My Picks From ScienceDaily (Neuro edition)

Lots of interesting Neuro/Behavioral stuff came out lately, some really cool, some questionable...so you let me know what you think:

Brain's White Matter: More 'Talkative' Than Once Thought:

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered to their surprise that nerves in the mammalian brain's white matter do more than just ferry information between different brain regions, but in fact process information the way gray matter cells do. The discovery in mouse cells, outlined in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience, shows that brain cells "talk" with each other in more ways than previously thought. "We were surprised to see these nerve axons talking to other cells in the white matter," says Dwight Bergles, Ph.D., an associate professor of neuroscience at Hopkins.

Traumas Like Sept. 11 Make Brains More Reactive To Fear:

According to a new brain study, even people who seemed resilient but were close to the World Trade Center when the twin towers toppled on Sept. 11, 2001, have brains that are more reactive to emotional stimuli than those who were more than 200 miles away.

Newborn Neurons Like To Hang With The 'In' Crowd:

Like any new kid on the block that tries to fit in, newborn brain cells need to find their place within the existing network of neurons. The newcomers jump right into the fray and preferentially reach out to mature brain cells that are already well connected within the established circuitry, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience.

Genetic Roots Of Bipolar Disorder Revealed By First Genome-wide Study Of Illness:

The likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself, a new study shows. However, targeting the enzyme produced by one of these genes could lead to development of new, more effective medications. The research was conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), with others from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn and a number of U.S. facilities collaborating in a major project called the NIMH Genetics Initiative.

Cigarette Marketing Practices In Retail Stores Encourage Teen Smoking:

Tobacco display advertising in retail stores appears to be associated with teens experimenting with cigarette smoking, while promotional giveaways and price breaks may be associated with the transition to regular smoking among youth, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Sexual Dysfunction Study Designed To Help Women:

The kids. The job. The house. The cell phone, blackberry and email. With all the responsibilities many women juggle, there is often no time for romance, and in many cases, even less desire. Well over a third (40 - 45%) of adult women experience at least one symptom of sexual dysfunction, and few feel they can talk about it.

Sex On The Brain:

New evidence on sex differences in people's brains and behaviors emerges with the publication of results from the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Sex ID Internet Survey. Survey questions and tests focused on participants' sex-linked cognitive abilities, personality traits, interests, sexual attitudes and behavior, as well as physical traits.

Role Of Noise In Neurons:

Addressing a current issue in neuroscience, Aldo Faisal and Simon Laughlin from Cambridge University investigate the reliability of thin axons for transmitting information. They show that noise effects in ion channels in the brain are much larger than previously assumed -- meaning the fidelity of transmission is compromised.

Men's Infidelity Across Cultures Inevitable: Wives At Risk For HIV, According To New Study:

For a growing number of women in rural Mexico -- and around the world -- marital sex represents their single greatest risk for HIV infection. According to a new Mailman School of Public Health Study, because marital infidelity by men is so deeply ingrained across many cultures, existing HIV prevention programs are putting a growing number of women at risk of developing the HIV virus.

Spiritual Beliefs, Practices May Help Smokers Quit:

Unlike many traditional alcohol and drug dependence treatment programs, mainstream smoking cessation programs generally exclude spiritual practice and beliefs from the treatment process. But a study by Oregon Health & Science University Smoking Cessation Center researchers reveals many smokers are receptive to and may benefit from their own spiritual resources, when attempting to quit.

Gene Mutation Linked To Cognition Is Found Only In Humans:

The human and chimpanzee genomes vary by just 1.2 percent, yet there is a considerable difference in the mental and linguistic capabilities between the two species. A new study showed that a certain form of neuropsin, a protein that plays a role in learning and memory, is expressed only in the central nervous systems of humans and that it originated less than 5 million years ago. The study, which also demonstrated the molecular mechanism that creates this novel protein, will be published online in Human Mutation, the official journal of the Human Genome Variation Society.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Impairs A Person's Slow Wave Activity During Sleep:

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been associated with altered amounts of slow wave sleep, which could reflect reduced electroencephalograph (EEG) activity and impaired sleep regulation. A study published in the journal SLEEP finds that CFS is also associated with a blunted slow wave activity (SWA) response to sleep challenge, suggesting an impairment of the basic sleep drive and homeostatic response.

Men's Sexual Behavior Adapts To Perceived Threats, Research Suggests:

A review of the latest research in sexual adaptation shows that evidence is building for what researchers call "sperm competition." According to a review appearing in Current Directions in Psychological Science, physical and behavioral sexual characteristics exhibited by human males indicate that males have evolved to deliver their sperm more effectively to females with multiple partners.

New Take On Sexual Signaling:

In dangerous environments, females looking for a mate run great risks. Scientists from Seoul National University, in Korea, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama present a new take on sexual signaling in the May issue of the Public Library of Science. The researchers report that females prefer a male sexual signal that helps them avoid their predators as they sequentially visit and assess potential mates.