Scientists trace molecular origin of proportional development

... as Hunchback. Hunchback instructs the embryo's anterior to begin formation of proportional body parts in ... thoracic regions. Hunchback is switched on in the anterior half of the embryo, where the level of Bicoid is ... the process begins when Bicoid diffuses from the anterior toward the posterior end, a principal already ...

Doctors learn to control their own brains' pain responses to better treat patients

... The response in this circuit, which includes the anterior insula, periaqueducal gray and anterior cigulate cortex, is automatic and may reflect a ... circuit, which comprises somatosensory cortex, anterior insula, periaqueducal gray ...

Researchers win award for best clinical paper in orthopedic physical therapy

... one of the most controversial topics in sports medicine-the management of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Each year, nearly 250,000 Americans, ... Algorithm and Screening Examination for Highly Active Individuals with anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: Part 2: Determinants of Dynamic Knee Stability," ...

Mental fatigue can affect physical endurance

... One interesting note is that demanding mental tasks activate the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain. Previous research has shown that rats with a lesion in the anterior cingulate cortex would not work as hard for a reward compared to rats with ...

Knee injuries may start with strain on the brain, not the muscles

... muscles in preventing ACL knee injuries, and suggests a shift from performance-based to prevention-based athletic training programs. The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is one of the four major ligaments of the knee, and ACL injuries pose a rising public health problem as well as an economic strain ...

Brain's problem-solving function at work when we daydream

... study finds that the brain's "executive network" associated with high-level, complex problem-solving and including the lateral PFC and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex also becomes activated when we daydream. "This is a surprising finding, that these two brain networks are activated in ...

Early brain activity sheds new light on the neural basis of reading

... the fMRI-defined visual word form area (VWFA). Significant responses were also detected to words in other parts of the reading network, including the anterior middle temporal gyrus, the left posterior middle temporal gyrus, the angular and supramarginal gyri, and the left superior temporal gyrus. The ...

Krumlauf Lab demonstrates modulation of gene expression by protein coding regions

... the regulatory logic contained in mammalian genomes." "Our findings provide important insight into the regulation of the formation of the anterior hindbrain," said Leanne Wiedemann, Ph.D., a co-investigator in the Krumlauf Lab and senior author on the publication. "Additionally, because we now ...

New regulatory mechanism discovered for cell identify and behavior in forming organs

... is still essentially flattened layers of cells called an endoderm Dr. Zorn's team found Wnt's stimulation of B-catenin must be restricted in the anterior region so the tissue of forming foregut organs maintain its integrity. Their experiments showed that Sfrp5 steps in at the right time and place to ...

New cardiology research presented at CHEST 2008

... Results showed that ethnic group significantly predicted the diameter of all arteries. Even after controlling for other risk factors, the left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries were significantly smaller in Asian-Indians than other ethnic groups. ...

Metastatic movements in 3-D

... their ability to invade 3D gels increased. The changed behavior correlated with an increase in trafficking of a5b1 from intracellular compartments to anterior membrane protrusions. But this increase in trafficking did not significantly alter a5b1's contribution to cell adhesionthe ease with which cells were ...

Millisecond brain signals predict response to fast-acting antidepressant

... new neurons. Earlier imaging studies with conventional antidepressants had hinted that increased activity of the mood-regulating hub, called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), signals a better response. To find out if ACC activity might also forecast response to glutamate-targeting medications, ...

Engineers create bone that blends into tendons

... that gradually turns into soft tissue, such as tendons or ligaments. If the technology is able to pass further testing, one application could be anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. Oftentimes, ACL surgery fails at the point where the ligament meets the bone. But if an artificial bone/ligament ...

Newly discovered molecular switch helps decide cell type in early embryo development

... to their appropriate locations in the developing body. Understanding the influence of Hox transcription factors in cell differentiation along the anterior and posterior axis of the Drosophilia melangaster fruit fly is an important focal point of this research. In collaboration with H. Leighton ...

Pregnant mice block out unwelcome admirers to protect their pups

... explains Minichiello. Following coitus, a progressive surge of the chemical signal dopamine takes place in the main olfactory bulb, the most anterior part of the mouse brain that is dedicated to the processing of odours. The dopamine flood is triggered by the physical stimulation during mating and ...

Technique used in human ankle injuries modified to treat dogs' knees

... is even more common in dogs. Each year, more than one million dogs suffer from cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) deficiency, which is comparable to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in humans. The common method of treatment by many veterinary surgeons involves cutting the tibia bone to stabilize the ...

Scientists find stem cells for the first time in the pituitary

... between the two labs to look for pituitary stem cells. The researchers used the Nestin-tracking mice to identify candidate cells in the anterior pituitary, the section of the organ that secretes hormones. They then used other techniques to show that these are true stem cells. There are six ...

Are humans hardwired for fairness?

... offers. Consistent with previous results, the researchers found that a region previously associated with negative emotions such as moral disgust (the anterior insula) was activated during unfair treatment. However, interestingly, they also found that regions associated with reward (including the ventral ...

Cognitive, genetic clues identified in imaging study of alcohol addiction

... the predicted individual choice in regions associated with decision making -- the posterior parietal cortex, the dorsal prefrontal cortex, the anterior temporal lobe and the orbital frontal cortex. People who sustain damage to the orbital frontal cortex generally suffer impaired judgment; they ...

