'Master Gene' Makes Mouse Brain Look More Human

A genetic mutation that causes mammalian neural tissue to expand and fold may help explain why humans evolved more elaborate brains than mice.

Your Brain on Math

Among the 100 million or so nerve cells in the brain, it turns out there is a group dedicated to making sense of numbers.

Scientists Locate Brain 'Hot Spot' Responsible for Numeral Recognition

For the first time ever, Stanford scientists have pinpointed a precise spot in the brain responsible for recognition of numerical symbols – such as "6" or "38."

Mapping the Brain Is a Journey, Not a Destination

Neuroscientist Dr. Zachary Litvak of The George Washington University explains what President Obama's funding initiative could mean for the field.

Obama Proposes Brain Mapping Project

President Obama announced an initial $100m investment to shed light on how the brain works and to provide insight into diseases such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

Should Science on Brain Injury Inspire a Ban on Boxing?

Advances in neuroscience mean scientists know more than ever about chronic brain damage and the long-term trauma that can result from frequent knocks to the head.

Deep-Brain Stimulation May Help Hard-to-Treat Anorexics

Deep-brain stimulation, a technique that has shown promise in treating mental disorders as well as Parkinson’s disease, may also help severe and enduring anorexia, a small, early-stage study suggests.

FDA Panel Backs Brain Stimulator for Epilepsy

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel has unanimously backed a device that lowers the rate of seizures among people with epilepsy.

Watching How the Brain Speaks

Most of us take it for granted, but a new brain map shows how complicated speaking actually is.

Brain Researchers Uncover Secrets of Memory

Researchers at the two schools found that separate areas of the brain coordinate much like little radio stations -- to form memories involving time and space.

A Tense Compromise on Defining Disorders

This month, the American Psychiatric Association announced that its board of trustees had approved the fifth edition of the association’s influential diagnostic manual — the so-called bible of mental disorders — ending more than five years of sometimes acrimonious, and often very public, controversy.

Calm Down Genes Treat Epilepsy in Rats

Adding "calm down" genes to hyperactive brain cells has completely cured rats of epilepsy for the first time, say UK researchers.

Epilepsy 'Is a Global Health Problem'

Epilepsy is twice as common in low and middle-income countries as it is in the developed world, according to an international team of researchers.

Electrical Brain Stimulation Curbs Epileptic Seizures in Rats

Researchers report that they have created a device able to short-circuit epileptic seizures in rats.

New Epilepsy Tactic: Fight Inflammation

It’s not known what sets off a seizure, but lately scientists have been gathering evidence that inflammation, the immune system’s response to injuries or foreign organisms, plays a pivotal role.

Genetic Link Between Epilepsy and Psychosis?

Emerging research suggests individuals with epilepsy have an increased risk of psychotic disorders including bipolar disease and schizophrenia.

Report: Epilepsy Surgery Underused Option When Drug Therapy Fails

Surgical intervention is grossly underutilized in epilepsy patients who do not receive relief from drug treatment.

Treating Epileptic Seizures in Kids by the Clock

Neurologist develops individualized plans for patients who don't respond to conventional drug therapies.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior.

Mysterious Nodding Disease Debilitates Children

Severe epilepsy-like seizures grip the children, they struggle to eat, and they become shells of their former selves. It is a progressive and debilitating syndrome that robs children of their future.