All Articles Tagged As: genes

Gene Associated with Social Behavior in Animals Has Similar Effects in Human Males (9/3/2008)

A gene variant related to the hormone vasopressin appears to be associated with how human males bond with their partners or wives ...> Full Article

New master switch found in the brain that regulates appetite and reproduction (9/1/2008)

A master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls fertility and body weight ...> Full Article

Study finds connections between genetics, brain activity and preference (8/8/2008)

First link of genetics to neuroeconomics, the science of how decisions are made ...> Full Article

Researchers find an evolutionarily preserved signature in the primate brain (6/20/2008)

Researchers have determined that there are hundreds of biological differences between the sexes when it comes to gene expression in the cerebral cortex of humans and other primates ...> Full Article

Study suggests genetic factors associated with common fears (4/8/2008)

Genetic factors that are associated with fears appear to change as children and adolescents age, with some familial factors declining in importance over time while other genetic risk factors arise in adolescence and adulthood ...> Full Article

Genetic Tags Reveal Secrets of Memories' Staying Power in Mice (2/25/2008)

A better understanding of how memory works is emerging from a newfound ability to link a learning experience in a mouse to consequent changes in the inner workings of its neurons. Researchers, supported in part by the National Institutes of Health"s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have developed a way to pinpoint the specific cellular components that sustain a specific memory in genetically-engineered mice. ...> Full Article

Scientists Shed Light on Long-Distance Signaling in Developing Neurons (2/23/2008)

For the First Time, Functional Transcription Factor mRNA Is Found Outside the Nucleus, at the Tip of Growing Axons, Weill Cornell Team Reports ...> Full Article

Gene research may help explain autistic savants (2/14/2008)

Mice lacking a certain brain protein learn some tasks better but also forget faster, according to new research from MIT that may explain the phenomenon of autistic savants in humans. The work could also result in future treatments for autism and other brain development disorders. ...> Full Article

Newly launched study to probe women's response to male odor (2/6/2008)

A single gene determines whether a whiff of androstadienone smells pleasant or foul, or like nothing at all ...> Full Article

Nature and Nurture are both to blame for depression (1/18/2008)

Depression is one of the most common forms of psychopathology. According to diathesisâ€"stress theories of depression, genetic liability interacts with negative life experiences to cause depression. Traditionally, most studies testing these theories have focused on only one component of the diathesisâ€"stress model: either genetics or environment, but not their interaction. However, because of recent advances in genetics and genomics, researchers have begun using a new design that allows them to test the interaction of genetic and environmental liabilities -- the G x E design. ...> Full Article

Discovery of 'creator' gene for cerebral cortex points to potential stem cell treatments (1/18/2008)

Study identifies the specific role for gene linked to cortical development ...> Full Article

Scientists identify new genetic link to autism (1/13/2008)

Gene's presence in brain's language centers may explain speech delay ...> Full Article

Proton Powered Pooping (1/11/2008)

Discovery: Subatomic Protons Act like Nerve-Signal Transmitters ...> Full Article

Ethnicity Predicts How Gene Variations Affect Response to Schizophrenia Medications (1/6/2008)

Different variations in the same gene influence how well different ethnic groups, and people within the same ethnic group, respond to various antipsychotic medications, report NIMH-funded researchers. If confirmed, their findings could one day help clinicians predict which medication is most likely to help a patient, based on his or her genetic makeup. ...> Full Article

Mutation may cause inherited neuropathy (12/31/2007)

Mutations in a protein called dynein, required for the proper functioning of sensory nerve cells, can cause defects in mice that may provide crucial clues leading to better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy, which affects about three percent of all those over age 60. ...> Full Article

IQ Boost From Breast Milk Linked to Gene-Environment Interaction (12/20/2007)

A new study shows that the intellectual boost associated with breast milk is only attained if a child has inherited one of two versions of a specific gene. The NIMH funded research is among the first to provide evidence of a specific genetic-environment interaction involved in complex mental functioning. ...> Full Article

Researchers correct inherited retardation, autism in mice (12/20/2007)

Research points to potential drug treatment for humans ...> Full Article

Research Reveals Secrets of Alcohol's Effect on Brain Cells (12/11/2007)

Activates a Stress-Linked Pathway in Neurons to Release Key Genes, Weill Cornell Team Reports ...> Full Article

Researchers Develop New Genetic Method and Identify Novel Genes for Schizophrenia (12/8/2007)

Scientists at the Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have identified nine genetic markers that can increase a person's risk for schizophrenia. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research team uncovered original evidence that this disabling brain disease can be inherited in a recessive manner. A recessive trait is one that is inherited from both parents. ...> Full Article

Newly-identified exercise gene could help with depression (12/4/2007)

Boosting an exercise-related gene in the brain works as a powerful anti-depressant in mice-a finding that could lead to a new anti-depressant drug target, according to a Yale School of Medicine report in Nature Medicine. ...> Full Article

