Dyslexia may be prevented by brain training activities

Effective activities could be used to train the brain to prevent future disorders such as dyslexia, scientists say.

Over the years, several studies have shown that the the brain is able to naturally adjust the frequency of its waves with the oscillations or the rhythm of what it listens at each moment.

However, little was known so far of the consequences of the effect of brain synchronisation, also known as brain-entrainment, in brain regions directly related to language processing.

Researchers  studied this aspect and has thoroughly analysed the brain synchronisation of 72 individuals.

According to a researcher, the experiment has shown that the synchronisation with speech is more intense when the brain listens to low frequency waves - those related to the accent, tones and intonation of speech.

The study showed that this synchronisation results in a direct activation of the brain regions related to language processing, as is the case of the Broca area, a section located in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere and involved in the production of the same.

In previous work, researchers found that children with dyslexia show a weak synchronisation with low frequency bands, and therefore, a poor activation of the regions related to language processing.

The researcher said that therapeutic interventions focused on language learning can be developed during childhood by stimulating low frequency auditory components and thus obtain a clearer idea of the sounds that make up the language.

"For example, brain synchronisation can be measured while a child with dyslexia is listening and giving a reward if it stimulates more synchronisation with the low frequency band," said the researcher. "It can help those who are out of sync to pay more attention to the tones, accents and intonations of speech," she said.

This could be applicable to tasks with speech therapists, developing specific interventions to synchronise with low frequency speech.

"With repeated training sessions we can help children with language delay to recover the mechanisms of attention," the researcher said.

The researchers conducted two studies with 35 and 37 individuals respectively; these individuals had to listen to different sentences for about six minutes.

Through magneto encephalography (MEG), a non-invasive technique that allows accurately recording and analysing the neuronal activity of the brain while the participants perform a task as simple as listening to talk, the brain regions that were synchronised with the different frequency bands were analysed.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.    

PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO VIEW MY BLOG-                      
HTTP:GSEASYRECIPES.BLOGSPOT.COM/

FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                     

HTTP://KNEE REPLACEMENT-STICK CLUB.BLOGSPOT.COM/
FOR CROCHET DESIGNS
HTTP://MY CROCHET CREATIONS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Maternal exercise benefits newborn brain development

Though pregnant women are advised to consult their doctor before beginning an exercise program, researchers  have found that expectant mothers who exercise at least 20 minutes three times per week could be giving their child a head-start, cerebrally speaking.

"Our research indicates that exercise during pregnancy enhances the newborn child's brain development," says a  Prof. 

He notes that comparable results have been found in animal studies, but theirs is the first trial in humans to show the link between exercise during pregnancy and benefits for the brains of newborns.

Prof. , who also helped conduct the research, notes: "Given that exercise has been demonstrated to be beneficial for the adult's brain, we hypothesized that it could also be beneficial for the unborn child through the mother's actions."

To conduct their research, the team randomly assigned women starting at the beginning of their second trimester to either an exercise group or a sedentary group.

The women in the exercise group completed at least 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise that resulted in at least a slight shortness of breath three times per week, while the women in the sedentary group did not exercise.

'Mature cerebral activation'

After the births of the newborns, the researchers analysed their brain activity between the ages of 8 to 12 days. They used electroencephalography, allowing them to record the electrical activity of the newborns' brains.

The team placed 124 soft electrodes on each infant's head and then waited for each baby to fall asleep in his or her mother's lap, after which they measured "auditory memory" via the brain's "unconscious response" to both repeated and new sounds.

other researches who also conducted the research, reveals their findings: "Our results show that the babies born from the mothers who were physically active have a more mature cerebral activation, suggesting that their brains developed more rapidly."

The researchers note that although in the recent past, obstetricians told pregnant women to mostly rest for 9 months, it is now commonly known that inactivity can create health risks.

"While being sedentary increases the risks of suffering complications during pregnancy," says Prof. "being active can ease post-partum recovery, make pregnancy more comfortable and reduce the risk of obesity in the children."

Hopes for public health interventions

Prof. says he hopes their results will "guide public health interventions and research on brain plasticity." He adds that they are "optimistic that this will encourage women to change their health habits, given that the simple act of exercising during pregnancy could make a difference for their child's future."

He told Medical News Today that the "advanced cerebral maturation" the researchers observed in newborns of active mothers "could imply that babies acquire speech more rapidly, and the same could be true for their motor development." He noted that this could also help with their "intellectual and social development"

The team is continuing to assess the children's cognitive, motor and language development at 1-year-old, in order to determine if these brain differences remain over longer periods of time.

Mothers who exercise will gain additional benefits, as it was recently reported that new findings revealed exercise may ward off Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. 

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

for crochet designs

http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com

New drug for inherited cancer identified

 Scientists have identified a new drug that can potentially treat an inherited form of cancer that has no cure.

 The new study showed the drug candidate - known as FRAX97 - slowed the proliferation and progression of tumour cells in animal models of Neurofibromatosis type 2.

This inherited type of cancer, caused by mutations in the anti-tumour gene NF2, leads to tumours of the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain.

 The new compound, originally developed to treat neuro-degenerative disease, targets a protein family known as p21-activated kinases or PAKs.

 These kinases (enzymes that add a phosphate group to other proteins and change their function) play a critical role in the development of Neurofibromatosis type 2. PAK1 has also been implicated in the growth of breast and lung cancers.

 "Our study shows that if we inhibit these kinases we can counter the formation of tumours in this brain disease," said an  associate professor who led the study.

 In the new study, researchers showed that the inhibitor slows down progression of Neurofibromatosis type 2 in animal models and reduces more than 80 per cent of PAK1 activity.

They noted a key challenge in developing drug candidates is finding potential agents that are both potent and highly selective for their targets - limiting its action to the desired arena and reducing unwanted side effects.

 "This inhibitor turned out to be both potent and highly selective," he said.

 "The real question is why. We were able to show that it works through a unique mechanism," he said.

 While the binding site on PAK1 is quite large, it also contains a smaller pocket, a kind of back-room that juts off the larger site.

 The inhibitor not only takes up space in the larger site, but enters the back pocket as well. That extra binding gives the inhibitor its strong selectivity.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

for crochet designs

http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com

Babies in the womb react to mother's voice

Babies in the womb react to mother's voice: Study

PTI : Melbourne, Tue Jun 18 2013, 15:42 hrs   

Diabetes Free Lifestyle  xcode.in/diabetes-prPrevent Diabetes From Hindering  Your Active Living. Join Us Now!Ads by Google

 3G +6SU0Reddit0 14

It is quite fascinating how the foetus learns to recognise and react to the mother's voice before prior to birth. 

Babies in the womb respond to their mothers' voice, even paying attention when they're read a story, a new study has found. Researchers asked 74 women who were 36 weeks pregnant to read for two minutes while their babies' heart rate and movements were monitored.

They found babies stopped moving and lowered their heart rate when their mother started reading aloud to them, study lead author  said. "It is quite fascinating how the foetus learns to recognise and react to the mother's voice before prior to birth - here, we showed that they can detect onset of maternal voice and differences in maternal voice," she said.

"Some women were napping prior to asking them to read aloud from a passage - these foetuses showed a brief startle to onset of maternal voice," she said. She said the heart rate of foetuses lowered and movement stopped when mothers switched from chatting to reading aloud, it is reported.

"The near-term foetus has a mature auditory system that reliably detects and responds to sound," she said. The researchers concluded a mother's voice "shapes auditory learning in uterus with implications for postnatal recognition of, and preference for, the maternal voice".




ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

for crochet designs

http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com/

I've not given details about designs, but those interested are free to mail me for the same.