Neurosurgeons successfully implant 3D printed skull

March 27, 2014March 27, 20142 Comments

3D printed skull implant Photo Credit: UMC Utrecht

A 22-year-old woman from the Netherlands who suffers from a chronic bone disorder — which has increased the thickness of her skull from 1.5cm to 5cm, causing reduced eyesight and severe headaches — has had the top section of her skull removed and replaced with a 3D printed implant.

The skull was made specifically for the patient using an unspecified durable plastic. Since the operation, the patient has gained her sight back entirely, is symptom-free and back to work. It is not known whether the plastic will require replacing at a later date or if it will last a lifetime.

The operation was performed by a team of neurosurgeons at the University Medical Centre Utrecht and the university claims this is this first instance of a successful 3D printed cranium that has not been rejected by the patient.

It is hoped this technique can also be used for patients with other bone disorders or to repair severely damaged skulls after an accident or tumour.

Source: Wired UK

Patients with schizophrenia have impaired ability to imitate

March 20, 2014Leave a comment

This is an illustration of the mirror neuron system in the human brain which has been implicated in the impaired ability to imitate experienced by many patients with schizophrenia.
Credit: Jan Brascamp

A brain-mapping study of patients with schizophrenia has found that areas associated with the ability to imitate are impaired, providing new support for the theory that deficits in this basic cognitive skill may underlie the profound difficulty with social interactions that characterize the disorder. In a paper published online on Mar. 14 by the American Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers report that when patients with schizophrenia were asked to imitate simple hand movements, their brains exhibited abnormal brain activity in areas associated with the ability to imitate.

The new study is the first to use functional magnetic resonance imaging, which maps levels of brain activity by measuring associated changes in blood flow, to examine the brain activity of schizophrenia patients while performing basic imitation tasks. It was performed on 16 medicated schizophrenia patients and 16 healthy participants. While lying in the scanner, participants watched a computer display that showed either a video of a hand pressing buttons on a button box or an animation of an ‘X’ that moved to different fingers on a still image of a hand. Participants were given three different instructions: push the same button as the hand in the video; push the button under the finger marked with the ‘X;’ or simply observe the display. As a result, the experimenters could look at brain activation associated with imitation (pressing buttons while watching a video of a moving hand) and non-imitative action (pressing buttons while watching the moving ‘X’).

The researchers found that the individuals with schizophrenia showed altered brain activity levels in regions of the brain that prior studies in primates have identified as crucial for imitation. During imitation, the patients had less activation than healthy individuals in brain regions involved in detecting biological movement — the special way in which living things move — and also in regions involved in transforming this visual information into a plan for movement. At the same time, patients with schizophrenia had more activation than the healthy participants in these same regions when they performed non-imitative actions.

The specific areas of the brain that become over-active and under-active are associated with the “mirror neuron” system. Mirror neurons are networks of neurons that fire both when an animal acts and when it observes the same action performed by another. They have been directly observed in the brains of primates. In humans, neuroscientists have located areas using brain-mapping techniques that appear to act in a similar fashion.

Source: Science Daily

Scientists Map What Your Brain Looks Like on English

February 9, 2014Leave a comment

Weekly Neuroscience Update

February 9, 2014Leave a comment

The salience network, highlighted here in two epilepsy patients, is thought to mediate our response to important internal or external signals, such as pain or the sound of a siren. Image: Parvizi et al. Neuron 2013

In a rare study involving direct brain stimulation researchers say they have uncovered direct evidence that a brain region known as the anterior midcingulate cortex and its surrounding network play a central role in motivation and a readiness to act.

Many studies suggest that pushing your brain to multitask—writing emails, for instance, while watching the day’s latest news and eating breakfast—leads to poorer performance and lower productivity. But for at least one everyday task—visual sampling (the act of picking up bits of visual information through short glances)—multitasking is not a problem for the brain. A collaboration between researchers at the UC Santa Barbara and the University of Bristol in the UK has shown that during visual sampling, the brain can handle various visual functions simultaneously.

Researchers report a detailed account of how speech sounds are identified by the human brain, offering an unprecedented insight into the basis of human language. The finding, they said, may add to our understanding of language disorders, including dyslexia.

A new study correlating brain activity with how people make decisions suggests that when individuals engage in risky behavior, it’s probably not because their brains’ desire systems are too active, but because their self-control systems are not active enough. This might have implications for how health experts treat mental illness and addiction or how the legal system assesses a criminal’s likelihood of committing another crime.

