Brain And Consciousness Research - April 2008 Archives

High self-esteem is not always what it's cracked up to be, especially when it comes to being insecure and defensive (4/30/2008)

High self-esteem is not the same thing as healthy self-esteem ...> Full Article

Language skills develop at 6, say researchers (4/30/2008)

Psychologists have discovered that children as young as six are as adept at recognising possible verbs and their past tenses as adults. ...> Full Article

Of culture and tool use: tap into your left parietal cortex (4/30/2008)

Functional MRI is showing that a person's pantomiming or performing a task involving tools draws from the brain's left hemisphere, and that becomes a problem when a brain injury is involved ...> Full Article

Scientists Explore Brain's Reaction to Potent Hallucinogen (4/29/2008)

Increasingly popular recreational drug, salvia, shows rapid uptake, short duration in animals ...> Full Article

Cause and Affect: Emotions can be unconsciously and subliminally evoked (4/29/2008)

Recent research suggests emotions can be unconsciously evoked and manipulated ...> Full Article

Reputation and money: New insights into how the brain processes social, economic reward (4/29/2008)

Researchers have mapped the brain regions that process social standing and money rewards, yielding new insights that they said will aid understanding of the basis of social behaviors. ...> Full Article

Looking at neurons from all sides (4/28/2008)

A new technique that marries a fast-moving laser beam with a special microscope that look at tissues in different optical planes will enable scientists to get a three-dimensional view of neurons or nerve cells as they interact ...> Full Article

Psychology professor's research shows how numerical information can be persuasive or informative depending on how it's presented (4/28/2008)

Large numbers are too big to perceive ...> Full Article

Why dominant individuals climb the proverbial ladder (4/27/2008)

Scientists using metaphor and symbolism to determine socially dominant people ...> Full Article

Mechanisms of memory identified (4/27/2008)

Major step forward in understanding how memory works ...> Full Article

Human brain appears 'hard-wired' for hierarchy (4/26/2008)

Scans hint at why it can be unhealthy even at the top ...> Full Article

Researcher Studies Neurofeedback to 'Retrain' Brainwaves in Children with Autism (4/26/2008)

Researcher is using video games to see if the brainwaves of children with autism can be 'retrained' to improve focus and concentration ...> Full Article

Praise equals money? (4/26/2008)

A new neural evidence suggests that the brain's reward system works similarly for both praise and money ...> Full Article

Being distracted can make you more susceptible to ads (4/25/2008)

Can Evaluative Conditioning Change Attitudes toward Mature Brands? ...> Full Article

High anxiety? Research looks to brain & genes to improve treatment (4/25/2008)

The study showed that THC reduces the response to threat in a brain region called the amygdala ...> Full Article

Antidepressants enhance neuronal plasticity in the visual system (4/25/2008)

Researchers provide new information about the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs ...> Full Article

Certain anesthesia mimics near-natural napping (4/24/2008)

Researchers have discovered sleep patterns in a type of anesthesia that are the closest ever to a natural, non-groggy snooze. ...> Full Article

Psychologists Demonstrate Simplicity of Working Memory (4/24/2008)

Study could help with ADD and other attention difficulties ...> Full Article

Rehab Therapy Causes Increase in Gray Matter (4/24/2008)

A new rehabilitation therapy produces changes in the structure of the brain, the first evidence of actual brain remodeling resulting from a rehabilitation therapy. ...> Full Article

Brain reacts to fairness as it does to money and chocolate, study shows (4/23/2008)

The human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it responds to winning money and eating chocolate ...> Full Article

Data Transfer In The Brain: Newfound Mechanism Enables Reliable Transmission Of Neuronal Information (4/23/2008)

The receptors of neurotransmitters move very rapidly. This mobility plays an essential, and hitherto unsuspected, role in the passage of nerve impulses from one neuron to another, thus controlling the reliability of data transfer. ...> Full Article

Male and female brains are not so different, fruit flies' sex acts tell us (4/23/2008)

While males and females might sometimes act as though they come from different planets, a new study in flies suggests they are both equipped with a largely unisex brain. ...> Full Article

More clues to midlife dementia that erases personality (4/22/2008)

New clues have been uncovered about a mystifying, hidden dementia that robs its victims of empathy and social skills, and leads to an early death. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover neural circuits for saccadic modulation of visual perception (4/22/2008)

