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Archive for the ‘Field / Technique’ Category

Using machine learning, Harvard researchers create a web-based tool to diagnose autism in minutes

08May12

Original full text of the study available from Translational Psychiatry here. Conventionally, children are diagnosed using Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R) a 93-question survey, and/or the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) which measures behavior. The two test can take up to 2.5 hours and must be administered by clinical professionals. Dennis Wall–the lead author of the paper and director […]

Filed under: Autism, Behavior, Disease, Human, Psychiatric, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

New sequencing study links autism to FMRP, the gene disrupted in fragile X syndrome and a regulator of synaptic plasticity

08May12

Scientists reported a new connection between autism and fragile x syndrome in the latest issue of neuron. They sequenced the exomes–the parts of DNA that code proteins–of 343 families that had a single child with autism and at least one unaffected sibling. Looking at de novo mutations (ones that occurred in the sperm or egg […]

Filed under: Autism, Disease, Fragile X, Genetics, Human, Plasticity, Psychiatric | Leave a Comment
Tags: ASD, de novo mutations, exome sequencing, FMRP, genetics of psychiatric disease, rare mutations, simons simplex, synaptic plasticity

Mirror Touch Synesthesia and the Genetics of Synesthesia

06May12

Imagine cold fingers creeping up someone’s calf. Now imagine that whenever you saw someone else being touched, you would feel the sensation on your own body. That is mirror-touch synesthesia. Psychologists at UCL verified mirror-touch synesthesia and further showed its linked with heightened empathy in their report in Nature Neuroscience.

Filed under: Behavior, Genetics, Human, SNPs, Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Genetics of Sleep – How much do you need?

29Nov11

Whenever I hear a friend talk about how they only sleep 6 hours a night—I feel a combination of pity (that must be rough) and annoyance (how can they do that to themselves), but reading up on the genetics of sleep maybe I should be feeling jealousy (since I need at least 8 solid hours). […]

Filed under: Channels, Drosophila, Genetics, Human, Metabolic Syndrome, Molecular, Public Health, Sleep | 1 Comment

Can THC treat Anorexia and Bulemia? – Endocannabinoid systems are altered in eating disorders

02Nov11

“The munchies” — an effect of THC causing heightened craving and enjoyment of food after taking is currently used to help HIV patients and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy patients maintain their weight. New research indicates that THC could help anorexics and bulemics regain weight–though probably not through “the munchies.” A new PET imaging study reported […]

Filed under: Drugs, Eating Disorders, Insula, PET scan, Pharmacology, Psychiatric | Leave a Comment
Tags: Anorexia, Bulemia, CB1, endocannabinoid, mk-9470, PET Study, THC

Videos have now been uploaded from MIT’s Symposium on the Emerging Genetics and Neurobiology of Severe Mental Illness

02Nov11

http://www.broadinstitute.org/scientific-community/science/programs/psychiatric-disease/symposium/session-videos This two-day symposium, hosted by Drs. Ed Scolnick of the Broad Institute’s Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Li-Huei Tsai of MIT’s Picower Institute and Guoping Feng of MIT’s McGovern Institute, brought together leading scientists who work on the emerging genetics and biology of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism and other mental illnesses. These illnesses cause […]

Filed under: Genetics, Links, Psychiatric, Talks | Leave a Comment
Tags: Broad, GWAS, Mental Illness, Psychiatric, Sequencing, Stanley Center, Symposium

MPA, the Hormone used in the Depo Provera birth control shot, causes memory problems in rats

02Nov11

A new study published in Psychopharmacology shows young rats injected with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) performed worse on behavioral memory tests. MPA’s memory impairment persisted even once it had been cleared from the blood. MPA is the active component of the Depo Provera shot but not found in other hormonal contraceptives. The finding is especially significant […]

Filed under: Behavior, Hippocampus, Hormones, Memory, Public Health, Rat | Leave a Comment
Tags: Depo Provera, GAD, MPA, Water Radial Arm Maze

Epigenetics and The Brain — 5-hydroxy-methocytosines

31Oct11

Detecting 5-hmCs 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5-hmC) went undiscovered because they showed up like other 5-methoxycytosines through bisulfide sequencing. The neuroscientists behind a new study in Nature Neuroscience profiles 5-hmC across development using T4 bacteriophage B-glucosyltransferase to transfer an engineered glucose-azide moiety onto the the hydroxyl of 5-hmC. This moiety was then detected and used to map 5-hmCs […]

Filed under: Aging, Epigenetics, Genetics, Molecular, Mouse | Leave a Comment
Tags: 5-hmC, B-glucosyltransferase, DIPseq, MECP2, TET

Scientists record lucid dreams with EEG and fMRI simultaneously

31Oct11

Scientists at the Max Planck institute in Munich, Germany recruited six lucid dreamers with years of experience for their study. Once in their dream, the subjects signaled researchers with left-right-left-right eye movements and then immediately started clenching their left hand ten times. Then they performed the eye movements again and made ten clenches with their […]

Filed under: Dreams, eeg, fMRI, Human, Motor, Sleep | 1 Comment
Tags: EEG, EOG, fMRI, imaging, Lucid dreams, sleep

New technique electro-oflactogram (EOG) records olfaction in humans–finds smells arranged by pleasantness

28Oct11

This brand new method developed by Hadas Lapid et al. sticks an electrode into the nose with an exposed tip that directly contacts the nasal olfactory epithelium. Subjects hold their breath as odorants are blown into the nose to avoid artifacts from breathing. The study found that the epithelium seemed to be divided into patches […]