25 of the Latest, Greatest and Most Important Brain-Related Stories of the Past Year

The brain is not only an extremely complex organ, but it is an organ which greatly affects every minute of our lives.  Therefore, it is important for us to educate ourselves on the latest and greatest information regarding brain health.  Below are some of the most notable and relevant neuroscientific discoveries of the past year.

1. The brain’s process of reorganizing connections begins earlier in girls than in boys. As we grow older, our brains reorganize, reducing the connections in the brain. Brain function actually improves during this pruning process and it occurs earlier in females than in males.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131219131153.htm

2. Scientists have developed a technology to regenerate functional neurons after brain injury and Alzheimer’s. Using glial cells, scientists have regenerated healthy, functional neurons. This technology could eventually help people with traumatic brain injuries, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131219130740.htm

3. Dementia and heart disease are linked in older postmenopausal women. A study of American women between ages 65 and 79 found that those who had experienced a heart attack had double the risk of cognitive decline. In addition, postmenopausal women with either vascular disease or heart disease were 29 percent more likely to experience cognitive decline.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131218171053.htm

4. Dyslexic children tend to have difficulty with multiple-component tasks, which contributes to their reading struggles. Compared to their non-dyslexic peers, children with dyslexia have trouble identifying strings of letters, programming eye movements and synchronizing speech output.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131218095855.htm

5. Suppression of a specific enzyme can promote the regrowth of injured nerves. Scientists studying rats found that because the enzyme fidgetin prevents nerve regrowth in the adult brain, suppressing it can conversely regrow injured nerves.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131217123855.htm

6. 30 years after they were banned, PCB chemicals are still causing lower cognitive performance in senior citizens.In 1979, PCBs were banned in the U.S., but their effects are still showing up in seniors in the form of lower cognitive performance.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/269336.php

7. New neurological differences have been discovered in children with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder.Researchers have discovered evidence that the brains of children with NVLD actually develop differently than other children, even those with HFA.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/269167.php

8. A blood biomarker predicts which victims of traumatic brain injury will have most damage.Researchers have discovered that the calpain-cleaved all-spectrin N-terminal fragment (SNTF) can serve as a biomarker to predict which concussion victims will have the worst white matter tract structural damage and persistent cognitive dysfunction.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/269119.php

9. The progression of Alzheimer’s may be slowed by meditation.In a study of people between 55 and 90, those who participated in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) had significantly improved function in the brain system used to remember past events and envision the future.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/269043.php

10. Exercise during pregnancy helps newborn babies’ brains develop.Mothers who exercised while pregnant had newborns (ages 8 to 12 days) with more fully developed brains. This suggests that the babies’ brains developed more rapidly.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268651.php

11. Depression is linked to increased brain activity during self-reflection.Scientists have discovered that when people suffering from depression think about themselves, they have higher activity in the part of the brain that processes self-related information when compared to people without depression.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/268518.php

12. Childhood stress and poverty affects brain function in adulthood.Recent evidence suggests a childhood filled with chronic stress and poverty may cause problems with brain function – especially emotional problems -- in adulthood.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131021211450.htm

13. Certain skills in early childhood can predict future math competence.Children with early spatial skills and knowledge of written letters tend to be stronger in math than their peers.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131022091801.htm

14. Moderate to vigorous exercise boosts teens’ grades.The more intensive the exercise, the greater the impact on test results. This is especially true regarding girls’ grades in science classes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131021211712.htm

15. Limited high-quality sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.A new study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that older adults with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration had greater levels of a biomarker for Alzheimer’s.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131021162546.htm

16. High-fat, high-sugar foods may be as addictive as cocaine or morphine.A professor and his students at Connecticut College found that for lab rats, Oreo cookies caused similar addiction behavior as cocaine or morphine.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/267543.php

17. Stroke patients lose three of every five remaining quality years of life.Long-term research has found that people who have had a stroke lose 60 percent of their remaining years of quality life.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/267090.php

18. Belly fat increases the chances of dementia and memory loss later in life.Middle-aged men and women who have high belly fat are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from dementia and memory loss when they’re older due to depletion of a certain protein needed in the brain. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/09/fat-alzheimers-dementia_n_4072400.html

19. There may be a biomarker to distinguish ADD and ADHD.By looking at EEGs while teens with ADHD performed a computer task, researchers could distinguish between those whose primary symptom is inattentiveness and those whose symptoms include hyperactivity and impulsivity.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131008152214.htm

20. A new method has been found to help identify early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.Using peanut butter, a graduate student at the University of Florida has found that people with early Alzheimer’s smell better with their right nostril.
 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131010092427.htm

21. Long-term use of certain cholesterol medications may help prevent against dementia.Johns Hopkins researchers have found that statin medications pose no threats to short-term memory and may even help prevent dementia if taken for over a year.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001115438.htm

22. Compared to children with autism, children with Asperger’s syndrome have different brain patterns. The difference in brain patterns between children with autism and children with Asperger’s syndrome adds to the ongoing debated about whether Asperger’s should truly be classified as an autism spectrum disorder.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130730235642.htm

23. Senior citizens who drink two cups of hot cocoa per day may actually be preventing memory decline. This winter favorite preserves blood flow in the brain, allowing the brain to function in older age as it needs to work harder to complete cognitive tasks.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264551.php

24. Girls with anorexia nervosa exhibit similar traits to their autistic peers.These findings suggest a potential link between the two disorders.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264666.php

25. Concussions may have different effects in girls than they do in boys. Although girls may suffer fewer concussions, the effects on girls can last longer. This may be because male athletes have greater neck strength and a higher BMI, making them more resilient.
http://tdn.com/lifestyles/concussions-can-affect-boys-and-girls-differently-but-always-require/artic...


* Susie McDaniel and Beth Ardell are the owners of LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead and LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek, cognitive skills training centers that work with individuals to improve their learning ability through brain training. Both are mothers who have seen their own children’s cognitive abilities improve greatly through LearningRx programs.  LearningRx offers cognitive skills testing and intense one-on-one brain training that improves academic achievement, boosts self-esteem, and permanently increases IQ.  For more information about these and other learning topics, contact LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek at 770-475-3276 or LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead at 404-252-7246, or visit www.learningrx.com/greater-atlanta.