Scientists trying to unravel mysteries of visual perception ...> Full Article

What's not to like? Why fondness makes us poor judges, but dislike is spot-on (4/22/2008)

When someone likes something, they assume others will like it as well. ...> Full Article

Men More Likely to Have Problems with Memory and Thinking Skills (4/21/2008)

When it comes to remembering things, new research shows men are more likely than women to have mild cognitive impairment, the transition stage before dementia ...> Full Article

Intelligence and rhythmic accuracy go hand in hand (4/21/2008)

People who score high on intelligence tests are also good at keeping time ...> Full Article

Study finds teasing may be more damaging than once thought (4/20/2008)

Children are more likely to interpret teasing -- even teasing intended to be harmless -- as negative rather than positive ...> Full Article

Would you steal a buck? How about a can of soda? (4/20/2008)

Researcher probes how people make decisions in his new book ...> Full Article

Disturbances in Brain Circuitry Linked to Chronic Exposure to Solvents (4/19/2008)

Chronic occupational exposure to organic solvents, found in materials such as paints, printing and dry cleaning agents, is widespread all over the world, and is thought to damage the central nervous system ...> Full Article

Locating a 'Free Choice' Brain Circuit (4/19/2008)

Scientists searching for the circuitry that activates your ability to execute a decision ...> Full Article

How Big Is Your Brain? Its Size May Protect You from Memory Loss (4/18/2008)

From autopsies, researchers have long known that some people die with sharp minds and perfect memories, but their brains riddled with the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's disease. New research shows that those people have a larger part of the brain called the hippocampus ...> Full Article

New research shows slight of hand is not so slight (4/18/2008)

Typing on a keyboard or scribbling on paper may be similar activities, but there is a significant difference in how the body moves, according to new motor development research. ...> Full Article

Recognising numbers (4/17/2008)

Research is looking at why some people find it difficult to understand mathematics and how this might be related to dyslexia ...> Full Article

Are humans hardwired for fairness? (4/17/2008)

Is fairness simply a ruse, something we adopt only when we secretly see an advantage in it for ourselves? Many psychologists have in recent years moved away from this purely utilitarian view, dismissing it as too simplistic. Recent advances in both cognitive science and neuroscience now allow psychologists to approach this question in some different ways, and they are getting some intriguing results. ...> Full Article

Decoupling through Synchrony (4/17/2008)

In the brain, as in sports, sex, and life, timing--and teamwork--are everything. Such is the message of a series of studies by researchers that offer insight into the processes by which memories are stored in the brain and that may someday guide the development of new therapies to prevent epileptic seizures. ...> Full Article

Human Mind Product of Chaotic Evolutionary Path, Psychology Professor Concludes in New Book (4/16/2008)

The human mind, far from being a highly efficient computer, is in fact the product of a bumpy evolutionary path, serving as a marvelous storage facility but operating as a shaky retrieval system ...> Full Article

Too many choices - good or bad - can be mentally exhausting (4/16/2008)

Researchers show that people have less stamina, are less productive when they have more choices ...> Full Article

White Matter Changes in Schizophrenia (4/15/2008)

People recently diagnosed with schizophrenia have abnormalities in a specific area of the brain's white matter ...> Full Article

Unconscious decisions in the brain (4/15/2008)

A team of scientists has unravelled how the brain unconsciously prepares our decisions ...> Full Article

Getting forgetful? Then blueberries may hold the key (4/14/2008)

Blueberries are effective at reversing age-related deficits in memory ...> Full Article

Brain Protein May Impact Eating Habits (4/13/2008)

Researchers have found that a protein in the brain may have some significant influence on the ability to feel full. ...> Full Article

Impairments in Language Development Can Be Detected in Infants as Young as Three Months (4/12/2008)

Speech Problems Could Be Corrected Before Child Learns to Talk ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Sex Differences in Monkey Toy Preferences Similar to Humans (4/11/2008)

Nonhuman primate-based behavioral studies suggest hormones may shape preferences ...> Full Article

Studies gain insight into elder's mild cognitive impairment (4/11/2008)

A recent study showed that the executive functioning of working memory in people suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is similar with that of the normal elderly, throwing weight on the hypothesis that MCI is an accelerated form of normal aging. ...> Full Article

Just like penguins and other primates, people trade sex for resources (4/11/2008)

