Brain And Consciousness Research - March 2008 Archives

Growth hormone also guides brain wiring (3/31/2008)

A human hormone known to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body has a new role - helping to set up the proper nerve connections in the odor center of the brain ...> Full Article

New brain cells implicated in machinery of cannabinoid signaling (3/31/2008)

The brain cells called astrocytes, and not just neurons, are sensitive to the substances called cannabinoids-the active chemicals in marijuana. ...> Full Article

Epilepsy marked by neural 'hub' network (3/30/2008)

Abundance of hubs influences seizures and offers insight into how epilepsy develops ...> Full Article

Brain scientist shedding light on learning, memory (3/30/2008)

Scientists is trying to decipher the code of memory ...> Full Article

Researcher is Helping the Blind 'See' Through Sound (3/29/2008)

The brain is such a wonderful organ, says Josef Rauschecker, PhD, that it helps blind people "see" through sound. Humans who have never been able to use their eyes develop a hyper-acute sense of hearing because, in order to better navigate the world, their brains morph use of what would have been neuronal "sight" centers into an enlarged processing area for sound. ...> Full Article

Study shows compassion meditation changes the brain (3/29/2008)

Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes. Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states ...> Full Article

Brain's 'sixth sense' for calories discovered (3/29/2008)

The brain can sense the calories in food, independent of the taste mechanism, researchers have found in studies with mice ...> Full Article

The Conflict of Reward in Depression (3/28/2008)

People with depression show heightened area of the brain associated with conflict ...> Full Article

Fly Flight Simulators Reveal Secrets of Decision Making (3/28/2008)

Using a simulator, researchers hav discovered an algorithm that guides decision making during the flight of Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly. ...> Full Article

Bullying is a relationship problem, new study confirms (3/28/2008)

Students who bully tend to have difficulties with other relationships as well ...> Full Article

Study Shows the Upside of Anger (3/27/2008)

Psychologists tested whether people prefer to experience emotions that are potentially useful, even when they are unpleasant to experience. ...> Full Article

Scientists Map Medulla Circuitry in Fruit Flies, Setting Stage for Understanding How Color Vision Is Processed (3/27/2008)

biologists have mapped the medulla circuitry in fruit flies, setting the stage for subsequent research on how color vision is processed. The work, which appeared in the journal Current Biology, will allow future scholarship to explore how color vision is processed in the optic lobe of the fruit fly Drosophila, providing a paradigm for more complex systems in vertebrates. ...> Full Article

Antisocial conduct and decision making about aggressive behavior influence each other in teens (3/27/2008)

A new study challenges the idea that antisocial behavior is relatively unchangeable during the teenage years ...> Full Article

Seeing may be believing - but is it the same as looking? (3/27/2008)

A new study confirms that if you see it, you believe you had been looking at it ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Language Feature Unique to Human Brain (3/26/2008)

Researchers have identified a language feature unique to the human brain that is shedding light on how human language evolved. The study marks the first use of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a non-invasive imaging technique, to compare human brain structures to those of chimpanzees, our closest living relative. ...> Full Article

Money buys happiness when you spend on others (3/25/2008)

Researchers have found that it's possible to buy happiness after all: when you spend money on others. ...> Full Article

Is it luck of the draw or skill? Psychologist places his bets on skill (3/25/2008)

Researcher suggests putting your bets on skills over luck when playing the card game ...> Full Article

Changing stress levels can make brain flip from 'desire' to 'dread' (3/24/2008)

A single brain circuit mediates desire and dread according to a new study ...> Full Article

High-tech interrogations may promote abuse (3/24/2008)

There is evidence that brain imaging technology is being used to interrogate suspected terrorists despite concerns that it may not be reliable, and that it might inadvertently promote abuse of detainees, according to a Penn State researcher. He says the risk that such technology could license further abuse of detainees remains ever present, given President Bush's March 8 veto of legislation that would have prohibited the CIA from conducting aggressive interrogations. ...> Full Article

Visual technology enables brain to learn in new ways (3/24/2008)

New technology is enabling researchers to translate the most abstract, complex scientific concepts into clearer, more precise 3-dimensional images than conventional visualization systems can create. ...> Full Article

Childhood Personality Can Predict Important Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood (3/23/2008)

A new study reveals the extent to which children's personality types can predict the timing of key transitional moments between childhood and adulthood ...> Full Article

Time isn't money: Study finds that we spend the resources differently (3/23/2008)

Economists usually treat time like money - as another scarce resource that people spend to achieve certain ends. Money is used to pay for things like furniture and plane tickets; time is spent assembling the do-it-yourself bookshelf or searching for cheap flights on the Internet. But despite the old adage that time is money, the two are far from psychologically equivalent, reveals a study from the April issue of the Journal of Consumer Research - particularly when it comes to consumer spending decisions. ...> Full Article

