Brain And Consciousness Research - January 2008 Archives

Researchers Map Signaling Networks that Control Neuron Function (1/31/2008)

Relationship between Thousands of Proteins at Work in the Brain Could Impact Diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease, and Spinal Cord Injury ...> Full Article

Problem solved - just keep an 'open mind' (1/31/2008)

Ever wondered what goes on in your brain when you are trying to solve a problem? Researchers have found that keeping an 'open mind' is the key to being able to solve problems. ...> Full Article

Scientists Make Progress In Determining How The Brain Selectively Interprets Sound (1/30/2008)

Surprisingly few auditory neurons may be involved in zeroing-in on a particular sound ...> Full Article

Creative and noncreative problem solvers exhibit different patterns of brain activity, study reveals (1/30/2008)

Why do some people solve problems more creatively than others? Are people who think creatively somehow different from those who tend to think in a more methodical fashion? ...> Full Article

Destined to lie, cheat or steal? New research finds that believing in free will can keep us honest (1/30/2008)

In an age where cheating scandals plague all levels of governments and major corporations are brought down by unethical actions, the debate about the origins and nature of how and why decisions are made play into a larger debate about genetic determinism and free will. ...> Full Article

Aching Back? Put Your Mind To It (1/29/2008)

Study in Journal PAIN Describes Relief by Mindfulness Meditation ...> Full Article

Your Personality Type Influences How Much Self-control You Have (1/28/2008)

A new study from Northwestern introduces personality types used frequently in consumer research to the realm of self-improvement. People are motivated by one of two fundamental needs: they are either "promotion-focused," seeking products that will help them achieve hopes and aspirations, or they are "prevention-focused," seeking items that help achieve a need for safety and security. According to the research, people are better able to exercise self-control when they choose goal-pursuit strategies -- such as diets or money management -- that "fit" with their promotion or prevention focus. ...> Full Article

Key Factor In Stress Effects On The Brain Identified (1/28/2008)

Acute and chronic stress can have devastating effects on the brain, and Yale School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed one receptor that plays a key role in that harmful cycle. ...> Full Article

Laughter Is The Best Medicine (1/28/2008)

Laughter is the best medicine. We've heard the expression time and again. For decades, researchers have explored how humor helps patients relieve stress and heal. Melissa B. Wanzer, EdD, professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, has taken it one step further, with her research on how humor helps medical professionals cope with their difficult jobs. She also looked at how humor affects the elderly and how it can increase communication in the workplace and in the classroom. ...> Full Article

New tool probes brain circuits (1/27/2008)

Method applied to learning/memory pathway ...> Full Article

Don't worry, be (moderately) happy, research suggests (1/27/2008)

Could the pursuit of happiness go too far? Most self-help books on the subject offer tips on how to maximize one's bliss, but a new study suggests that moderate happiness may be preferable to full-fledged elation. ...> Full Article

Unanimous Union: The mind and body together lean toward 'truthiness' (1/27/2008)

'Truthiness,' according to television satirist Stephen Colbert, represents the human preference to follow our intuition despite the presence of facts or evidence. For example, the more ambiguous an answer to a question, the more likely an individual will believe it is truthful. ...> Full Article

Sports machismo may be cue to male teen violence (1/26/2008)

The sports culture surrounding football and wrestling may be fueling aggressive and violent behavior not only among teen male players but also among their male friends and peers on and off the field, according to a Penn State study. ...> Full Article

Marijuana Withdrawal As Bad As Withdrawal From Cigarettes (1/26/2008)

Research by a group of scientists studying the effects of heavy marijuana use suggests that withdrawal from the use of marijuana is similar to what is experienced by people when they quit smoking cigarettes. Abstinence from each of these drugs appears to cause several common symptoms, such as irritability, anger and trouble sleeping - based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes. ...> Full Article

New study focuses on eye movement (1/25/2008)

A scientist has uncovered one of the "missing links" in understanding visual signals that determine where and why we move our eyes to focus on details in our environment. ...> Full Article

A good fight may keep you and your marriage healthy (1/25/2008)

A good fight with your spouse may be good for your health, research suggests. ...> Full Article

Kids learn more when mom is listening (1/24/2008)

Kids may roll their eyes when their mother asks them about their school day, but answering her may actually help them learn. New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that children learn the solution to a problem best when they explain it to their mom. ...> Full Article

What gives us fingertip dexterity? (1/24/2008)

Quickly moving your fingertips to tap or press a surface is essential for everyday life to, say, pick up small objects, use a BlackBerry or an iPhone. But researchers at the University of Southern California say that this seemingly trivial action is the result of a complex neuro-motor-mechanical process orchestrated with precision timing by the brain, nervous system and muscles of the hand. ...> Full Article

The Look of a Leader (1/24/2008)

