical signal conveying pain or other sensations. Tiny channels in neurons act as translators by helping to formulate that signal to the brain.

When it comes to getting out of a tricky situation, we humans have an evolutionary edge over other primates. Take, as a dramatic example, the Apollo 13 voyage in which engineers, against all odds, improvised a chemical filter on a lunar module to prevent carbon dioxide buildup from killing the crew.

A theoretical study of short- and long-range effects on neural excitation pulses might one day lead to controlling harmful signals such as those in strokes What do lasers, neural networks, and spreading epidemics have in common? They share a most basic feature whereby an initial pulse can propagate through a medium be it physical, biological or socio-economic, respectively.

The common chemotherapy drug topotecan disrupts a gene integral for neuron communication, though the effects are reversible. The research also homes in on an underlying cause of autism. University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine researchers have found for the first time a biochemical mechanism that could be a cause of "chemo brain"- the neurological side effects such as memory loss, confusion, difficulty thinking, and trouble concentrating that many cancer patients experience while on chemotherapy to treat tumors in other parts of the body.