The reason why chronic pain is chronic appears to be linked to its persistent memory in the prefrontal cortex. A new study by Dr. Vania Apkarian, professor of physiology and anesthesiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, shows that treatment with a drug called D-cycloserine, apart from being effective in relieving the “emotional suffering” from old injuries, also reduces the sensitivity of old injury sites. Read more →

The genetic basis for Alzheimer’s disease has been a focus of research in recent years, and the gene most studied so far has been the ApoE gene, which codes for apoprotein E, a blood protein concerned with the transport of lipids in blood. Specifically, ApoE is thought to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis, the laying of fatty plaques inside the walls of our arteries. Read more →

The human brain recognizes “patterns” as a natural way of looking at places and things. The feeling of deja vu is the result of such a pattern match; although we might not actually have been in a similar situation, the brain thinks it has, and produces a feeling of familiarity.

New research published online in Science reveals that specific neuronal pathways in the learning and memory center of our brain, the hippocampus, is crucial for rapidly “comparing” two scenarios based on visual cues, thus identifying similar contexts. In turn, this can lead to the feeling of familiarity we often get in odd places and circumstances, termed deja vu. Read more →

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2007 finally overcame the republican opposition in recent years, and got through the House of the Representatives. With a change in the recent composition of the senate, there is a good chance it would get through there as well. In the recent hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, reemphasized that the “fear of genetic discrimination” threatened the advancement of biomedical research, and urged legislators to vote in favor of the bill so that individuals may “participate in scientific research without the fear of employment or health discrimination.” But does it really? Read more →

Can the mind cure the mind, working on itself? Well, although the entire self-help psychology industry survives on an assumption that it does — with various techniques, young and old, aimed at self-therapy, scientific research on the subject is still in its early stage.

Mindfulness meditation, or more commonly known as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in psychiatric parlance, has been used “successfully” for years in individuals with a variety of medical disorders, including stress, chronic pain, depression, fibromyalgia, and eating disorders. Read more →

It is now established beyond any doubt that women in particular can die of a broken heart. The good news is that if you can make it to hospital, your chances of survival are pretty high.

First described in 2005 in Japan, the Tako-tsubo syndrome (or the “broken heart syndrome”) is being increasingly reported in world literature, although it must have been happening all the time. In 80% of cases, it reportedly occurs in post-menopausal women above 60 years of age after an episode of stress or occasionally related to anger. Death of a close relative is the most common situation. Read more →