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glutamate

Noninvasive 'virtual biopsy' diagnoses brain injury

For many, getting hit in the head too many times might bring to mind famed boxer Muhammad Ali, but brain injuries across several sports, including hockey and American football, have prompted investigations into headgear and even the nature of the sports themselves.

For now, the only way to diagnose what is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is to inspect brain tissue during autopsies--in other words, after the point at which such a diagnosis could help the afflicted.

So while results from a study out of Boston of a noninvasive "virtual biopsy" technique on live subjects are both small-scale … Read more

Does cocaine permanently change brain structure?

Cocaine addiction is notoriously tough to beat. Engineers at the University of Missouri in Columbia, using computational models, think they now better understand why.

"Our model showed that the glutamate transporters, a protein present around these connections that remove glutamate, are almost 40 percent less functional after chronic cocaine usage," says Ashwin Mohan, a doctoral student in the department of electrical and computer engineering. "This damage is long lasting, and there is no way for the brain to regulate itself. Thus, the brain structure in this context actually changes in cocaine addicts."

The team found that … Read more