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Columbia University researchers have successfully identified the cellular network that allows mice to remember which environments are safe and which are dangerous. The study also looks into what happens when these neurons are tampered with, offering insight into how conditions such as PTDS, panic attacks and anxiety disorders can be treated.
In a collaborative effort by the Oregon Healthy and Science University and the University of Pittsburgh researchers have been able to identify the genes whose role is to trigger the onset of puberty, and manipulate them to delay puberty in female rats. They hope that the discovery will help determine exactly why causes early-onset puberty in females.
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, looking into the effects depression has on the brain have found proof linking the disorder with abnormal brain development in preschoolers. Their study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, shows how gray matter is thinner and lower in volume in the cortex, an area of the brain that plays a key role in processing emotions.
Northwestern University neuroscientists have developed a method that allows them to pinpoint communicating neurons in a living fly's brain -- effectively paving the way for mind-reading. Their mapping of specific neural connection patterns could provide insight into the computational processes that underlie the workings of the human brain.
What generates the different takes on the same problem between men and women? It's not the brain -- we know that for all intents and purposes, brains can't be distinguished by sex (but they do form connections differently). Cultural conditioning, upbringing and other factors certainly play a part in this, and that can't be quantified. But Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) team was interested in the effect of something we can quantify -- sexual hormones.
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, or so the old adage goes. But it's wrong.
We all know that men like to impress the fairer members of our species, and this permeates into almost everything we do: we want to drive the shiniest car on the block, crack the funniest jokes 24/7 and write for ZMEScience so we can impress the ladies at parties. In essence, no matter how unlikely it is to actually impress, if a man has a choice between doing something and doing that something over the top so he can show off to women, you can bet your right arm he's gonna do the latter.
A paper published recently in Nature Communications details how a team lead by Dr. Ben Wilson and Professor Chris Petkov used a brain imaging technique to identify the neuronal evolutionary origins of language. Their findings help us understand how we learn to speak, and could allow new treatments for those who lose this ability from aphasia after a stroke or dementia.
Scientists at the Georgia State University, Georgia Regents University and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center found that the brain uses sweet foods to form the memory of a meal. The paper shows how the neurons in the dorsal hippocampus -- a part of the brain that is critical for episodic memory -- are activated by consuming sweets.
It was a finding that sent ripples throughout the entire paleontology community. Met with heavy criticism, the authors are now vindicated.
Women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) show elevated levels of testosterone and testosterone derivatives in their systems, as well as an increased risk of anxiety and depression. As the offspring of these women (both sons and daughters) show similar symptoms, it's been believed that PCOS can be transmitted through genetic code. However, a new idea comes to question this -- specifically, the fact that the fetuses of mothers with PCOS are gestating in high levels of testosterone is what causes these symptoms.
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed implantable devices that can activate -- and in theory, block too -- pain signals traveling from the body through the spinal cord before they reach the brain.
The blood-brain barrier has been broken for the first time in history, and this can revolutionize some areas of cancer treatment.
We're living in the future.
Money. It makes the brain go nuts!
A preliminary study from Switzerland, published this month in the Annals of Neurology, proved the effectiveness of a new method of non-invasive brain surgery: using a newly-developed operating device that relies on ultrasound, in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allowed neurosurgeons to precisely remove small pieces of brain tissue in nine patients suffering from chronic pain without removing skin or skull bone. Researchers now plan to test it on patients with other disorders, such as Parkinson's. Neal Kassell, neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia, not directly involved in the study.
What exactly makes you thirsty? Dehydration, obviously, but how does your brain know that your body needs water? And how does that grey, squishy lump resting in your cool and comfortable cranium, know when your body needs to heat up or cool off? Scientists at the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute (RI-MUHC) and Duke University have asked themselves just that, and being scientists, went ahead to find out.
Prosthetics has come a long way from its humble beginnings – the crude wooden legs of yore are a far cry from the technological marvels we can create to replace our limbs today. However, there is one thing that, with all our know-how, we haven’t yet been able to incorporate in them: a sense of touch. A research team from Stanford University aims to fix this shortcoming, and has developed technology that can “feel” when force is exerted upon it, then transmit the sensory data to brain cells – in essence, they’ve created an artificial skin.
Scientists have developed devices that move us one step closer towards eliminating the need for animal testing. These working miniature artificial brains would be ideal for testing drugs research, neural tissue transplants, or experiments with stem cells.
