PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Stimulating brain pathways shows origins of human language and memory

2021-01-25
(Press-News.org) Scientists have identified that the evolutionary development of human and primate brains may have been similar for communication and memory.

Although speech and language are unique to humans, experts have found that the brain's pathway is similarly wired in monkeys which could signify an evolutionary process dating back at least 25 million years.

In a study, published in the journal Neuron, teams led by Newcastle University and the University of Iowa, compared auditory cortex information from humans and primates and found strong links.

Professor Chris Petkov, from Newcastle University's Faculty of Medical Sciences, UK, said: "Our language abilities help us to crystallise memories and make them vivid, such as 'the singer sounded like a nightingale'.

"Therefore, it's often thought that the human language and memory brain systems went through a substantial transformation during our recent evolutionary history, distinguishing us from every other living animal.

"We were astounded to see such striking similarity with other primates, and this discovery has substantial importance for science and neurological disorders."

Stimulating auditory cortex

Scientists used information from neurosurgery patients being monitored for treatment. With humans, stimulation of a specific part of the brain can be visualized if brain imaging is used at the same time.

The experts also compared the results from stimulating auditory cortex and visualising areas important for language and memory in monkeys.

The brain stimulation highlighted a previously unseen ancestral brain highway system that is deeply shared by humans and monkeys, one that is likely to have been present in ancestral primates to both species.

The finding is important because brain stimulation is a common treatment for neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, how brain stimulation works is not well understood and requires work that cannot be conducted with humans. Work with non-human primates has paved the way for current brain treatments, including Parkinson's disease.

Inspiring new research

The study has generated unique new brain scanning information that can now be globally shared to inspire further discovery by the international scientific community.

Professor Matthew Howard III, chief neurosurgeon at the University of Iowa Carver Medical Center, USA, co-author of the study, said: "This discovery has tremendous potential for understanding how brain stimulation could help patients, which requires studies with animal models not possible to conduct with humans."

Professor Timothy Griffiths, consultant neurologist at Newcastle University, also co-author of the study, added: "This discovery has already inspired new research underway with neurology and neurosurgery patients."

INFORMATION:

Reference

Common fronto-temporal effective connectivity in humans and monkeys. Francesca Rocchi et al. Neuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.12.026



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Protein anchors as a newly discovered key molecule in cancer spread and epilepsy

2021-01-25
Certain anchor proteins inhibit a key metabolic driver that plays an important role in cancer and developmental brain disorders. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Innsbruck, together with a Europe-wide research network, discovered this molecular mechanism, which could open up new opportunities for personalized therapies for cancer and neuronal diseases. They published their results in the journal Cell. The signaling protein MTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) is a sensor for nutrients such as amino acids and sugars. When sufficient nutrients are available, MTOR boosts metabolism and ensures that sufficient energy and cellular building blocks are available. Since MTOR is a central switch for metabolism, ...

Researchers develop promising way to find new cancer drugs

2021-01-25
All the cells in the human body share the same genes. But how our genes are expressed determines whether a cell becomes a brain cell or a liver cell. In addition, changes in gene expression often play a significant role in development of diseases. One mechanism that contributes to the changes in gene expression is the interaction between the proteins called histones and enzymes known as HDACs. These enzymes help the cell divide and develop, which is the reason why they serve as targets for anti-cancer medicine: When you inhibit the enzymes, the cancer cells will stop dividing and growing further. Despite being targets for clinically approved medicines, researchers do not know all the details of how they ...

Immune cells found in the brain are behind the depression experienced in inflammation

Immune cells found in the brain are behind the depression experienced in inflammation
2021-01-25
Special immune cells found in the brain, microglia, play a key role in the processes that make you feel uneasy and depressed in correlation with inflammation. This is the conclusion of a study using mice carried out by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden. The results have been published in the scientific journal Immunity, and suggest that microglial cells contribute to the negative mood experienced during several neurological diseases, and maybe also depression. David Engblom's research group at Linköping University has spent many years looking at why inflammation in the body, such as a common cold or influenza, causes us to feel poorly ...