Doctors to investigate potential limitations of genetic testing in development of Alzheimer's (11/27/2007)

Now recruiting participants to help study the impact of knowing whether they have genetic predisposition ...> Full Article

Connection Between Startled Response And Schizophrenia (11/18/2007)

Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric illness. Its cause is currently poorly understood, and there is no known cure. In a new study Akiko Watanabe and colleagues report the identification of a gene linked to the condition. ...> Full Article

Genes, Brain Chemistry May Dictate Nicotine Cravings (11/13/2007)

Individual brain chemistry and genes could be key to understanding why some people become addicted to nicotine and why the chemical compound's effects appear to diminish at night, University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say. ...> Full Article

Unique database mapping 'expression' of genes in the brain could lead to new, targeted treatments (11/11/2007)

New research to establish a database that could help other scientists identify which proteins to target when developing treatments for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease. The database maps all of the genes operating in one section of the brain, and their 'expression' - the process of converting the genetic information encoded in DNA into a final gene product. ...> Full Article

Epilepsy genes may cancel each other (11/10/2007)

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be "seizure-protective," said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Gene governs IQ boost from breastfeeding (11/7/2007)

The known association between breast feeding and slightly higher IQ in children has been shown to relate to a particular gene in the babies, according to a report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Children with gene show reduced cognitive function (11/6/2007)

7- to 10-year-olds carrying apoE4 show reduced cognitive function. ...> Full Article

The accumulation of sugar in neurons may explain the origin of several neurodegenerative diseases (10/28/2007)

A new study demonstrates that the excess of glucose chains (glycogen) induces neuronal death and causes Lafora disease, a fatal kind of epilepsy that affects adolescents. This mechanism, unknown until now, may provide the key to understanding other neurodegenerative pathologies. ...> Full Article

Stress: Brain Yields Clues About Why Some Succumb While Others Prevail (10/23/2007)

Discovery Of Resistance Mechanisms In Mouse Brain May Lead To Help For Stress-Related Mental Illness In Humans ...> Full Article

Fish get insomnia, eyes wide open, say sleep researchers (10/19/2007)

Scientists have hooked a fish that suffers from insomnia in their quest to understand the genetics behind sleep disorders. ...> Full Article

How schizophrenia develops: Major clues discovered (10/18/2007)

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue. The researchers found that the gene is turned on at increasingly high rates during normal development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in higher functions like thinking and decision-making – but that this normal increase may not occur in people with schizophrenia. ...> Full Article

Genes influence people's choices in economics game (10/2/2007)

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that genes exert influence on people's behavior in a very common experimental economic game. ...> Full Article

New genetic research into nicotine addiction shows promise for personalized treatment (9/19/2007)

Whether a smoking-cessation drug will enable you to quit smoking may depend on your genes, according to new genotyping research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study, published in the September issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry, found that the enzyme known to metabolize both the smoking cessation drug bupropion and nicotine is highly genetically variable in all ethnicities and influences smoking cessation. ...> Full Article

3-D Fruit Fly Images To Benefit Brain Research (9/15/2007)

The fragile head and brain of a fly are not easy things to examine but MRC scientists have figured out how to make it a little simpler. And they hope their research will shed light on human disease. ...> Full Article

Researchers uncover novel mechanism that balances the sizes of functional areas in the brain (9/13/2007)

In the cerebral cortex, the brain's powerful central processing unit responsible for higher functions, specialized subdivisions known as areas are laid out like a map, but little is known about the genetic forces that shape the geography of our brains. ...> Full Article

Normal role for schizophrenia risk gene identified (9/11/2007)

disc1 makes protein that helps new neurons integrate into our neural network ...> Full Article

Gene Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Like Syndrome in Mice (8/26/2007)

Using genetic engineering, researchers have created an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - like set of behaviors in mice and reversed them with antidepressants and genetic targeting of a key brain circuit. The study, by National Institutes of Health (NIH) -funded researchers, suggests new strategies for treating the disorder. ...> Full Article

Cellular Outposts Keep Dendrites Strong and Healthy (8/25/2007)

Scientists exploring how the brain develops at a genetic level. ...> Full Article

Brain gene flicks the switch on gender (8/24/2007)

University of Adelaide researchers have discovered a way of creating a male mouse without a Y chromosome by manipulating a single gene in the developing foetus. ...> Full Article

Does The Desire To Consume Alcohol And Tobacco Come From Our Genetic Makeup? (8/15/2007)

Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role. The etiology of these desires is multifactorial and a result of complex interactions with the environment. Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one's sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use. ...> Full Article

Gene Predicts Better Outcome as Cortex Normalizes in Teens with ADHD (8/9/2007)

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). ...> Full Article

Gene Research Used In Test For Schizophrenia (7/20/2007)

QUT's research on schizophrenia genetic markers forms the basis of a collaboration with a major United States diagnostic product manufacturer. ...> Full Article