Scripps scientists discover fluorescence in key marine creature

... paper coauthor. When I put the specimens under the blue light (used for evoking fluorescence), every single amphioxus had a bright green area in the anterior that was fluorescent, said Deheyn. Follow-on analyses in the Tampa specimens, along with similar species samples from France and Japan, revealed ...

NARSAD presents 2007 prizes for outstanding achievement in neuroscience and psychiatric research

... response in unipolar and bipolar affective disorders using brain imaging with PET. She then utilized this information to find a key area of the anterior cingulate cortex that she hypothesized would regulate depressed mood and proceeded to stimulate this region electrically using deep brain ....

NYU scientists identify how development of different species uses same genes with distinct features

... a messenger RNA (mRNA), is localized at the anterior of the embryo where it is required both to promote anterior development and to repress posterior development. ... are orthodenticle. Orthodenticle performs the anterior promoting function of bicoid ...

Study offers window into human behavior, brain disease

... that the brain regions in which von Economo neurons arise -- the anterior cingulate and frontoinsular cortex -- are key targets of frontotemporal ... compared the numbers of von Economo neurons and neighboring neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex, looking specifically at brain tissue from three sets of ...

Animal models show that anabolic steroids flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression

... the drugged hamsters were hostile hosts, a part of their brains called the anterior hypothalamus pumped out more of a neurotransmitter called vasopressin. By ... vasopressin levels subsided in parallel with the aggressive behavior. The anterior hypothalamus regulates aggression and social behavior. Thus, vasopressin ...

Thinking the pain away? Study shows the brain's painkillers may cause 'placebo effect'

... pain: the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the pregenual rostral right anterior cingulate, the right anterior insular cortex and the left nucleus accumbens. When the researchers ...

Brain-mapping technique aids understanding of sleep, wakefulness

... The researchers found that some of the upstream neurons in the anterior hypothalamus, known to be active only during sleep, send inhibitory ... of the brain that negatively feed back to the sleep-active neurons in the anterior hypothalamus, keeping them from becoming active. "This makes perfect ...

Protein therapy may reduce infarct size in heart attack patients

... therapies had not previously been studied in heart attack patients. In the DELTA MI trial, the DCRI team evaluated KAI-9803 in 154 patients with anterior ST-elevation MI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention with balloon angioplasty and coronary stent implantation. Patients were ...

The influence of the menstrual cycle on the female brain

... activity in the brain. Dopaminergic neurons use dopamine as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator. 2. Structures including the ventral striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the orbitofrontal cortex. 3. Dopaminergic system: all the brain structures innervated by dopaminergic neurons. 4. ...

New brain-chemistry differences found in depressed women

... before they recalled sad memories. The researchers found differences among the depressed women, too, in some areas of the brain. In the rostral anterior cingulate, which is involved in mood regulation and the integration of sensations and emotions, women who later responded to antidepressant treatment ...

Smoking changes brain chemistry

... The results showed that the nicotine-dependent patients had significantly decreased concentrations of the amino acid N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the part of the brain that processes pleasure and pain. The decreased NAA levels were evident regardless of whether or not ...

Master planners in brain may coordinate other areas' roles in cognitive tasks

... working on a task, these areas seem to become active." The study, published in the June 1 issue of Neuron, highlighted three regions, the dorsal anterior cingulate and the left and right frontal operculum. The cingulate is found near the midline of the top of the brain; the opercula are at the base of ...

Where we change our mind

... in "changing their minds." Specifically, the researchers found that "belief maintenance" processes are performed principally by a region called the anterior prefrontal cortex, and "belief back-track" processes occur in the medial prefrontal cortex. "Our results provide evidence that activity in ...

Researchers discover which organs in Antarctic fish produce antifreeze

... of cDNA cloning and sequencing showed that the mRNA all encode secreted AFGPs. An RNA analysis from tissues of a single notothenioid unveiled the anterior portion of the stomach, next to the esophagus-stomach junction, as being the only other site with strong AFGP mRNA expression. Using antibodies, the ...

Oops! Researchers publish new findings on the brain's response to costly mistakes

... such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. In general, the U-M scientists found that a particular part of the brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, or rACC, becomes much more active when a person realizes he or she has made an error that carries consequences ?for instance, ...

New brain hormone puts brakes on reproduction

... for fertility and successful mating. The head of the axis is the brain's GnRH-producing hypothalamus, which communicates via a blood portal with the anterior pituitary and stimulates production of the hormones gonadotropin, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. These hormones are dumped ...

Cholesterol gets 'thumbs up' for role in digit development

... to normal animals. "We found that, without cholesterol, Sonic hedgehog moves more readily, far from its site of synthesis, all the way to the anterior part of the limb bud where it is normally never detected,"Chiang explained. When Sonic hedgehog travels to tissue where it normally would be absent ...

Unique equine cataract surgery offered on routine basis

... up a cataract through ultrasound. They combined this with a technique commonly used in remote Indian Eye Camps to dislodge the cataract via the anterior eye chamber using a jet of saline. The teams remove the lens using an ultrasound probe and administered an injection of intravitreal steroids to ...

USC researchers track down the stem cells that create feathers

... is horizontally placed in radially symmetric downy feathers, but is tilted in bilaterally symmetric feathers, with the lower end of the ring on the anterior side of the follicle, where the rachis-the backbone of the feather-arises. In the Nature paper, Chuong postulates that it is this simple tilting that ...

Changes to embryos can elicit change in adult fish

... is to understand the genetic bases underlying the differences between the simple biomechanical system of the lower jaw and complex systems of the anterior jaw in these fish." ...