Monthly Archives: January 2013

Aging has been associated with regional brain atrophy, reduced slow wave activity (SWA) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and impaired long-term retention of episodic memories. Whether these are related to each other is the focus of the current paper. … Continue reading

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Apolipoprotein E (APOE) alleles are currently the main known genetic determinants of Alzheimer disease risk, with APOE4 carriers showing increased risk of Alzheimer’s compared to the more common APOE3 allele. The relatively infrequent APOE2 allele carries decreased risk. The presence … Continue reading

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Repeated traumatic events induce long-lasting behavioral changes that may mold an individual’s cognitive, emotional, and social response to his/her environment. In animal models, rodents subjected to repeated aggression develop enduring social aversion and increased anxiety. The stress response results in … Continue reading

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This review discusses regulation of body weight through brain circuits that use a variety of neuropeptides and transmitters, and that are responsive to endocrine and metabolic signals. Novel pharmaceutical drugs which target these pathways are reviewed as possible additions to … Continue reading

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APOE4 has been associated with greater cortical amyloid deposition. In this study, researchers examined whether physical exercise moderated the association between APOE genotype and amyloid deposition in cognitively normal adults. Long term physical activity patterns over the last decade were … Continue reading

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Microinfarctions are present in the aged and injured human brain. To examine the consequences of microinfarcts, Shih and coworkers used controlled optical methods to create occlusions of individual penetrating arterioles or venules in rat cortex. Targeting of multiple vessels resulted … Continue reading

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Hypometabolism and neuronal network hyperactivity are early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.  In fact, hippocampal neuronal hyperactivity has been linked to cognitive dysfunction in amnesic mild cognitive impairment. In this study, Zilberter and colleagues show that administration of dietary energy supplements … Continue reading

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