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Singing Birds May Lead To New Health Discovery (Middletown-WTNH, Nov. 24, 2003 5:00 PM) _ What do birds and botox have to do with the human brain? There's a unique study going on at the neuroscience and behavior department at Wesleyan University. It's basic research that could lead to new treatment for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Watch the story with News Channel 8's Jocelyn Maminta http://video.wtnh.com/news/2003/nov/clips/11242003-botox.ram Their sweet sound could be the high note researchers are looking for in trying to understand how a human brain functions. "Birds are really unique among warm blooded animals in that they continue to produce new brain cells in a really widespread manner throughout life." How that could lead to therapies for brain damage in humans has John Kirn overseeing a study with songbirds at Wesleyan University. That's because the canary and the zebra finch are able to produce new brain cells specifically for singing. "So it provides us with a very specific part of the brain to look at in terms of trying to relate brain functions to behavior." There is something else unique about this research? They're using botox to figure out how the birds are able to manufacture new cells. The botox is injected temporarily paralyzing the birds' vocal chords so they can't control making their own music. "Then we can get an idea, how much, which components of this complex behavior are in fact regulating neuronal replacements." You can actually hear how the botox impacts the birds' song. It's certainly not as clear as the first time you heard it. If researchers are able to determine how songbirds regenerate new brain cells to replace old ones they could find a way to duplicate that process in the human brain. The study is being funded by the national institutes of health. The results will be published next May. SOURCE: WTNH, CT http://www.wtnh.com/global/story.asp?s=1538594&ClientType=Printable * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn