U of M News Wire: November 1, 2007

 
University of Minnesota researcher can spot the signs of several mental conditions in the magnetic activity of the brain
An orderly test for brain disorders

By Deane Morrison
U of M News Wire

People with brain disorders like schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, or multiple sclerosis may not be able to tell a doctor what's bothering them. But now their brain cells can, thanks to some ingenious detective work by University of Minnesota researcher Apostolos Georgopoulos.
 
Using a technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG), Georgopoulos and his research team were able to find patterns of magnetic activity in the brain's cerebral cortex that reliably signaled the presence of those three disorders, plus chronic alcoholism, Sjögren's syndrome, facial pain, and normal brain function. The work was published in August in the Journal of Neural Engineering.
 
The technique is the first to measure how the brain functions in real time. It may lead to a noninvasive test of brain function that could spot trouble in the early stages or monitor progress as patients undergo treatment. Already, Georgopoulos has found that the brain patterns of people with chronic alcoholism tend to revert toward normal as they abstain from alcohol.
 
"I did not expect to find this," says Georgopoulos, a Regents Professor of neuroscience and neurology. "It's like a silent movie of the brain." Georgopoulos is also director of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he holds the American Legion Brain Sciences Chair.
 
A salty tale

MEG works by picking up magnetic fields generated by ions--mostly sodium, a constituent of table salt--as they cross membranes of neurons. The membranes are in the fingerlike projections of neurons called dendrites, which function as receivers for messages from other cells. It takes the coherent motion of at least 10,000 or so ions to produce a signal strong enough to detect.
 
The advantage of MEG is its ability to detect brain activity on a scale of milliseconds. In contrast, MRI scans are like snapshots with about a three-second exposure--much too long to detect the rapid "crosstalk" of brain cells in a meaningful manner. And EEG signals are delayed and distorted by passing through soft tissues and the skull, resulting in imprecise or unreliable readings, Georgopoulos says.
 
In their MEG studies, the researchers placed an apparatus resembling a helmet on the heads of the subjects, who were asked to follow a point of light with their eyes for 45 to 60 seconds. Inside the helmet were 248 spikelike sensors, each of which detected the magnetic fields generated in a population consisting of tens of thousands of cortical cells. Together, the sensors scanned the magnetic activity over the whole cortex.
 
The researchers then used sophisticated statistics to zero in on a few interactions between cell populations that varied according to different brain conditions. From the different patterns of interactions, they were able to identify with 100 percent accuracy which of the 142 subjects had been diagnosed with each of the six brain disorders or had normal brain function.
 
"[This work] came out of my strong belief that the real function of the brain is in the interaction of its elements--that is, in the crosstalk," says Georgopoulos. "Exchange of information is the essence of brain function, which is defined as all interactions among all populations of cells.
 
"The dynamic function of the brain has been my obsession for years. For me, the biggest challenge is to find how the brain works on the millisecond level with all the 'buzzing' going on."
 
The emphasis on populations of cells is no accident. For many years, neuroscientists have recorded the activities of single neurons. But our brains are more like a vast array of neural choruses, each consisting of many neurons that sing together and respond to other choruses. Or, on a more prosaic note, one might say that committees do the real work of the brain.
 
Georgopoulos and his colleagues are now beginning long-term studies to see if they can predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease. They are also expanding their studies to include depression, fetal alcohol syndrome, gambling, and mild cognitive impairment of various kinds. And they've started taking data on a wide swath of healthy volunteers between the ages of 8 and 100.
 
"He is a huge asset to the university, not only because of how smart he is but because of how collaborative he is," says S. Charles Schulz, head of the psychiatry department. Schulz and Georgopoulos are studying brain disorders by means of MRI and neuropsychological data, which is taken from pencil and paper or computer tests of traits like attention, memory, and decision-making.
 
"In a preliminary study, we could differentiate young people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder from controls," says Schulz. "That is important in the early stages because clinical [signs] are not really clear." The two are now working to test statistical techniques to see if they can determine, when a schizophrenia patient first visits, what the early response to medication will be so treatment can be better tailored to the patient.
 
 
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University of Minnesota receives $45.6 million from Department of Energy to build new lab in northern Minnesota
 
By Mark Cassutt
U of M News Wire

The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded the University of Minnesota a $45.6 million, four-year cooperative agreement to the university's School of Physics and Astronomy to build a new international physics laboratory near the Ash River, about 40 miles southeast of International Falls.
 
Building the lab is the first step in an estimated $250 million project to be funded by the Department of Energy to further study neutrinos, fundamental building blocks of matter that can help researchers discover how the Universe was formed and how it will develop in the future.
 
The proposed laboratory, named the NuMI Off-Axis Electron Neutrino Appearance (NOvA) Detector Facility at Ash River Site, will be constructed on a 90-acre site about one mile south of Voyageurs National Park and will be operated by an international group of scientists known as the NOvA Collaboration.
 
This new laboratory expands the university's international reputation as a leader in cutting-edge research on neutrinos. The University of Minnesota currently runs the Soudan Underground Science Laboratory near Tower. The only laboratory of its kind in the United States. The Department of Energy Office of Science also provides funding for this laboratory.
 
"The planning for the NOvA Facility has been years in the making, and we're very pleased that it will soon become a reality," said University of Minnesota physics professor Marvin Marshak, a lead faculty member on the project. "This project will provide tremendous opportunities for University of Minnesota faculty and students to work with experts around the world on important research that could unlock clues to the formation of our Universe."
 