Pain sensitivity is controlled by a genetic “dimmer switch”, which can be re-set, UK scientists have discovered.

Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability Part VIII

January 28, 20143 Comments

‘ADHD is an attention difference not an attention disorder.’

This inspiring video reinforces the view that we as a society must embrace cognitive diversity.

Part 2: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Part 3: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Part 4: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Part 5: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Part 6: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Part 7: Understanding ADHD and Learning Disability

Weekly Neuroscience Update

January 18, 2014Leave a comment

The problem with diagnosing and treating pain is that it’s so subjective. But a new paper in Pain says that brain structure may hold some answers.

Adding cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to the treatment of migraines in children and adolescents resulted in greater reductions in headache frequency and migraine-related disability compared with headache education, according to a new study.

Scientists have discovered how salt acts as a key regulator for drugs used to treat a variety of brain diseases including chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, and depression.

Research focused on the amygdala can help identify children at risk for anxiety disorders and depression.

Whales, bats, and even praying mantises use ultrasound as a sensory guidance system – and now a new study has found that ultrasound can modulate brain activity to heighten sensory perception in humans.

Scientists have shown that there are widespread differences in how genes, the basic building blocks of the human body, are expressed in men and women’s brains.

A new study shows a leftward asymmetry of the choroid plexus in two-thirds of first-trimester human fetuses. This is the earliest brain asymmetry so far identified and may be a precursor to other asymmetries, including that of the temporal planum, which is evident from the 31st week of gestation.

Researchers have discovered the mechanism in the brain responsible for the motor and vocal tics found in Tourette Syndrome. The study, published in the British Psychological Society’s Journal of Neuropsychology, could at some point lead to new non-drug therapies.

A new study by neuroscientists is the first to directly compare brain responses to faces and objects with responses to colors.

A study begun in Mexico with the collaboration of university students has analysed the effect of weekend alcohol consumption on the lipids comprising cell membrane and its genetic material, i.e. DNA.

3D-printed skull mimics feel of brain surgery: Innovation in Medical Education

December 18, 2013Leave a comment

ScienceRoll

Again, I wish I was a medical student now. To show you another reason why, the New Scientist just released a video in which layers of stretchy skin, hard bone and jelly-like tumour in a 3D-printed model skull give surgeons an experience that feels just like the real thing.

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

December 14, 2013December 14, 2013Leave a comment

The act of laughing at a joke is the result of a two-stage process in the brain, first detecting an incongruity before then resolving it with an expression of mirth. The brain actions involved in understanding humour differ between young boys and girls. These are the conclusions reached by a US-based scientist supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

The structure of the brain shows the way in which we process numbers. People either do this spatially or non-spatially. A study by Florian Krause from the Donders Institute in Nijmegen shows for the first time that these individual differences have a structural basis in the brain.

Pioneering research points to a promising avenue for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) utilising neurofeedback training to alter the plasticity of brain networks linked to the condition.

Perseverance is a quality that plays a large role in the success or failure of many pursuits. It has never been entirely clear why this trait seems more apparent in some people than others, but a new piece of research may at least help explain where it comes from.

A mechanism in the brain which controls tics in children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) has been discovered by scientists at The University of Nottingham.

Dyslexia may be caused by impaired connections between auditory and speech centers of the brain, according to a recent study published in Science. The research could help to resolve conflicting theories about the root causes of the disorder, and lead to targeted interventions.

Do Drum Rhythms Affect Brain Rhythms?

September 17, 2013Leave a comment

alexdoman.com

Today is Mickey Hart’s birthday, and now at 70 years young he shows no signs of slowing!

In July I shared a bit about “Drum Ki” his fine art collection that utilizes sophisticated technology to create a new medium translating rhythm to visual art. The image you see above “The Sermon” is part of this collection and hangs on my office wall as a daily reminder about the meaning of rhythm in our lives.

Now not only can you see Mickey Hart’s rhythmic art, but the brain that creates it. Watch the Grateful Dead Drummer’s brain scanned with an EEG while he plays drums! UCSF neuroscientist Adam Gassaley is working with Hart to investigate if enhancing someone’s sense of timing might improve their cognition. VIDEO– Learn more in this ABC News report.

Research has shown that music training improves the brain’s ability to recognize, perceive, and make…

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