Brain And Consciousness Research - December 2009 Archives

Seeing without looking (12/31/2009)

Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover how the brain encodes memories at a cellular level (12/31/2009)

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a major discovery in how the brain encodes memories. The finding, published in the Dec. 24 issue of the journal Neuron, could eventually lead to the development of new drugs to aid memory. ...> Full Article

Study redefines placebo effect as part of effective treatment (12/30/2009)

Researchers used the placebo effect to successfully treat psoriasis patients with one quarter to one half of their usual dose of a widely used steroid medication, according to an early study published online today in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Early results in human patients suggest that the new technique could improve treatment for several chronic diseases that involve mental state or the immune system, including asthma, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain. ...> Full Article

Ginkgo biloba does not appear to slow rate of cognitive decline (12/30/2009)

Older adults who used the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba for several years did not have a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to adults who received placebo, according to a study in the Dec. 23/30 issue of JAMA. ...> Full Article

Attention demands may explain why texting while driving is so dangerous (12/29/2009)

A timely study in the journal Human Factors suggests why texting while driving is riskier than talking on a cell phone or with another passenger. ...> Full Article

Could acetaminophen ease psychological pain? (12/28/2009)

Over-the-counter pain relieving drugs have long been used to alleviate physical pain, while a host of other medications have been employed in the treatment of depression and anxiety. But is it possible that a common painkiller could serve double duty, easing not just the physical pains of sore joints and headaches, but also the pain of social rejection? ...> Full Article

Brain training can help improve specific abilities in older people (12/28/2009)

Many brain training products claim to be able to keep us mentally fit. Some products even claim that brain training can prevent dementia in old age. But there is no scientific proof that games or other brain exercises can have this effect. That is what the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care pointed out in information published today. ...> Full Article

Teenagers use violence to boost their social standing (12/28/2009)

A new study looks in depth at the social relationships between male and female teenagers, relational violence and psycho-social adjustment factors such as loneliness, self-esteem and satisfaction with life. The results show that young people who want to be better appreciated and respected within their group are the most likely to be violent. ...> Full Article

Got taste? (12/27/2009)

As anyone suffering through a head cold knows, food tastes wrong when the nose is clogged, an experience that leads many to conclude that the sense of taste operates normally only when the olfactory system is also in good working order. Evidence that the taste system influences olfactory perception, however, has been vanishingly rare -- until now. In a novel study this week in Nature Neuroscience, Brandeis researchers report just such an influence. ...> Full Article

Depression saps endurance of the brain's reward circuitry (12/26/2009)

A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion. ...> Full Article

Talking aloud helps to solve mathematical problems more quickly, according to a study (12/25/2009)

A research work conducted at the UGR proves that thinking aloud or drawing while solving problems helps students to find more quickly the right solution. This work has been recently published in the journal "Revista de investigación psicoeductiva" and the Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology ...> Full Article

Racing, shooting and zapping your way to better visual skills (12/25/2009)

Do your kids want a Wii, a PlayStation or an Xbox 360 this year? This holiday gift season is packed with popular gaming systems and adrenaline-pumping, sharpshooting games. What's a parent to do? Is there any redeeming value in the hours that teens spend transfixed by these video games? ...> Full Article

Nonverbal communication of race bias on TV influences viewers' own bias (12/24/2009)

Subtle patterns of nonverbal behavior that appear on popular television programs influence racial bias among viewers. Black characters elicit especially negative nonverbal responses, such as facial expressions and body language, from other characters, and viewers exhibit more racial bias after exposure to such negative responses. ...> Full Article

Michelangelos make smart lovers (12/23/2009)

Think of Sara like Michelangelo chipping away at a block of marble to release the ideal figure slumbering within. To the degree that the sculpting process has gone well, that she has helped mold Bob toward his ideal self, the relationship functions better and both partners are happier, according to Northwestern University's Eli Finkel. He is co-author of a research review that appears in the December issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. ...> Full Article

Dyslexia defined: New study 'uncouples' reading and IQ over time (12/23/2009)

Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read. ...> Full Article

Mystery of golden ratio explained (12/23/2009)

The golden ratio is a geometric proportion that has been theorized to be the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and has been the root of countless mysteries over the centuries. Now, a Duke University engineer has found it to be a compelling springboard to unify vision, thought and movement under a single law of nature's design. ...> Full Article

Color my numbers (12/22/2009)

For as many as 1 in 20 people, everyday experiences can elicit extra-ordinary associated sensations. The condition is known as synesthesia and the most common form involves "seeing" colors when reading words and numbers. ...> Full Article

Exposure to young triggers new neuron creation in females exhibiting maternal behavior (12/21/2009)

Maternal behavior itself can trigger the development of new neurons in the maternal brain independent of whether the female was pregnant or has nursed, according to a study released by researchers at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. These findings performed in adult, virgin rats were published in Brain Research Bulletin. ...> Full Article

Scientists use light to map neurons' effects on one another (12/21/2009)

Scientists at Harvard University have used light and genetic trickery to trace out neurons' ability to excite or inhibit one another, literally shedding new light on the question of how neurons interact with one another in live animals. ...> Full Article

Inside the chicken brain (12/21/2009)

Neural microcircuits consisting of a few neurons and their interconnections are small enough to be understood more completely than larger neural structures, whose complexity quickly becomes overwhelming. A group at Washington University in St. Louis recently tackled a simple circuit in the visual processing area of a chicken's brain that detects motion in its field of view -- with surprising results. ...> Full Article

The importance of attractiveness depends on where you live (12/20/2009)

Do good-looking people really benefit from their looks, and in what ways? A team of researchers from the University of Georgia and the University of Kansas found that yes, attractive people do tend to have more social relationships and therefore an increased sense of psychological well-being. ...> Full Article

Scientists decode memory-forming brain cell conversations (12/19/2009)

The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories have been decoded by Medical College of Georgia scientists. ...> Full Article

How do we understand written language? (12/19/2009)

How do we know that certain combinations of letters have certain meanings? Reading and spelling are complex processes, involving several different areas of the brain, but researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the USA have now identified a specific part of the brain -- named the left fusiform gyrus -- which is necessary for normal, rapid understanding of the meaning of written text as well as correct word spelling. ...> Full Article

I think step to the left, you think step to the east (12/18/2009)

Even the way people remember dance moves depends on the culture they come from, according to a report in the Dec. 14 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Whereas a German or other Westerner might think in terms of "step to the right, step to the left," a nomadic hunter-gatherer from Namibia might think something more like "step to the east, step to the west." ...> Full Article

Gene identified as cause of some forms of intellectual disability (12/17/2009)

A gene involved in some forms of intellectual disability has been identified by scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as published this month in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The gene is called TRAPPC9. "Now that we have identified TRAPPC9 as a gene that may be associated with hundreds of thousands of cases of intellectual disability world-wide, we can build on that knowledge with research to help individuals and their families," says Dr. Vincent. ...> Full Article

Killer cookies: To resist temptation, exaggerate the threat (12/16/2009)

Your ability to resist that tempting cookie depends on how a big a threat you perceive it to be, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. ...> Full Article

Old math reveals new thinking in children's cognitive development (12/16/2009)

Five-year-olds can reason about the world from multiple perspectives simultaneously, according to a new theory by researchers in Japan and Australia. Using an established branch of mathematics called Category Theory, the researchers explain why specific reasoning skills develop in children at certain ages, particularly at age five. The new theory, published Dec. 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, shows that these reasoning skills have similar profiles of development because they involve related sorts of processes. ...> Full Article

Behavioral training improves connectivity and function in the brain (12/15/2009)

Children with poor reading skills who underwent an intensive, six-month training program to improve their reading ability showed increased connectivity in a particular brain region, in addition to making significant gains in reading, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health. The study was published in the Dec. 10, 2009, issue of Neuron. ...> Full Article

Testosterone does not induce aggression (12/14/2009)

