Monthly Archives: June 2012

The nucleus accumbens is considered to be very important in the control of reward responses, motivation, and mood, but the neuronal cell types underlying these processes are not yet known. Identification of the neuronal cell types that regulate depression-like states … Continue reading →

Smoking has been suggested to be a possible risk factor for dementia. In this study the association between smoking history and cognitive decline was studied in subjects transitioning from midlife to old age.  Cognitive tests included assessment of memory, vocabulary, … Continue reading →

An active or higher cognitive lifestyle is generally considered to be associated with diminished risk for dementia, but the underlying mechanisms are not well characterized. Possible mechanisms are thought to include disease modification, neuroprotection, and compensation. Disease modification predicts that … Continue reading →

Previous studies have shown that the neurodegenerative changes in Parkinson disease also affect the oculomotor control system. In this report the authors used modern eye tracking technology to assess oculomotor control in 112 patients with Parkinson disease, including 18 de … Continue reading →

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is coupled to angiogenesis in the dentate gyrus in rodent studies and is increased by antidepressants. The authors of this study investigated whether antidepressants also increase neural progenitor cells and capillaries in the dentate gyrus of human … Continue reading →

P11 is a member of the S100 family of calcium effector proteins. Recent work suggests that p11 is necessary for antidepressant action since cortex-specific deletion of p11 abolishes behavioral responses to serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (SSRIs) in rodent studies. The … Continue reading →