According to new research a CEO's appearance can reveal a lot about how successful he or she is. ...> Full Article

Team Discovers How Brain's Own tPA Helps Regulate Blood Flow to Neurons (1/23/2008)

Powerful Enzyme - Best Known as Emergency Stroke Drug - Could Also Play Key Role in Alzheimer's Disease ...> Full Article

Scientists Close In on Taurine's Activity in the Brain (1/23/2008)

The Abundant Amino Acid Works on a Well-Studied Brain Cell Receptor ...> Full Article

Team Identifies Key Factor in Stress Effects on the Brain (1/23/2008)

Acute and chronic stress can have devastating effects on the brain, and Yale School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed one receptor that plays a key role in that harmful cycle, it was reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Study finds significant differences in protocols hospitals use to determine brain death (1/22/2008)

A survey of some of the top hospitals in the country has found that protocols followed to determine brain death differ significantly among those institutions. In the January 22 issue of the journal Neurology, a team of researchers reports finding that brain death protocols at hospitals cited as top neurology and neurosurgery centers by U.S. News and World Report often do not follow the standards established by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The paper has received early online release. ...> Full Article

Religious beliefs focus too much on self (1/22/2008)

Moving away from traditional religious beliefs to trendy, self-focused religions and spirituality is not making young adults happier, according to new research. ...> Full Article

Study examines response of older, younger adults to thirst (1/22/2008)

Twelve healthy subjects in their 60s and 70s showed a different pattern of brain activations during thirst and satiation than did 10 healthy subjects in their 20s who drank the same amounts and underwent imaging with positron-emission tomography (PET). Dysfunction in activated neural regions could help explain why older adults show the dangerous tendency toward reduced drinking in response to dehydration. ...> Full Article

Study: Brain connections strengthen during waking hours, weaken during sleep (1/21/2008)

Most people know it from experience: After so many hours of being awake, your brain feels unable to absorb any more-and several hours of sleep will refresh it. ...> Full Article

Face Facts: People Don't Stand Out In A Crowd (1/21/2008)

Why is it difficult to pick out even a familiar face in a crowd? We all experience this, but the phenomenon has been poorly understood until now. The results of a recent study may have implications for individuals with face-recognition disorders and visual-attention related ailments -- and eventually could help scientists develop an artificial visual system that approaches the sophistication of human visual perception. ...> Full Article

Songbirds' Brains Provide Clues to Human Speech (1/20/2008)

Analyzing how the brains of songbirds respond to singing patterns has provided new information about how humans learn to communicate with each other, according to Duke University researchers. ...> Full Article

The Human Brain: Detective of auditory and visual change (1/20/2008)

The human brain is capable of detecting the slightest visual and auditory changes. Whether it is the flash of a student's hand into the air or the faintest miscue of a flutist, the brain instantaneously and effortlessly perceives changes in our environment. Several studies have indicated, however, that even a small span of time in between pre- and post-change images can disturb the brain's ability to detect visual discrepancies. ...> Full Article

People not always needed to alleviate loneliness (1/19/2008)

New research at the University of Chicago finds evidence for a clever way that people manage to alleviate the pain of loneliness: They create people in their surroundings to keep them company. ...> Full Article

Nature and Nurture are both to blame for depression (1/18/2008)

Depression is one of the most common forms of psychopathology. According to diathesisâ€"stress theories of depression, genetic liability interacts with negative life experiences to cause depression. Traditionally, most studies testing these theories have focused on only one component of the diathesisâ€"stress model: either genetics or environment, but not their interaction. However, because of recent advances in genetics and genomics, researchers have begun using a new design that allows them to test the interaction of genetic and environmental liabilities -- the G x E design. ...> Full Article

New approach to detect autism earlier (1/18/2008)

A new way of understanding autistic disorders, incorporating both psychological and biological factors, could lead to the conditions being picked up earlier, research from UNSW has found. ...> Full Article

Discovery of 'creator' gene for cerebral cortex points to potential stem cell treatments (1/18/2008)

Study identifies the specific role for gene linked to cortical development ...> Full Article

Do Today's Young People Really Think They Are So Extraordinary? (1/18/2008)

When asked about the state of today's youth, former president Jimmy Carter recently mused "I've been a professor at Emory University for the past twenty years and I interrelate with a wide range of students...I don't detect that this generation is any more committed to personal gain to the exclusion of benevolent causes than others have been in the past." ...> Full Article

Judges Explore the Impact of Neuroscience on Justice (1/17/2008)

It was the sort of case that makes news headlines: A man was arrested for soliciting child sex online, and the case was slated for trial. But in the pre-trial investigation, a scan of the suspect's brain using positron emission tomography revealed serious damage to the frontal lobe of his brain, apparently the result of a stroke. ...> Full Article