How will seafarers fare once automated ships take over? Scientists predict the future

How will seafarers fare once automated ships take over? Scientists predict the future
2021-01-25
Artificial intelligence and automation are changing the world, one industry at a time! Whatever humans can do, machines are learning to also do effectively, with lower costs and fewer errors. The maritime shipping industry is no different. Ships are now increasingly automated (called maritime autonomous surface ships or MASSs), reducing the need for human input. While this bodes well for labor and fuel costs, the question naturally raised is, what happens to the jobs of seafarers, the chief workforce of the shipping industry, once MASSs take over. To find out, researchers from Korea used complex mathematical models and simulations ...

Turbulence model could enhance rotorcraft, munitions performance

Turbulence model could enhance rotorcraft, munitions performance
2021-01-25
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Design of Army aerial vehicles and weapon systems relies on the ability to predict aerodynamic behavior, often aided by advanced computer simulations of the flow of air over the body. High-fidelity simulations assist engineers in maximizing how much load a rotorcraft can lift or how far a missile can fly, but these simulations aren't cheap. The simulations that designers currently use require extensive data processing on supercomputers and capture only a portion of vortex collision events - which can cause significant performance degradation, from loss of lift on a rotor to complete loss of control of a munition. A new turbulence model could change that. The Army Research Office, an ...

Drink and drug risk is lower among optimistic pupils with 'happy' memories, says study

2021-01-25
Teenagers with happy childhood memories are likely to drink less, take fewer drugs and enjoy learning, according to research published in the peer-reviewed journal END ...

Analysis details racial inequity and corrective strategies in research grant funding

2021-01-25
New Orleans, LA - An analysis by Nicholas Gilpin, PhD, Professor of Physiology and Associate Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Michael Taffe, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, summarizes long-standing racial inequities in federal funding for biosciences research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Their report describes prior failures to correct these racial inequities and offers strategies that may be effective in eliminating these disparities. Their paper, published online in the open-access ...

A stem cell based cell culture model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

A stem cell based cell culture model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
2021-01-25
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a widespread condition in the Western World. Around 30% of the population have lipid droplets stored in their liver which diminish its function in the long term. Main causes for NAFLD are our high-caloric diet in combination with a sedentary lifestyle. Hitherto, researchers have not fully understood the cause of this disease and despite the high number of affected individuals, there is no approved therapy. In order to improve our understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying the etiology of NAFLD, Dr. Nina Graffmann, Prof. James Adjaye and the team of the Institute for Stem Cell research and Regenerative Medicine from the University Hospital Duesseldorf differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from healthy ...

Puzzling six-exoplanet system with rhythmic movement challenges theories of how planets form

Puzzling six-exoplanet system with rhythmic movement challenges theories of how planets form
2021-01-25
Using a combination of telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO's VLT), astronomers have revealed a system consisting of six exoplanets, five of which are locked in a rare rhythm around their central star. The researchers believe the system could provide important clues about how planets, including those in the Solar System, form and evolve. The first time the team observed TOI-178, a star some 200 light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, they thought they had spotted two planets going around it in the same orbit. However, a closer look revealed something entirely ...

Ideal surgical results less likely if cancer patients live vulnerable communities

2021-01-25
CHICAGO (January 25, 2021; 9 am CST): A new study finds that older cancer patients are less likely to have optimal results following their cancer operation if they live in an area highly affected by social challenges, especially if they are racial-ethnic minorities. The study was selected for the 2020 Southern Surgical Association Program and published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print. Study investigators from The Ohio State University (OSU) used a novel risk stratification tool called the social vulnerability index (SVI), a composite measure of 15 social and economic factors. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Older teens who start vaping post-high school risk rapid progress to frequent use

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

[Press-News.org] Stimulating brain pathways shows origins of human language and memory