Brains are hardwired to act according to the Golden Rule (3/23/2008)

Brains are hardwired to do unto others as we would have them do unto us ...> Full Article

Researchers Suggest Subliminal Communication May Boot Performance for Simple Tasks (3/22/2008)

A new study in Science suggests that subliminal communication can motivate participants to expend more energy performing a simple task. ...> Full Article

Punishment does not earn rewards or cooperation, study finds (3/22/2008)

Winners don't punish, say the authors of a forthcoming Nature paper ...> Full Article

Logo Can Make You 'Think Different' (3/22/2008)

Researchers find that even the briefest exposure to well-known brands can cause people to behave in ways that mirror those brands' traits. ...> Full Article

Brain's blood supply guides its own development (3/21/2008)

Study finds vascular development guided by intrinsic factors, not neuronal needs ...> Full Article

Stopping a receptor called 'nogo' boosts the synapses (3/21/2008)

Findings could help explain brain benefits of exercise ...> Full Article

The regulation of negative emotions: impact on brain activity (3/21/2008)

Emotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions. The ability to regulate emotions is essential to both mental and physical well-being. "Conversely, difficulties with emotion regulation have been postulated as a core mechanism underlying mood and anxiety disorders," according to the authors of a new study published in Biological Psychiatry on March 15th. Thus, these researchers set out to further expand our understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain. ...> Full Article

New study: Pycnogenol improves memory in elderly (3/20/2008)

Research shows French maritime pine bark improves senior citizens ...> Full Article

Problems getting around in old age? Blame your brain (3/20/2008)

New research shows how well people get around and keep their balance in old age is linked to the severity of changes happening in their brains. The study is published in the March 18, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. White matter changes, also called leukoaraiosis, are frequently seen in older people and differ in severity. ...> Full Article

Moderate consumption of fish can reduce the risk of suffering mental disorders by 30% (3/20/2008)

The habitual consumption of fish as a principle source of omega-3 fatty acids can offer protection against neuropsychiatric disorders, according to a study carried out at the University of Navarra, with the framework of the SUN Project (the University of Navarra Diet and Lifestyle Tracking Program). Specifically, the study revealed that persons who consume fish on at least a moderate basis reduce their risk of suffering these disorders by 30%. ...> Full Article

Disgusting videos key to first-ever brain imaging study comparing ways of controlling emotions (3/19/2008)

Researchers have conducted the first-ever brain imaging study that directly contrasts two different techniques for emotion regulation. ...> Full Article

Does touch affect flavor? Study finds that how a container feels can affect taste (3/19/2008)

Effect most pronounced for those who do not usually like to touch things while shopping ...> Full Article

Wine labels with animals: Why they work (3/19/2008)

Traditional brand research argues that logos should be highly relevant to the product they represent in order to be successful. However, marketers have recently begun using unusual visual identifiers that have little, if anything, to do with the product. For example, market research firm ACNielsen reports that nearly one in five of the table-wine brands introduced in the last three years features an animal on the label. A forthcoming study in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research reveals why this tactic is works. ...> Full Article

Brain images show schizophrenic's memory usage differs (3/18/2008)

The enduring memory problems that people with schizophrenia experience may be related to differences in how their brains process information, new research has found ...> Full Article

To bet or not to bet: How the brain learns to estimate risk (3/18/2008)

Researchers from EPFL and Caltech have made an important neurobiological discovery of how humans learn to predict risk. The research, appearing in the March 12 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, will shed light on why certain kinds of risk, notably financial risk, are often underestimated, and whether abnormal behavior such as addiction (e.g. to gambling or drugs) could be caused by an erroneous evaluation of risk. ...> Full Article

Research with squirrels provides clues on hormone's role in human learning (3/18/2008)

Correct levels of stress hormones boost learning ...> Full Article

Grappling with grammar: How the brain copes in language impaired kids (3/17/2008)

Researchers have discovered that a system in the brain for processing grammar is impaired in some children with specific language impairment (SLI), but that these children compensate with a different brain area. The findings offer new hope for sufferers of SLI, which affects seven per cent of children and is a major cause of many not reaching their educational potential. To date, it has not been clear whether these children generally struggle to process language, or whether they have specific problems with grammar. The UCL findings reveal the latter for a sub-group (G-SLI), and suggest that educational methods that enhance these compensatory mechanisms may help such children overcome their difficulties. ...> Full Article

First empirical study demonstrating that populations of nerve cells adapt to changing images (3/17/2008)

Neuroscientists studying the mind's ability to process images have completed the first empirical study to demonstrate, using animal models, how populations of nerve cells in visual cortex adapt to changing images. Their findings could lead to sight-improving therapies for people following trauma or stroke. ...> Full Article

E.T. not likely to have human-like intelligence (3/16/2008)