Human auditory neurons more sensitive than those of other mammals (1/17/2008)

The human ear is exquisitely tuned to discern different sound frequencies, whether such tones are high or low, near or far. But the ability of our ears pales in comparison to the remarkable knack of single neurons in our brains to distinguish between the very subtlest of frequency differences. ...> Full Article

Study examines decision-making deficits in older adults (1/16/2008)

We often read or hear stories about older adults being conned out of their life savings, but are older individuals really more susceptible to fraud than younger adults? And, if so, how exactly does aging affect judgment and decision-making abilities? ...> Full Article

Lend me your ears - and the world will sound very different (1/16/2008)

Recognising people, objects or animals by the sound they make is an important survival skill and something most of us take for granted. But very similar objects can physically make very dissimilar sounds and we are able to pick up subtle clues about the identity and source of the sound. Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are working out how the human ear and the brain come together to help us understand our acoustic environment. They have found that the part of the brain that deals with sound, the auditory cortex, is adapted in each individual and tuned to the world around us. We learn throughout our lives how to localise and identify different sounds. It means that if you could hear the world through someone else's ears it would sound very different to what you are used to. ...> Full Article

Our Understanding of Movement Is on the Move (1/16/2008)

How our brain controls our movements is a bit more complex and varied than scientists have previously recognized, according to research recently published in Science by a team of scientists and physicians at the University of Rochester Medical Center. ...> Full Article

Aggression as rewarding as sex, food and drugs (1/15/2008)

New research from Vanderbilt University shows for the first time that the brain processes aggression as a reward - much like sex, food and drugs - offering insights into our propensity to fight and our fascination with violent sports like boxing and football. ...> Full Article

Alzheimer's drug completes first stage of clinical testing (1/15/2008)

Scientists have moved one step closer to developing a new type of drug to treat Alzheimer's disease. An experimental drug based on discoveries made by Dr. Jordan Tang at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has successfully completed the first phase of testing in human subjects. ...> Full Article

Neuroimaging fails to demonstrate ESP is real (1/15/2008)

But researchers note that they can't prove a negative ...> Full Article

Popular opinion not always so popular (1/13/2008)

Whether you're a voter choosing the next president, a manager making policy decisions or a consumer selecting a brand, it's likely your decision is influenced by the opinions of others. ...> Full Article

Scientists identify new genetic link to autism (1/13/2008)

Gene's presence in brain's language centers may explain speech delay ...> Full Article

Culture Influences Brain Function (1/12/2008)

People from different cultures use their brains differently to solve the same visual perceptual tasks, MIT researchers and colleagues report in the first brain imaging study of its kind. ...> Full Article

Smile - and the world can hear you (1/12/2008)

Smiling affects how we speak, to the point that listeners can identify the type of smile based on sound alone, according to a study by scientists at the University of Portsmouth. ...> Full Article

'Winter blues' may be serious depression (1/11/2008)

Symptoms diminish spontaneously in spring and summer ...> Full Article

Proton Powered Pooping (1/11/2008)

Discovery: Subatomic Protons Act like Nerve-Signal Transmitters ...> Full Article

Mood Disorders Predict Later Substance Abuse Problems (1/10/2008)

Mania symptoms and bipolar disorder II more likely to lead to substance abuse than depression ...> Full Article

Brain aging expert challenges the existence of Alzheimer's as a disease (1/10/2008)

Professor of neurology challenges conventional wisdom and assumptions of brain aging in his new book, The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Disease. ...> Full Article

Left brain hemisphere revealed to dominate human topological perception (1/10/2008)

A group of CAS bio-physicists has revealed that the brain's left hemisphere gets upper hand in global topological perception while the right hemisphere is superior in cognition of local geometric properties. ...> Full Article

Lack Of Imagination In Older Adults Linked To Declining Memory (1/9/2008)

Most children are able to imagine their future selves as astronauts, politicians or even superheroes; however, many older adults find it difficult to recollect past events, let alone generate new ones. A new Harvard University study reveals that the ability of older adults to form imaginary scenarios is linked to their ability to recall detailed memories. ...> Full Article

World's Brain Experts to Converge in Florida (1/9/2008)

Several of the world's leading brain experts will converge Jan. 25 to 27 at the University of Central Florida for a conference focusing on the latest research and treatment techniques. ...> Full Article

Two forces of arousal converge on the 'satiety center' of the brain (1/9/2008)

By pitting two forces - hunger and circadian rhythms - against each other, researchers at Rockefeller University have identified the region of the brain that first registers changes in the availability of availability. The research, in mice, suggests that shifting the timing of a meal increases mental alertness even during times when they are usually at rest, findings that may have implications for targeting health concerns such as obesity and diabetes as well as optimizing performance on tasks that require sustained vigilance in humans. ...> Full Article

