Brain And Consciousness Research - September 2008 Archives

Unraveling 'math dyslexia' (9/30/2008)

Understanding the causes and brain correlates of dyscalculia may help to design remediation tools to improve the lives of children and adults with the syndrome ...> Full Article

'Hub' of fear memory formation identified in brain cells (9/29/2008)

A protein required for the earliest steps in embryonic development also plays a key role in solidifying fear memories in the brains of adult animals ...> Full Article

Spacing, not size, matters in visual recognition, researchers find (9/29/2008)

The spacing between letters, not their size, that matters ...> Full Article

Selective deletion of Rett syndrome gene provides insight into origin of complex behaviors (9/28/2008)

A new study describes an exciting approach for mapping the specific neuronal origins of complex and varied behaviors characteristic of Rett syndrome ...> Full Article

Balancing the brain (9/28/2008)

Factor spurring formation of inhibitory synapses gives clues to neurologic disorders ...> Full Article

New brain imaging shows effects of withdrawal on smokers (9/27/2008)

New Brain Imaging Shows The Effects of Withdrawal on Smokers Trying to Quit and How Therapeutic Nicotine Helps ...> Full Article

Independent brain pathways generate positive or negative reappraisals of emotional events (9/26/2008)

Researcher identifies brain pathways that underlie reinterpretation of aversive images in ways that reduce or enhance their negative emotional intensity. ...> Full Article

Forgetting facts (9/25/2008)

Researchers at two British Universities have been investigating the way in which we forget information. ...> Full Article

Amnesics Remember Grammar, but Not Meaning of New Sentences (9/24/2008)

Study shows that amnesics can remember processes but not facts and events. ...> Full Article

Step back to move forward emotionally, study suggests (9/24/2008)

Attempts to understand painful feelings often backfire and perpetuate or strengthen negative moods and emotions ...> Full Article

Revealing the regulating mechanism behind signal transduction in the brain (9/23/2008)

Fragile X protein (FMRP) ensures that protein production is controlled at synapse and regulated by brain activity ...> Full Article

Testosterone levels dictate attraction (9/22/2008)

Women with higher levels of testosterone are more attracted to masculine looking men ...> Full Article

Laminin builds the neuromuscular synapse (9/22/2008)

Extracellular matrix protein called laminin shapes both sides of the junction to ensure they fit together type ...> Full Article

The 'satellite navigation' in our brains (9/21/2008)

Neuroscientist says our brains contain their own navigation system much like satellite navigation ("sat-nav"), with in-built maps, grids and compasses ...> Full Article

Move over mean girls - boys can be socially aggressive, too (9/21/2008)

Now a new analysis of almost 150 studies of aggression in children and adolescents has found that while it's true that boys are more likely to engage in physical aggression, girls and boys alike take part in social aggression. ...> Full Article

Overbearing parents foster obsessive children (9/20/2008)

New study correlates parenting and a child's relationship to his or her hobby ...> Full Article

Early parenting plays key role in infants' physiological response to stress (9/20/2008)

In infancy, genes are the key influence on a child's ability to deal with stress. But as early as 6 months of age, parenting plays an important role in changing the impact of genes that may put infants at risk for responding poorly to stress. ...> Full Article

Face blindness research shows emotions are key in the study of face recognition (9/19/2008)

New research on face blindness demonstrates the importance of using naturalistic emotional faces and bodies for a better understanding of developmental face disorders. ...> Full Article

Context is everything: An Armani ad on 1 page changes perception of Honda ad on next page (9/19/2008)

If people have a positive or negative impression depends on how knowledgeable they are about the products being pitched ...> Full Article

Looking versus seeing (9/18/2008)

Superior colliculus does more than send out motor control commands to eye and neck muscles. ...> Full Article

Baby eyes are taking in the world, applying self-experience to other people (9/18/2008)

Those wide-eyed babies are taking in and using more information than previously believed. ...> Full Article

As good as it gets? (9/17/2008)

Illusion vs. reality: Age-related differences in expectations for future happiness ...> Full Article

Cold and Lonely: Does Social Exclusion Literally Feel Cold? (9/17/2008)

Results open up new opportunities in exploring the interaction between environment and psychology ...> Full Article

Scientists Watch As Listener's Brain Predicts Speaker's Words (9/16/2008)

Scientists have shown for the first time that our brains automatically consider many possible words and their meanings before we've even heard the final sound of the word. ...> Full Article