When the new neutrino laboratory is completed, the University of Minnesota will collaborate with approximately 200 scientists and engineers from 33 institutions in seven countries to build a 15,000-ton neutrino detector and install this device in the laboratory. This neutrino detector will cost about $150 million. The Department of Energy is expected to provide most of these funds.
 
The Department of Energy also plans to invest approximately $50 million into improvements of the existing neutrino beam that now sends neutrinos from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) near Chicago to the university's Soudan Underground Science Laboratory. The Neutrino Detector near Ash River will utilize this same beam at a distance about 50 miles further from Fermilab than Soudan.
 
"This level of funding commitment from the Department of Energy demonstrates that the University of Minnesota is among the top public research universities in the country," said Steven Crouch, dean of the Institute of Technology, the university's college of engineering, physical sciences and mathematics. "We are a leader on the world stage in this type of physics research."
 
A high level of international interest in studying neutrinos has continued to develop in recent years. Neutrinos comprise three of the 12 fundamental building blocks of matter. They exist in large numbers in the Universe due to production during the Big Bang and ongoing production in stars and by the cosmic rays that are naturally incident on the Earth from outer space.
 
During the past two decades, studies in several parts of the world indicated that neutrinos have mass, contrary to previous expectations. Neutrino mass can be measured by observing a process known as neutrino oscillations, in which neutrinos spontaneously change from one type to another. The MINOS Far Detector that is currently operating in the university's Soudan Laboratory studies the spontaneous transition of muon-type neutrinos to tau-type neutrinos.
 
The university's new NOvA Detector will search for a transition of muon-type neutrinos to electron-type neutrinos. This process is expected to occur but has not yet been observed. Studies of this process are expected to yield information about the nature of one of the fundamental forces in the Universe, known as the weak interaction. Another goal is to probe the possibility that the unusual properties of neutrinos are related to the absence of large quantities of anti-matter in the Universe. A complementary experiment is under construction in Japan.
 
"This is a great example of how universities are an integral part of the Department of Energy's scientific research program," said Robin Staffin, senior advisor to the director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science. "NOvA will be at the forefront of neutrino science in the next decade, but we would not be able to do it without outstanding research groups like the University of Minnesota."
 
In addition to Marshak, other University of Minnesota professors involved in the NOvA project include Kenneth Heller, Dan Cronin-Hennessy, Earl Peterson, Ronald Poling, Keith Ruddick and Roger Rusack. William Miller is the supervisor for the university's laboratories at Soudan and Ash River.
 
 
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Growing Concerns
A parenting question-and-answer column with Dr. Martha Erickson of the University of Minnesota

Question:  Our son always has done very well in school. He learns quickly, gets good scores on tests, and participates well in class.  However, this year (in fifth grade) he has quite a bit of homework, including some long-term projects, and he’s losing points in class because his assignments are incomplete or he loses his papers. I want to help him, but my husband says it’s important for our son to take responsibility. What do you advise?
 
Answer: Assuming your son is still doing well in the classroom and on tests, this problem most likely reflects a lack of organizational skills. Although your husband is right that a fifth-grader needs to be accountable for his own work, many children require some adult coaching and encouragement to develop strategies for managing work and completing tasks. Here are some steps you could take to help your son become more responsible for his homework.
 
• Work with your son to develop a system for organizing his assignments, perhaps a pocket folder for each subject or a 3-ring binder with dividers.  Give him a small pocket calendar in which he can mark the due dates for assignments.
 
• Set aside one place at home where he will keep his homework, perhaps a basket or an office tray with an “in box” and “out box” that he can keep on a kitchen counter or near the coat closet.  Monitor this with him until using it becomes a habit.
 
• Each evening go over his assignments with him to help him plan how he’ll proceed. Then have him show you each assignment when he thinks it’s complete. If anything is missing – or the work doesn’t match the teacher’s directions – have him re-do it right away.
 
• Figure out together a place where he can work most comfortably without distraction. Encourage him to think about how he works best – alone in his room or at the kitchen table while someone else is working nearby? Should he do his homework in total silence or with music in the background?
 
• Decide on a work schedule that suits him best. He may need a break after school to let off steam, or he may find it works best to do the work right after school and then relax.  What’s important is that your son tune in to his own rhythms and figure out what works best for him.
 
• Communicate with your son’s teacher and let him or her know about the plan you and your son are implementing so the teacher can encourage your son’s efforts. Request a weekly note or phone call from the teacher to let you know whether your son’s work is complete and on time.
 
• Recognize your son’s progress. Some kids work best if parents chart their progress or celebrate each successful week with a special activity or favorite meal. Others find verbal encouragement to be enough. Whatever your son needs, recognize that he’s working hard to learn something that may not come naturally to him.
 
By catching this problem early and engaging your son in figuring out how to work it through, you will be helping him build critical skills for lifelong success.          
 
Dr. Erickson is a senior fellow and director of the Harris Programs in the Center for Early Childhood Education at the University of Minnesota
 
Want to hear more parenting advice?
Dr. Erickson and her daughter can be heard every Sunday, from 2 - 4 p.m., on “Good Enough Moms,” on FM107.1 radio in the Twin Cities or via Webcast at www.FM1071.com