Brain And Consciousness Research - July 2009 Archives
Similarities in brain activity during lucid dreaming and psychosis suggest that the previously discredited technique of dream therapy may be useful in psychiatric treatment, according to a European Science Foundation workgroup. This is strengthened by the potential evolutionary relationship between dreams and psychosis. Confirmed links between lucid dreaming and psychotic conditions offers potential for new therapeutic routes based on how healthy dreaming differs from the unstable states associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders.
...> Full Article
 | MIT study sheds light on the brain's ability to change in response to learning ...> Full Article |
A lack of sunlight is associated with reduced cognitive function among depressed people. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open-access journal Environmental Health used weather data from NASA satellites to measure sunlight exposure across the United States and linked this information to the prevalence of cognitive impairment in depressed people.
...> Full Article
 | Experiencing chronic stress day after day can produce wear and tear on the body physically and mentally, and can have a detrimental effect on learning and emotion. However, acute stress -- a short stressful incident -- may enhance learning and memory. ...> Full Article |
 | Can neuroscience read people's minds? New research by neuroscientists at UCLA and Rutgers University provides new evidence that a brain imaging technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to determine what a person is thinking. However, the research suggests that highly accurate "mind reading" using fMRI is still far from reality. The research will be published in the October 2009 issue of the journal Psychological Science. ...> Full Article |
Researchers find genetic link to placebo response in depressive disorder
...> Full Article
 | Every time a neuron sends a signal -- to move a muscle or form a memory, for example -- tiny membrane-bound compartments, called vesicles, dump neurotransmitters into the synapse between the cells. Researchers report that this process, which is fundamental to the workings of the nervous system, relies on a simple mechanical reality: Tension in the axon of the presynaptic neuron is required. ...> Full Article |
 | A study by the University of Barcelona has analyzed which facial features our brain examines to identify faces. Our brain adapts in order to obtain the maximum amount of information possible from each face and according to the study the key data for identification come from, in the first place, the eyes and then the shape of the mouth and nose. ...> Full Article |
 | Functional magnetic resonance imaging confirms the influences of peer, parents on self identity ...> Full Article |
 | Neuroscientists have now pinpointed where and how the brain processes 3-D motion using specially developed computer displays and an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine to scan the brain. ...> Full Article |
20-year investigation from University of Montreal and University of Genoa researchers
...> Full Article
A new BYU study shows that babies understand dogs. The experiments found 6-month-olds can match the sounds of friendly and aggressive barks to corresponding pictures of dogs, which they accomplished on the first try.
...> Full Article
Dishonesty involves activity in control-related brain networks
...> Full Article
Scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina have devised a chemical technique that promises to allow neuroscientists to discover the function of any population of neurons in an animal brain, and provide clues to treating and preventing brain disease.
...> Full Article
Researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose -- a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages -- impaired the spatial memory of adult rats.
...> Full Article
 | Education is on the cusp of a transformation because of recent scientific findings in neuroscience, psychology, and machine learning that are converging to create foundations for a new science of learning.
...> Full Article |
 | New information about the genes involved in a mammal's early brain development, including those that contribute to neurological disorders such as autism and mental retardation, has been discovered in a research study led by Penn State biologists. The study is the first to use high-throughput sequencing to uncover active genes in developing brains, and it may be the best evidence yet for the activity in the brain of a large number of genes. ...> Full Article |
 | New study helps explain why it is easy to encode new memories but hard to hold onto them ...> Full Article |
Dexterous tasks may be limited by our brain's capacity to handle the anatomy and mechanics of our muscles
...> Full Article
 | Psychologist urges critical thinking to cure 'primitive' notions ...> Full Article |
Study examines effects of stress on weight gain in US population
...> Full Article
The use of magnetic pulses to stimulate the dorsal premotor cortex region of the brain results in an improved ability to learn a skilled motor task. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience show that skilled movements can be stored as memories in the PMd and that magnetic stimulation of this area can facilitate this learning process.
...> Full Article
Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure.
...> Full Article
 | Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. ...> Full Article |
Scientists have uncovered new evidence suggesting that damage to nerve cells in people with multiple sclerosis accumulates because the body's natural mechanism for repair of the nerve coating called "myelin" stalls out.
...> Full Article
 | We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see or hear. A new analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear. The study found that while people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view. ...> Full Article |
In a UNC study, to be published July 9 in the American Journal of Neuroradiology, physically active elderly people showed healthier cerebral blood vessels than those who are not active.
...> Full Article
 | Scientists from Brown University and the University of Cincinnati found that a portion of the brain that handles decision-making also helps decipher different sounds. Details are in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science. ...> Full Article |
 | Alcohol's inebriating effects are familiar to everyone. But the molecular details of alcohol's impact on brain activity remain a mystery. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain cells work. ...> Full Article |
| 
Subscribe
Scientists discover 'catastrophic event' behind the halt of star birth in early galaxy formation
Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Fill 'er up - with algae
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
The scientific brain
Transcendental Meditation activates default mode network, the brain's natural ground state
Confidence is key to gauging impressions we make
Why surprises temporarily blind us
Flexing your marathon muscles at work
Crowded houses: Why our peripheral vision may not be as random as we think
Scientists shed new light on how retina's hardware is used in color vision
How the demons of dementia possess and damage brain cells
Ritalin boosts learning by increasing brain plasticity
Which came first: Religion or the brain?