Study Explains Role of Bias in Policy Discussions (1/8/2008)

A new study discusses the ideological and practical challenges faced when trying to engage ordinary citizens in policy decisions. The study, published in Communication Theory, examines how these theories have been translated into practice and provides an outline that can be used to address these challenges. ...> Full Article

Foreign Nativity May Not Always Protect Against Mental Disorders in the US (1/7/2008)

Though all Latino immigrants tend to display better overall mental health compared to their US-born counterparts, a recent study by NIMH-funded researchers has found that the protective benefits of foreign nativity vary widely across subgroups of this population. Factors such as neighborhood stability, perceived discrimination, and the strength of family bonds all combine to influence the prevalence of mental disorders across distinctive Latino ethnic groups. The finding reflects varying immigration and acculturation processes experienced by Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other Latino groups. Results of the study were published in the July 2007 issue of Social Science and Medicine. ...> Full Article

Internists Say They Prescribe Placebos On Occasion (1/7/2008)

In the first study examining American physicians' use of placebos in clinical practice in the 21st Century, 45 percent of Chicago internists report they have used a placebo at some time during their clinical practice researchers report in the January issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine. ...> Full Article

How to imbue products with symbolic meaning (1/7/2008)

Many people pay silly money to wear a particular logo or a designer brand. Of course, a designer outfit doesn't keep you any warmer or dryer than an unbranded one, but functionality is only part of the story. Designer products say something about you - you are a trendy, sexy or sophisticated person. Brands help us to express who we think we are and who we want to be. ...> Full Article

Bullies target teenagers unable to express emotion (1/6/2008)

Youngsters with specific language impairment (SLI) are unable to verbally express their feelings and find it difficult to understand what others are saying due to a developmental problem with their language. However they show no physical signs of the disorder, have otherwise normal intellectual ability and do enjoy socialising, so often appear to other people as just 'unusual'. This can lead to them being ostracised or even attacked by their peers. ...> Full Article

Ethnicity Predicts How Gene Variations Affect Response to Schizophrenia Medications (1/6/2008)

Different variations in the same gene influence how well different ethnic groups, and people within the same ethnic group, respond to various antipsychotic medications, report NIMH-funded researchers. If confirmed, their findings could one day help clinicians predict which medication is most likely to help a patient, based on his or her genetic makeup. ...> Full Article

Novel mechanism for long-term learning identified by researchers (1/5/2008)

Practice makes perfect - or at least that's what we're told as we struggle through endless rounds of multiplication tables, goal kicks and piano scales - and it seems, based on the personal experience of many, to be true. That's why neuroscientists have been perplexed by data showing that at the level of individual synapses, or connections between neurons, increased, repetitive stimulation might actually reverse early gains in synaptic strength. Now, neuroscientists from Carnegie Mellon University and the Max Planck Institute have discovered the mechanism that resolves this apparent paradox. The findings are published in the Jan. 4 issue of Science. ...> Full Article

Why some depressed girls can't smell the roses (1/5/2008)

Can't smell the roses? Maybe you're depressed. Smell too much like a rose yourself? Maybe you've got the same problem. Scientists from Tel Aviv University recently linked depression to a biological mechanism that affects the olfactory glands. It might explain why some women, without realizing it, wear too much perfume. ...> Full Article

Study Identifies Where Thoughts Of Familiar Objects Occur Inside the Human Brain (1/4/2008)

Experts Trained Algorithm To Extract Patterns From Participants' Brain Activation Scans ...> Full Article

Bright Light Therapy Eases Bipolar Depression for Some (1/4/2008)

Bright light therapy can ease bipolar depression in some patients, according to a study published in the journal Bipolar Disorders. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic studied nine women with bipolar disorder to examine the effects of light therapy in the morning or at midday on mood symptoms. ...> Full Article

Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found (1/3/2008)

It's good news that we are living longer, but bad news that the longer we live, the better our odds of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease. ...> Full Article

Daily alcohol use causes changes in sexual behavior in adult male flies (1/3/2008)

A team of researchers at Penn State has used an insect model to reveal, for the first time, a physiological basis for the effect of alcohol on male sexual behavior, including increased sexual arousal and decreased sexual inhibition. ...> Full Article

For women, marital distress means less relief from stress (1/2/2008)

That's the suggestion from a new UCLA study that tracked levels of cortisol, a key stress hormone, among 30 Los Angeles married couples involved in one of our age's trickiest juggling acts - raising kids when both parents work full time. ...> Full Article

Some Antipsychotic Drugs May Be Missing Their Mark (1/2/2008)

Drugs that treat depression, schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions and that target a particular protein on brain cells might not be triggering the most appropriate response in those cells, new research suggests. ...> Full Article