Extraterrestrials will probably never 'phone' Earth in a way we'd understand as they're unlikely to have evolved human-like intelligence - but that doesn't mean we should give up the search for life beyond our planet, an ANU expert will argue today. ...> Full Article

Bird brains suggest how vocal learning evolved (3/16/2008)

Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center now have an explanation for this puzzling likeness. ...> Full Article

Researchers may have found test for depression (3/16/2008)

A new discovery could change future diagnosis and therapy of depression ...> Full Article

Scientists determine structure of brain receptor implicated in epilepsy and PMT (3/15/2008)

Scientists have identifying the structure of a receptor in the brain implicated in conditions such as epilepsy and pre-menstrual tension. The same receptor has also been reported to be highly sensitive to alcohol. ...> Full Article

Meditation Impacts Blood Pressure, Study Shows (3/15/2008)

Transcendental Meditation is an effective treatment for controlling high blood pressure with the added benefit of bypassing possible side effects and hazards of anti-hypertension drugs, according to a new meta-analysis conducted at the University of Kentucky. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Hypertension. ...> Full Article

Emotional 'bummer' of cocaine addiction mimicked in animals (3/15/2008)

Cocaine addicts often suffer a downward emotional spiral that is a key to their craving and chronic relapse. While researchers have developed animal models of the reward of cocaine, they have not been able to model this emotional impact, until now. ...> Full Article

Short-term stress can affect learning and memory (3/14/2008)

Study provides first evidence that acute stress impacts brain-cell communication involved with memory formation ...> Full Article

Pain Receptor in Brain May Be Linked to Learning and Memory (3/14/2008)

For the first time, a Brown University research team has linked pain receptors found throughout the nervous system to learning and memory in the brain. The findings, published in Neuron, point up new drug targets for memory loss or epileptic seizures. ...> Full Article

Which came first, social dominance or big brains? Wasps may tell (3/13/2008)

There's new evidence supporting the idea that bigger brains are better. A study of a tropical wasp suggests that the brainpower required to be dominant drives brain capacity. ...> Full Article

New findings about the brain lead to treatment for eating disturbances (3/13/2008)

The discovery of the brain's so-called melanocortin system and its central role in controlling appetite has paved the way for entirely new possibilities for treating obesity and anorexia. ...> Full Article

Calming the storm (3/12/2008)

To the ancients, it was a sign of connection with the spirit world. To Napoleon, Handel, Kierkegaard, Socrates, and Dostoevsky, it was an unwelcome intruder, bursting unannounced into their brains at unexpected and unexplained times. To 50 million people today, epilepsy is a disruptive disease that injects their lives with uncertainty and stigma. ...> Full Article

Non-human primates convey meaning through call combinations (3/12/2008)

Researchers have made what they say is the first experimental demonstration that a primate other than humans conveys meaning by combining distinct alarm calls in particular ways. The study appears in the March 11th issue of Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press. ...> Full Article

Hand Can't Be Fooled, Study Shows (3/12/2008)

Research published in the March issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, is suggesting that we process images in two very distinct ways. ...> Full Article

Researchers unlock snake and spider mystery (3/11/2008)

researchers have unlocked new evidence that could help them get to the bottom of our most common phobias and their causes. ...> Full Article

New study reveals profound impact of our unconscious on reaching goals (3/11/2008)

Whether you are a habitual list maker, or you prefer to keep your tasks in your head, everyone pursues their goals in this ever changing, chaotic environment. We are often aware of our conscious decisions that bring us closer to reaching our goals, however to what extent can we count on our unconscious processes to pilot us toward our destined future? ...> Full Article

Mother-daughter conflict, low serotonin level may be deadly combination (3/11/2008)

A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting themselves. ...> Full Article

Cooperation, punishment and revenge (3/10/2008)

Research has shed new light on the way in which people co-operate for the common good - and what happens when they don't. ...> Full Article

Consequences of sleep deprivation can add up (3/10/2008)

Think you can get by on a few hours of sleep each night without any serious consequences? ...> Full Article

Memory on Trial (3/10/2008)

Research suggests that children's memory may be more reliable than adults' in court cases ...> Full Article

When it comes to emotions, Eastern and Western cultures see things very differently (3/9/2008)

A team of researchers from Canada and Japan have uncovered some remarkable results on how eastern and western cultures assess situations very differently. ...> Full Article

Your brain on Krispy Kremes (3/9/2008)

What makes you suddenly dart into the bakery when you spy chocolate- frosted donuts in the window, though you certainly hadn't planned on indulging? As you lick the frosting off your fingers, don't blame a lack of self-control. ...> Full Article

Head injuries result in widespread brain tissue loss one year later (3/9/2008)

May provide important clue to why patients are left with behavioral handicaps ...> Full Article

Brain chemistry ties anxiety and alcoholism (3/8/2008)