New scientific evidence refutes the preconception that testosterone causes aggressive, egocentric, and risky behavior. A study at the Universities of Zurich and Royal Holloway London with more than 120 experimental subjects has shown that the sexual hormone with the poor reputation can encourage fair behaviors if this serves to ensure one's own status. ...> Full Article

Consumers overpredict the use of holiday gifts (12/13/2009)

Consumers overpredict how often they'll use the gifts they want for Christmas. Strangers make more accurate predictions of how often a person will use a holiday gift. ...> Full Article

Brain activity exposes those who break promises (12/13/2009)

Scientists from the University of Zurich have discovered the physiological mechanisms in the brain that underlie broken promises. Patterns of brain activity even enable predicting whether someone will break a promise. The results of the study conducted by Dr. Thomas Baumgartner and Professor Ernst Fehr, both of the University of Zurich, and Professor Urs Fischbacher of the University of Konstanz, will be published in the journal Neuron on Dec. 10, 2009. ...> Full Article

What is the psychological impact of casual sex? (12/12/2009)

University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens researchers have found that young adults engaging in casual sexual encounters do not appear to be at increased risk for harmful psychological outcomes as compared to sexually active young adults in more committed relationships. While this study focused on the psychological impact, researchers caution that the physical risks of casual sex should not be overlooked. ...> Full Article

Brainstorming works best in less specialized efforts (12/12/2009)

Applying brainstorming techniques to new product development works best when the collaboration employs participants from varied specialties gathering to develop a less complex product, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. ...> Full Article

Noninvasive technique blocks a conditioned fear in humans (12/11/2009)

Scientists have for the first time selectively blocked a conditioned fear memory in humans with a behavioral manipulation. Participants remained free of the fear memory for at least a year. The research could lead to improved treatments for anxiety disorders. It builds on emerging evidence from animal studies that reactivating an emotional memory opens a six-hour window of opportunity in which a training procedure can alter it. ...> Full Article

It's all in your head. No, really: How mental imagery training aids perceptual learning (12/11/2009)

Practice makes perfect. But imaginary practice? Elisa Tartaglia of the Laboratory of Psychophysics at Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and team show that perceptual learning -- learning by repeated exposure to a stimulus -- can occur by mental imagery as much as by the real thing. The results, published in Current Biology, suggest that thinking about something over and over again could actually be as good as doing it. ...> Full Article

Instruction repairs brain connectivity in poor readers (12/10/2009)

Scientists have demonstrated that intensive remedial instruction can bring about a positive change in the brain connectivity of poor readers. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 10 issue of the journal Neuron, has intriguing implications for the therapeutic potential to improve information transfer in multiple neurological abnormalities that are believed to be related to deficits in anatomical connectivity. ...> Full Article

The thalamus, middleman of the brain, becomes a sensory conductor (12/10/2009)

Two new studies show that the thalamus -- the small central brain structure often characterized as a mere pit-stop for sensory information on its way to the cortex -- is heavily involved in sensory processing, and is an important conductor of the brain's complex orchestra. Published in Nature Neuroscience and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the two studies demonstrate the important role of the thalamus in shaping what humans see, hear and feel. ...> Full Article

Using 'The Brain Advantage' in business (12/9/2009)

Business leaders can use what researchers have learned about the brain to manage their own brains and other people more effectively. "The brain advantage: Become a more effective business leader using the latest brain research" combines the latest brain research with insights from psychological studies of how people think, to show business leaders how to become even more effective decision-makers, communicators and change-agents. ...> Full Article

Don't I know you? Research sheds light on memorial retrieval (12/9/2009)

University of Toronto study shows hippocampus is only involved in memory retrieval when there are clues to trigger context. ...> Full Article

Researchers finds hidden sensory system in the skin (12/9/2009)

Researchers report that the human body has an entirely unique and separate sensory system aside from the nerves that give most of us the ability to touch and feel. Surprisingly, this sensory network is located throughout our blood vessels and sweat glands, and is for most people, largely imperceptible. This discovery may shed light on the causes of unexplained chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. ...> Full Article

