New studies offer vivid examples of how advances in basic brain research help reduce the trauma and suffering of innocent landmine victims, amateur and professional athletes, and members of the military.
The research was presented today at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
From the playing field to the battlefield, neuroscientists are gaining better understanding of what happens to the brain when it suffers traumatic injury or repeated hits. While the chronic learning and memory deficits that often accompany such damage have been resistant to treatment, opportunities for effective early intervention to minimize long-term damage may be on the horizon. Scientists are also creatively applying new insights into how our brain senses odors, to better detect landmines and help both soldiers and civilians avoid becoming casualties of war.
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"These studies are particularly outstanding for how they take some of the most complex and cutting edge science of our time and translate it into practical applications that can have an enormous, visible impact on people's lives," said Jane Roskams, PhD, of the University of British Columbia, an expert on brain repair and neural regeneration. "That one day a mere mouse might save a child from losing a limb while walking across an old mine field, or a simple dietary supplement could make life more bearable for a brain injury victim shows why the field of neuroscience is attracting so much interest these days."
This research was supported by national funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as private and philanthropic organizations.
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Materials provided by Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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