A Drug That Can Make the Hippocampus GROW

The Pill That Could Cure Depression By Growing Your Brain link
By Kristin Philipkoski
1/9/2012

There have been tons of studies coming out that show long term depression, Alzheimer disease, and schizophrenia all result in shrunken hippocampi. Well Neuralstem's CEO, Dr. Karl Johe, is here to tell you that there may be a way to reverse that! They have recently gotten FDA's approval to go ahead and do human trials on a new drug that can literally regrow the hippocampus, giving people with severe depression hope for a brighter future. And the best part is, the goal with this drug is to be able to get off of it! Dr. Johe says, "If we can show by MRI that we've increased hippocampus volume and at the same time reversed depression symptoms for six months after patients have stopped taking the drug, then we'll have a cure." Now most antidepressants work by increasing or decreasing certain neurotransmitters (like seretonin or dopamine) but with this new drug it aims to change neurotransmitters, neurons themselves, AND the size of the hippocampus (which plays a huge part in memory and spatial navigation and tends to be the first thing to go in those with Alzheimers). Its a great time for the drug industry for two reasons; one, well holy moly what an incredible drug! To ACTUALLY change the size of a region in the brain is something I never imagined possible, but I think more importantly two, an aim to actually cure instead of subdue the symptoms of a problem (which, in my opinion, has always made the drug industry a very very corrupt organization). So happy days are ahead of us, and more literally than ever before.

Our Brains Are Shrinking

If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking? link
By Kathleen McAuliffe
1/20/2011

Over the last ten to twenty thousand years our brains have gone from 1500 cc to 1350 cc; why are our brains shrinking?!

In this article there are a whole lot of speculations as to why our brains are getting smaller. The theories range from becoming more idiotic to our diet to domestication or even to our brains becoming more efficient. Read the article to learn more about each theory and tell me what you think.

Mimicking the Brain, In Silicon

Mimicking the Brain, In Silicon link
By Anne Trafton
11/15/2011

MIT researchers have created a computer chip that can simulate synapses. They intend to use the chips to simulate entire neural systems like the visual processing system, to be able to further explore it and how it works. Currently it could take hours to even days to simulate only one brain function on a computer, but with this new analog chip it could function even faster than the biological circuit itself. They are also hopeful to be able to inferace these chips with biological systems, where they could be useful in helping communication between neural prosthetic devices such as artificial retinas.

Ten Brain Science Studies from 2011 Worth Talking About

Ten Brain Science Studies Worth Talking About link
By David DiSalvo
12/27/2011

1. Brain implant enables memories to be recorded and played back

2. Controlling mircoRNA could eventually make cells "death resistant"

3. Maximizing the brain's marijuana-like chemical could lead to better meds

4. Using magnetism to alter moral judgement isn't all that far fetched

5. New blood test may predict whether antidepressants will help you

6. Abused children's brains and soldiers' brains are similarly wired

7. Alzheimer's damage can in some cases be reversed by deep brain stimulation

8. 'Brain reading' makes a big leap forward

9. A little practice goes a long way in the brain

10. Boosting thought control with real-time brain feedback


Consult the link for details of the studies done on each of these

Zapping The Brain Improves Math Skills

Zapping The Brain Improves Math Skills link
By Eric Bland
11/04/2010

Scientists at University of Oxford are currently doing research with a method known as transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS), which involves passing electricity through the skull to increase or decrease the activity of neurons. With the studies they've conducted so far it has shown an increase in math skills, this makes the scientists hopeful that it could help treat the 20 percent of the population with moderate to severe dyscalculia (math disability) and potentially could help aid students in other subjects as well. TDCS can only help certain types of learning, like language, as long as they are near the surface of the brain; structures like the limbic system, which is closer to the center of the brain, are most likely beyond the help of TDCS, says researchers.