Each memory relies on three critical elements, those being the "what," "where" and "when" building blocks. Neuroscientists from MIT have identified a brain circuit -- connecting the hippocampus and a region of the cortex known as entorhinal cortex -- that handles the "when" and "where" components.
University of Washington researchers have created the first telepathic link between two humans. Their technique didn't rely on supernatural powers, but rather on nerve impulses, electrodes, and advanced science.
A 28-year old who has been paralyzed for more than a decade following a spinal cord injury has become the first person to be able to “feel” physical sensations, through a special prosthetic developed by DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a US agency responsible for the development of emerging technologies, mostly for military purposes. The […]
Humans are naturally lazy, as they'll always find a way to execute a movement, even a simple act like walking, with the least expenditure of energy. Our nervous system, it seems, is hot-hired to find the optimal energy balance for any movement. It's so good at it, that it adapts to a new gait or environment within a matter of minutes.
Though initially made for narcoleptics (people having trouble sleeping), many soon caught on that modafinil can enhance cognitive abilities. Right now, it's a favorite among students who use it when preparing for exams with visible results, they claim. But modafinil isn't the first such "smart drug" we've come across. It's likely that you've seen some TV or internet ads marketing 'smart pills' that supposedly enhance cognitive abilities, but with mere anecdotal evidence backing it up. In contrast, modafinil really seems to be a legit smart drug, according to a systematic review of reports documenting the effects of the drug. The meta-analysis was made by a team at University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School.
Several cultural beliefs and modern social practices may hinder children's mental, moral and emotional development, finds a study by an interdisciplinary body of research presented recently at a symposium at the University of Notre Dame.
One of the most peculiar languages in the world, whistled Turkish, is challenging the long-standing idea that the left brain hemisphere is solely responsible for processing language and extracting meaning. Any language, be it spoken, written or signed is processed in the left hemisphere, but whistled languages are processed equally by both sides of the brain. It's a striking discovery that suggests people devoid of left hemisphere processing abilities, following a stroke for instance, can still communicate using their right hemisphere. Just whistle.
Something as simple as eating more leafy veggies could significantly slow down cognitive decline and keep your brain healthier for a longer period of time. A new study found that nutrients and vitamins found in plants such as spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens help keep your mental abilities sharp.
Neuroscientists have long posited that memories last as long as the connections in the brain, but putting this theory to test has always proved challenging. Using the latest imaging techniques and sheer innovation, a group at Stanford confirmed this as being true after the researchers literally peered into the brains of mice and studied brain connections as they formed or were replaced. Once the connection was lost, so was the memory.
Researchers at MIT have now identified a neural circuit that they believe underpins decision-making in situations such as this, and have started looking into mice's brains to better understand the biological processes that make us tick and help us pick.
It's no secret that TV food commercials stimulate pleasure and reward centers in the brain, after all advertisers wouldn't pay big money for them to air if they didn't entice people to order more. In fact, food advertising has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Teenagers are exposed on average to 13 food commercials on any given day. At the same time, childhood and adolescent obesity in the US has been on the rise fast and worrisome, so we can't help but notice the connection. Now, researchers at Dartmouth found overweight teens are disproportionately affected by TV food commercials, as key brain regions that control pleasure, taste and - most surprisingly - the mouth are all much more stimulated than those teens with less body fat. The findings are important since they suggest overweight teens exposed to this kind of environment will experience further difficulties when they try to lose weight. A further insight is that dietary plans should also target subsequent thinking concerning eating food, not just the temptation.
Researchers have long theorized that the superior temporal sulcus (STS) is involved in processing speech rhythms, but it's only recently that this has been confirmed by a team at Duke University. Their findings show that the STS is sensitive to the timing of speech, a crucial element of spoken language. This could help further our understanding of how some speech-impairing conditions arise in the brain, or aid tutors design next-generation, computer assisted foreign language courses.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara made a simple neural circuit comprised of 100 artificial synapses, which they used to classify three letters by their images, despite font changes and noise introduced into the image. The researchers claim the rudimentary, yet effective circuit processes the text much in the same way as the human brain does. In other words, like you're currently interpreting the text in this article. Even if you change the font, printscreen this article and splash it with an airbrush in MS Paint, you'll still be able to read at least portions of it, because the human brain is so great at scaling patterns and abstracting symbols. This kind of research will hopefully usher in a new age of more refined, energy efficient computing.
Neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have created an out-of-body illusion in participants placed inside a brain scanner to see what happens in the brain during this time.
We've all had days when we've felt invisible metaphorically, but Swedish researchers have taken it to the next level - they've made a man actually feel like he's invisible.
In the quest to understand what are the crucial differences between human and chimpanzee brains, scientists have isolated a stretch of DNA, once thought to be “junk”, near a gene that regulates brain development in mice. The engineered mouse embryos grew significantly larger brains. Those which received human brain DNA strands had 12% larger brains than those bred with chimp brain DNA. Research like this, though ethically controversial, might help identify which DNA sequences give a brain human characteristics, but also aid in findings treatment or cures for brain diseases like Alzheimer's.
City smog significantly lowers children's IQ, while also raising the risk for Alzheimers disease. A new study has found that children living in highly polluted cities are at an increased risk for detrimental effects to the brain, including short-term memory loss.
An exciting research found baby chicks also use the mental number lines employed by humans to count numbers, representing them upwards from left to right. The research and those to follow on other animals might help unravel how this basic mental construct, so essential to human intellect, evolved. Think twice before insulting someone by calling him a birdbrain - it doesn't do the birds justice.
The human brain is often described as the most beautiful organism in the Universe. We say this because of the beautiful things the mind, sustained by the brain, can create and imagine. Greg Dunn earned his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, but while his colleagues are fiddling with microscopes to unravel the inner workings of brain cells, he works with a paintbrush to magnify neurons on a canvas. His work shows a brain whose beauty transcends romanticism and awes in its raw form.
For most people, brains are pretty similar – our connections follow the same pattern, and while there are certainly exceptions, you could say that our brains are connected in pretty much the same way. But for autistic people, things are very different. A new study has found that each autistic brain has unique, highly idiosyncratic […]
We like big butts and I know why: because it helps babies develop their brains properly. Researchers have found that especially during breastfeeding, the development of babies’ brains relies on fat supplies stripped directly from the mother’s thighs and bottom.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way to enlarge and map brain samples. This inexpensive technique will now allow scientists to get a much closer look at the human brian and perhaps figure out some of its long standing secrets.
Widespread use of computers is said to make people dumber or more prone to forgetfulness. It’s true, while we’re less inclined to memorize things such as poems or mathematical formulas, this doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. A study made by US psychologists found that when people save information on their computers or phones, […]
Arguably the most efficient predator in the world today is the dragonfly, which boats a 95% success rate. Obviously, there’s more to the dragonfly than meets the eye or more than you would expect from some random insect, at least. One of the reasons it’s so successful may be due to how the dragonfly moves […]
Really bad experiences, like going through a particularly stressful or frighting situation, are a lot easier to remember than the things we do a day to day basis, or even those special pleasant experiences. That’s because we’re sort of evolutionary geared to remember those particularly nasty experiences so that we might avoid these in the future. […]
Just one week of camping in the wild (or in any area without man-made light) can reset your body clock and return your natural sleep patterns, a new study has found. If you’re a night owl, if you’re having problems sleeping and just can’t set up a good sleep pattern – science has your problems […]
Oh, boy. This week’s freaky science story comes from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York where researchers grafted mouse pups with human glial cells. Within one year, half the brain cells of the by now adult mice were human. A study made last year by the same team suggests that mice whose […]
Music is almost ubiquitous in our lives – we hear it in commercials, in the car, on the radio, at the movies, when you go out, when you stay in… we’re quite a musical society nowadays. But we still don’t understand many things about how music affects our bodies and our brains; now, a new […]
Being a teen can be difficult at times – but being a parent of a teen can be even more difficult. Sometimes, it’s like kids just close inside themselves and nothing from the outside can reach them. Well, according to a new study from Harvard, Pittsburgh and California Berkeley – that may actually be the […]
Some people, like history’s greatest artists or scientists, have a fantastic imagination that long transcends reality. Others have this line completely blurred and can’t make sense of what’s real or not. For most of us, however, fantasy and reality are clearly separated in our mental psyche. Now, a team of neuroscientists have explored the neural pathways […]
Long term shift work has a permanent negative effect on the brain damaging cognitive ability and memory, a new study has revealed. The study found clear links between shift work and impairments in memory and thinking (cognition). People who worked in shifts for 10 years or more have, on average, an extra 6.5 years fall in memory […]
