Studies and Analyses

New study links possible role of ephedrine in the sudden cardiac death of people with asymptomatic heart disease

Each year 80 to 100,000 Americans die suddenly from heart attacks without ever having had any symptoms of heart disease. In some cases, the victims of these unheralded sudden cardiac deaths had been taking dietary supplements containing ephedrine. In a new study in the Oct. 26, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers show how ep

The preference for Coke versus Pepsi is not only a matter for the tongue to decide, Samuel McClure and his colleagues have found. Brain scans of people tasting the soft drinks reveal that knowing which drink they’re tasting affects their preference and activates memory-related brain regions that recall cultural influences. Thus, say the researchers, they have shown neurologically how a culturally based brand image influences a behavioral choice.

These choices are affected

In two studies at McMaster University’s Department of Kinesiology, researchers demonstrated that doing isometric handgrip (IHG) contractions three times a week for eight weeks led to lower blood pressure in people who were already taking medication for high blood pressure (hypertension).

The studies looked at whether the flexibility of arteries and the function of blood vessels—both of which improve after IGH—were factors in reducing blood pressure in people taking anti-hypertensiv

Experiment at NYU find neurological underpinnings of economic game theory

In article in today’s issue of the journal Neuron, two neuroscientists – Paul Glimcher of New York University and Michael Dorris, a former NYU colleague currently at Queens University, Canada – offer evidence for the neurological basis for the theories of John Nash, the Nobel-winning economist who pioneered game theory. The findings in the Neuron article are a major advancement in the increasingly promi

Epilepsia, the official publication of the International League Against Epilepsy, recently published a one-year follow-up study that finds some post-surgical epilepsy patients have a significant decline in verbal memory. This type of memory loss is associated with learning, recall and recognition.

Three months after surgery, patients with surgery performed on either the left or right brain tissue showed signs of verbal memory loss. Initially, the resulting loss of memory was th

A recent study published in Epilepsia, the official journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), indicates that people who have uncontrolled seizures on the left side of their brains are more likely to have learning disabilities, in comparison to people who have seizures on the right side of their brains. Epilepsy, a neurological disorder associated with recurrent seizures, affects 0.5% to 1% of the population. In theU.S., about 2.5 million people have this disorder and about 9%