Brain And Consciousness Research Archives Page 11

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brain activity linked to parental instinct (2/29/2008)

A possible basis for parental instinct has been found in the brain, according to a team led by Oxford University scientists. ...> Full Article

Does Gingko Biloba Affect Memory? (2/29/2008)

Taking the supplement ginkgo biloba had no clear-cut benefit on the risk of developing memory problems, according to a study published in the February 27, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Genetic Tags Reveal Secrets of Memories' Staying Power in Mice (2/25/2008)

A better understanding of how memory works is emerging from a newfound ability to link a learning experience in a mouse to consequent changes in the inner workings of its neurons. Researchers, supported in part by the National Institutes of Health"s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have developed a way to pinpoint the specific cellular components that sustain a specific memory in genetically-engineered mice. ...> Full Article

Empty Nest Syndrome May Not Be Bad After All, Study Finds (2/24/2008)

Parents Reported Similar Positive Changes in Parent-Child Relationship ...> Full Article