Don't Always Believe What You See, Suggests Study On False Memories

NEW ORLEANS – People can easily be swayed into believing that they have seen something they never actually did see, say researchers at Ohio State University.

Participants in a study looked at a series of slides portraying geometric shapes. They were later shown a second set of test slides – two of the test slides contained images from the original group of slides, two contained images that were obviously not part of the original set, and one slide contained the lure image – a shape very similar to all of those shown in the original slide set, but one that wasn't actually part of the original set.Read more . . .

Age-Related Decrease In Physical Ability May Be In The Genes

NEW ORLEANS ­- A new study in mice suggests that declines in physical functioning as we age may be controlled by a handful of genes.

Scientists used to think that physical malfunctions due to aging were caused by a decline in all cells, but newer views suggest that this isn't the case. Rather, the aging process appears to trigger some definite genetic changes in the brain, said Andrej Rotter, the study's lead author and a professor of both pharmacology and neuroscience at Ohio State University.Read more . . .

New Technique Helps Shed Light On Progression Of Dementia

NEW ORLEANS – Researchers at Ohio State University have found a mechanism that may be important in contributing to the deterioration of mental ability in many elderly people.

The study, done in rats, found that mini-strokes – a fairly common occurrence in an older brain – prevent a key brain chemical from carrying messages from nerve cell to nerve cell. The integrity of nerve cells that use this neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, depends on a steady blood flow.

A decrease in the number of nerve cell fibers, or axons, that use acetylcholine in the brain's cortex led to a decrease in the rats' mental function, said Martin Sarter, the study's lead author and a professor of both neuroscience and psychology at Ohio State.Read more . . .

Researchers Find Role RNA Plays In Progress Of Alzheimer's Disease

NEW ORLEANS – Researchers at Ohio State University have found new clues to how free radicals can contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

The study found that oxidation – a type of damage to cells caused by free radicals – can damage certain kinds of messenger RNA in the brain. That damage may be related to Alzheimer's.

Messenger RNA (or mRNA) is important because it turns DNA's genetic code into the proteins needed for healthy brain function. But in an Alzheimer's brain, up to half of the mRNA are damaged by oxidation; these oxidized mRNAs may process proteins abnormally, which may contribute to neuronal death. Read more . . .

Dying Nerves Cause Even More Harm After Spinal Cord Injury

NEW ORLEANS – A new study in rats has found that after severe spinal cord injury, molecules intended to help nerves communicate can attack the tissue surrounding the initial injury and cause further damage.

Interestingly, this latent, or secondary, injury develops over days and even weeks after the initial injury. It also appears to cause larger, more debilitating lesions in the spinal cord, said Randy Christensen, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at Ohio State University.

Receiving the initial brunt of the secondary trauma seem to be the neurons, or the cells in gray matter. As time passes, however, tissue in the white matter is also destroyed by secondary damage. Oligodendrocytes, the main cell type in white matter, begin to self-destruct during the secondary injury. Read more . . .