Doctors may one day be able to control alcohol addiction by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center report in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Go with your gut - intuition is more than just a hunch, says research (3/8/2008)

Most of us experience 'gut feelings' we can't explain, such as instantly loving - or hating - a new property when we're househunting or the snap judgements we make on meeting new people. Now researchers at Leeds say these feelings - or intuitions - are real and we should take our hunches seriously. ...> Full Article

Gender differences in language appear biological (3/8/2008)

Language processing more abstract in girls, more sensory in boys ...> Full Article

New Study Examines our Gazes During Potentially Offensive Behavior (3/7/2008)

It's happened to all of us: While sitting at the conference table or at dinner party, a friend or colleague unleashes a questionable remark that could offend at least one person amongst the group. A hush falls and, if you're like most people, your eyes will dart towards the person most likely to take offense to the faux pas. It's a doubly unpleasant experience for the offended: Not only have you been insulted, but you have also suddenly become the center of unwelcome attention. ...> Full Article

Study Highlights Cultural Similarities and Differences about Whether People can Change (3/7/2008)

Is it likely that a 10-year-old bully will change into a kindly pacifist, or that a struggling fifth-grade student will become the next Einstein? ...> Full Article

Costly placebo works better than cheap one (3/7/2008)

A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos ...> Full Article

'Power napping' in pigeons (3/6/2008)

Pigeons prevented from taking naps in the afternoon sleep more intensely at night ...> Full Article

The Talking Brain (3/5/2008)

Duncan Wisbey, impressionist and voice artist on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression, and Professor Sophie Scott, a cognitive neuroscientist at UCL (University College London), will explore the human voice from the perspective of the brain in a talk given during Brain Awareness Week. The duo will discuss how our voices are perceived and produced, and how artists can change their voice to make themselves sound older, or taller, or like someone else altogether. The talk will be held at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London on Tuesday 11 March 2008 at one pm. ...> Full Article

Smokers' brains recognize potential negative consequences but fail to act (3/5/2008)

Addicted people persist with drug use despite the potential negative consequences of their actions or "what might happen." Using a simple stock market game, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston show that the brains of chronic smokers recognize "what might happen (fictive outcomes)," but do not act on that brain signal. The report appears online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Chimps May Have A 'Language-ready' Brain (3/4/2008)

An area of the brain involved in the planning and production of spoken and signed language in humans plays a similar role in chimpanzee communication, researchers report. ...> Full Article

Psychologist finds gender differences in forgiving (3/4/2008)

Forgiveness can be a powerful means to healing, but it does not come naturally for both sexes. Men have a harder time forgiving than women do, according to Case Western Reserve University psychologist Julie Juola Exline. But that can change if men develop empathy toward an offender by seeing they may also be capable of similar actions. Then the gender gap closes, and men become less vengeful. ...> Full Article

The myth of runner's high revisited with brain imaging (3/4/2008)

For the first time scientists demonstrate in long-distance runners the release of endorphins in the brain ...> Full Article

Brain Area Critical for Chimpanzee Communication Corresponds to Similar Area in Human Brain (3/3/2008)

Researchers have found the area in the chimpanzee brain involved in the production of chimpanzee manual gestures and vocalizations is similar to what is known as Broca's area in the human brain. The study, available in today's online edition of Current Biology, is the first to directly link chimpanzee and human brain areas associated with communicative behaviors, suggesting chimpanzee communication is not only more complicated than previously thought, but also that the neurobiological foundations of human language may have been present in the common ancestor of modern humans and chimpanzees. ...> Full Article

Study Finds Sleep Helps Protect Small Children from Injuries (3/3/2008)

Lack of sleep can lead to increased injuries among preschool children, research from the University of Rochester School of Nursing has found. The study, published in the March/April issue of Public Health Nursing, shows that children who, according to their mothers, lack an adequate amount of sleep, are twice as likely to sustain injuries as compared to their well-rested peers. ...> Full Article

Spanking Kids Increases Risk of Sexual Problems as Adults, New Research Shows (3/2/2008)

Children who are spanked or victims of other corporal punishment are more likely to have sexual problems as a teen or adult ...> Full Article

Children's under-achievement could be down to poor working memory (3/2/2008)

Children who under-achieve at school may just have poor working memory rather than low intelligence according to researchers. ...> Full Article

Brain Stress System Presents Possible Treatment Target for Alcohol Dependence (3/1/2008)

A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety shows promise as a new therapeutic target for alcoholism, according to new studies by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ...> Full Article

The Evolution of Aversion: Why even children are fearful of snakes (3/1/2008)

Some of the oldest tales and wisest mythology allude to the snake as a mischievous seducer, dangerous foe or powerful iconoclast; however, the legend surrounding this proverbial predator may not be based solely on fantasy. As scientists from the University of Virginia recently discovered, the common fear of snakes is most likely intrinsic. ...> Full Article