Research has identified a protein essential in long term memory consolidation (9/15/2008)

New research has identified a specific protein essential for the process of long term memory consolidation. This is the latest of several discoveries that are leading us towards a better understanding of one of the most complex processes in nature â€" the process of memory creation and consolidation in the human brain. This latest research was published recently in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Memories are made of mistakes (9/15/2008)

Our memories of highly charged events from our past can be completely incorrect and many of us can easily be persuaded we have seen things which never happened ...> Full Article

Why delaying gratification is smart: A neural link between intelligence and self-control (9/14/2008)

Previous research suggests that higher intelligence is related to better self-control, but the reasons for this link are unknown. ...> Full Article

Immaturity of the brain may cause schizophrenia (9/13/2008)

The dentate gyrus, which is located in the hippocampus in the brain and thought to be responsible for working memory and mood regulation, remained immature in an animal model of schizophrenia. ...> Full Article

Male-specific neurons directly linked to gender-specific behaviors (9/13/2008)

New research identifies a few critical neurons that initiate sex-specific behaviors in fruit flies and, when masculinized, can elicit male-typical courtship behaviors from females. The study demonstrates a direct link between sexual dimorphism in the brain and gender differences in behavior. ...> Full Article

Researchers find memory capacity much bigger than previously thought (9/12/2008)

Researchers have shown that given the right setting, the human brain can record an amazing amount of information. ...> Full Article

Fluctuations in serotonin transport may explain winter blues (9/12/2008)

Researchers have discovered greater levels of serotonin transporter in the brain in winter than in summer. These findings have important implications for understanding seasonal mood change in healthy people, vulnerability to seasonal affective disorders and the relationship of light exposure to mood. ...> Full Article

Study Finds If Your Self Esteem Is Low, a Faux Relationship Can Give You a Boost (9/11/2008)

"parasocial relationships" -- one-sided associations in which a party knows a great deal about someone who knows nothing about them -- can have self-enhancing benefits for people with low-self esteem, benefits they do not receive in real relationship ...> Full Article

Brains rely on old and new mechanisms for diminishing fear (9/11/2008)

new study suggests that although humans may have developed complex thought processes that can help to regulate their emotions, these processes are linked with evolutionarily older mechanisms that are common across species. ...> Full Article

Walk this way? Masculine motion seems to come at you, while females walk away (9/10/2008)

Observers perceive masculine motion as coming toward them, while a characteristically feminine walk looks like it's headed the other way ...> Full Article

As easy as 1, 2, 3: Number sense correlates with test scores (9/9/2008)

Knowing how precisely a high school freshman can estimate the number of objects in a group gives you a good idea how well he has done in math as far back as kindergarten, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University found. ...> Full Article

Gait may be associated with orgasmic ability (9/8/2008)

A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. ...> Full Article

Is There a 'Mozart Effect'? Ask a Neuroscientist AND a Musicologist (9/7/2008)

Researcher suggests that listening to Mozart doesn't boosts brainpower ...> Full Article

Exercise May Help Improve Memory Problems (9/6/2008)

Adults with memory problems who participated in a home-based physical activity program experienced a modest improvement in cognitive function, compared to those who did not participate in the program ...> Full Article

Hallucinations in the flash of an eye (9/5/2008)

Specific brain regions show increased activity during hallucinations ...> Full Article

Neuroscientist Scans Brain For Clues on Best Time to Multitask (9/4/2008)

A new brain imaging study led by a cognitive neuroscientist finds that there are optimal times when we are better suited to multitask. ...> Full Article

Gene Associated with Social Behavior in Animals Has Similar Effects in Human Males (9/3/2008)

A gene variant related to the hormone vasopressin appears to be associated with how human males bond with their partners or wives ...> Full Article

How accurate is your memory? (9/2/2008)

New research into the human memory has found that it is possible to plant false memories in the human mind that can have significant long-term effects on behavior. ...> Full Article

Cocaine-induced brain plasticity may protect the addicted brain (9/2/2008)

A new study has unraveled some of the mysteries of the cocaine-addicted brain and may pave the way for the design of more effective treatments for drug addiction ...> Full Article

Trouble Quitting? A New Smoking Study May Reveal Why (9/1/2008)

A new study sheds light on why smokers' intentions to quit "cold turkey" often fizzle out within days or even hours. ...> Full Article

New master switch found in the brain that regulates appetite and reproduction (9/1/2008)

A master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls fertility and body weight ...> Full Article