Parents gone wild? Study suggests link between working memory and reactive parenting (12/8/2009)

It can be challenging sometimes for parents to maintain a cool head around their misbehaving children. The results of a new study reveal that the mothers whose negativity was most strongly linked with their child's challenging behaviors were those with the poorest working memory skills. These findings suggest that education and intervention efforts for improving parenting may be more effective if they incorporate strategies that enhance working memory skills in parents. ...> Full Article

With amino acid diet, mice improve after brain injury (12/8/2009)

Neurology researchers have shown that feeding amino acids to brain-injured mice restores their cognitive abilities and may set the stage for the first effective treatment for cognitive impairments suffered by people with traumatic brain injuries. If these animal results can be translated to human medicine, there would be a broad clinical benefit. Every 23 seconds, a man, woman or child in the US suffers a traumatic brain injury. ...> Full Article

Lifelong memories linked to stable nerve connections (12/7/2009)

Our ability to learn new information and adapt to changes in our daily environment, as well as to retain lifelong memories, appears to lie in the minute junctions where nerve cells communicate, according to a new study by NYU Langone Medicine Center researchers. The study is published online this week in the journal Nature. ...> Full Article

Love hurts: Why emotional pain really affects us (12/7/2009)

Have you ever felt overly upset by a social snubbing? Your genetics, not your friends, may be at fault. Scientists have long known that opium-like painkillers, called opioids, relieve not only physical pain, but also some forms of emotional stress. Now, a new study reviewed by Faculty of 1000 Biology member Markus Heilig shows that small genetic differences in the gene for the opioid receptor can determine the intensity of people's responses to social rejection. ...> Full Article

Young adults who exercise get higher IQ (12/6/2009)

Young adults who are fit have a higher IQ and are more likely to go on to university, reveals a major new study carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. ...> Full Article

Loneliness can be contagious (12/5/2009)

Loneliness, like a bad cold, can spread among groups of people, research at the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard shows. Using longitudinal data from a large-scale study that has been following health conditions for more than 60 years, a team of scholars found that lonely people tend to share their loneliness with others. Gradually over time, a group of lonely, disconnected people moves to the fringes of social networks. ...> Full Article

Study shows that adults have dreamlike thoughts during sleepwalking and sleep terrors episodes (12/4/2009)

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that short, unpleasant, dreamlike mental activity occurs during sleepwalking and sleep terrors episodes, suggesting that people with these sleep disorders may be acting out dreamlike thoughts. ...> Full Article

Brain scan study shows cocaine abusers can control cravings (12/3/2009)

A new brain-imaging study shows that active cocaine abusers can suppress drug craving, suggesting new ways to help them quit and avoid relapse. ...> Full Article

Tactile input affects what we hear (12/2/2009)

Humans use their whole bodies, not just their ears, to understand speech, according to University of British Columbia linguistics research. It is well known that humans naturally process facial expression along with what is being heard to fully understand what is being communicated. The UBC study is the first to show we also naturally process tactile information to perceive sounds of speech. ...> Full Article

Believers' inferences about God's beliefs are uniquely egocentric (12/2/2009)

Religious people tend to use their own beliefs as a guide in thinking about what God believes, but are less constrained when reasoning about other people's beliefs, according to new study published in the November 30 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Scientists identify 2 molecules that affect brain plasticity in mice (12/1/2009)

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry. Moreover, experimentally removing those brakes in mice enhanced the animals' performance in a test of visual learning, suggesting a long-term path to therapeutic application. ...> Full Article

Does a placebo gene exist? (12/1/2009)

A short time ago, Swedish scientists published a paper suggesting the existence of a genetic disposition to respond to placebo, thus giving rise to debate in the media about a possible "placebo gene." In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Matthias Breidert and Karl Hofbauer summarize the most recent data about placebos. ...> Full Article

Mad as hell? New discoveries about the experience of anger (12/1/2009)

Younger people, those with children and less-educated individuals are more likely to experience anger, according to new University of Toronto research that examines one of the most common negative emotions in society. ...> Full Article