While cluster headache is more common in men than in women, a new study suggests that the disorder may be more severe for women. The study is published in the December 21, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Cluster headaches are short but extremely painful headaches that can occur many days, or even weeks, […]
A new MRI study reveals that consumption of alcohol, even in low to moderate amounts during pregnancy, can change the baby’s brain structure and delay brain development. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can expose the foetus to a group of conditions called foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, increasing the risk of learning disabilities, behavioural problems or speech and language delays. ‘Unfortunately, many […]
It is well known that the dopamine system plays a crucial role in motivation, learning and movement. One of the main functions of dopamine is to predict the occurrence of rewarding experiences and the availability of rewards in our environment. In this context, the dopamine system informs our brains about so-called ‘reward prediction errors’ – the difference between received and […]
Older people may be able to boost their working memory with a new approach that couples online therapeutic games with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. Working memory is critical for people to function well in everyday life. This volatile form of memory holds and manipulates a finite amount of information over a short time interval, enabling people to interact with […]
Persons infected with the COVID-19 virus are at an increased risk of developing neurological conditions in the first year after infection, researchers reported on Sept. 22 in Nature Medicine. “Our study provides a comprehensive assessment of the long-term neurologic consequences of COVID-19,” said senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, Director of […]
Monkeypox can sometimes lead to neurological complications such as encephalitis (brain inflammation), confusion or seizures, finds a new review of evidence led by a UCL researcher. Several studies incorporated in the systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence, published in eClinicalMedicine, also found that muscle aches, fatigue, headache, anxiety and depression were all relatively common among monkeypox patients. Across the studies with […]
After 20 years searching for a cure for tinnitus, researchers at the University of Auckland are excited by ‘encouraging results’ from a clinical trial of a mobile-phone-based therapy. The study randomised 61 patients to one of two treatments, the prototype of the new ‘digital polytherapeutic’ or a popular self-help app producing white noise. On average, the group with the polytherapeutic […]
An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can detect subtle brain abnormalities which cause epileptic seizures has been developed by a UCL-led team of international researchers. The Multicentre Epilepsy Lesion Detection project (MELD) used over 1,000 patient MRI scans from 22 global epilepsy centres to develop the algorithm, which provides reports of where abnormalities are in cases of drug-resistant focal cortical […]
The research uses machine learning technology to look at structural features within the brain, including in regions not previously associated with Alzheimer’s. The advantage of the technique is its simplicity and the fact that it can identify the disease at an early stage when it can be very difficult to diagnose. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, getting […]
Millions of older people with poor vision are at risk of being misdiagnosed with mild cognitive impairments, according to a new study by the University of South Australia. Cognitive tests that rely on vision-dependent tasks could be skewing results in up to a quarter of people aged over 50 who have undiagnosed visual problems such as cataracts or age-related macular […]
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