New research shows that even affluent college students who don't need resources will still attempt to trade sexual currency for provisions ...> Full Article

Why the dating game is taken at face value (4/10/2008)

Suitors can tell a young person's attitude to sexual relationships by the look on their face ...> Full Article

Omega-3 intake during last months of pregnancy boosts an infant's cognitive and motor development (4/10/2008)

A new study reveals that omega-3 intake during the last months of pregnancy boosts an infant's sensory, cognitive, and motor development ...> Full Article

Are animals stuck in time? (4/9/2008)

Dog owners, who have noticed that their four-legged friend seem equally delighted to see them after five minutes away as five hours, may wonder if animals can tell when time passes ...> Full Article

More On The Humor-Health Connection: New Study Finds Anticipating A Laugh Reduces Stress Hormones (4/8/2008)

By seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot on our own to stay wel ...> Full Article

Study suggests genetic factors associated with common fears (4/8/2008)

Genetic factors that are associated with fears appear to change as children and adolescents age, with some familial factors declining in importance over time while other genetic risk factors arise in adolescence and adulthood ...> Full Article

Working Memory Has Limited 'Slots' (4/7/2008)

A new study shows how our very short-term "working memory," which allows the brain to stitch together sensory information, operates. The system retains a limited number of high-resolution images for a few seconds, rather than a wider range of fuzzier impressions. ...> Full Article

A Little Anxiety Pays Sometimes, Study Shows (4/6/2008)

Researchers identify region of brain that plays a key role in predicting harm and also learning to avoid it ...> Full Article

The untrained eye: Confusing sexual interest with friendliness (4/6/2008)

New research from Indiana University and Yale suggests that college-age men confuse friendly non-verbal cues with cues for sexual interest because the men have a less discerning eye than women -- but their female peers aren't far behind. ...> Full Article

Lack of sleep can provoke sleepwalking (4/5/2008)

Sleepwalkers are advised to keep a regular bedtime to avoid unwanted evening strolls ...> Full Article

The influence of the irrelevant: Researchers show stimuli unrelated to a decision can still influence the choice we make (4/5/2008)

Study shows that when heterosexual men are exposed to positive emotional stimuli-in this case, erotic photos of a man and woman-an area of the brain associated with anticipation of reward is stimulated ...> Full Article

Are you my mother? Transference more pronounced when we are tired (4/4/2008)

Mental representations of significant others may be activated from memory and applied to new people that you meet who resemble someone you know ...> Full Article

Fear of Messing Up May Undermine Interracial Contact (4/4/2008)

Research shows that many Americans feel anxious during interracial interactions whether or not race is even mentioned ...> Full Article

Why we don't always learn from our mistakes (4/4/2008)

Making mistakes regularly may be unconsciously creating a pattern of failure ...> Full Article

Brain lesions more common than previously thought (4/3/2008)

New research shows cerebral microbleeds, which are lesions in the brain, are more common in people over 60 than previously thought ...> Full Article

Boosting self-esteem can backfire in decision-making (4/3/2008)

Smart business leaders understand that confidence affects decision-making and ultimately a company's earnings. ...> Full Article

Who's bad? Chimps figure it out by observation (4/2/2008)

Experiments test chimpanzees' ability to make judgments about the reputation of strangers ...> Full Article

Are teenage brains really different? (4/2/2008)

MRI studies show brain changes in the adolescent brain impact cognition, emotion and behavior ...> Full Article

Neurons hard wired to tell left from right (4/2/2008)

It's well known that the left and right sides of the brain differ in many animal species and this is thought to influence cognitive performance and social behaviour. For instance, in humans, the left half of the brain is concerned with language processing whereas the right side is better at comprehending musical melody. ...> Full Article

Running Words Together: The science behind cross-linguistic psychology (4/1/2008)

While communication may be recognized as a universal phenomenon, differences between languages -- ranging from word-order to semantics -- undoubtedly remain as they help to define culture and develop language. Yet, little is understood about similarities and differences in languages around the world and how they affect communication. Recently, however, two studies have emerged that aid in our understanding of cross-linguistic distinctions in language usage. ...> Full Article

Sniffing out danger (4/1/2008)

Each human nose encounters hundreds of thousands of scents in its daily travels perched front and center on our face. Some of these smells are nearly identical, so how do we learn to tell the critical ones apart? ...> Full Article