Brain And Consciousness Research Archives Page 26

World's First Successful Electrical Stimulation for Minimally Conscious Brain-Injured Patient (8/25/2007)

Assault Victim Regains Power to Interact with Family and Friends ...> Full Article

Cellular Outposts Keep Dendrites Strong and Healthy (8/25/2007)

Scientists exploring how the brain develops at a genetic level. ...> Full Article

Brain gene flicks the switch on gender (8/24/2007)

University of Adelaide researchers have discovered a way of creating a male mouse without a Y chromosome by manipulating a single gene in the developing foetus. ...> Full Article

Depression May Play A Bigger Role In Readjustment Than Previously Thought In Troubled Vets (8/24/2007)

Depression may be an unrecognized readjustment problem for recently returning veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study released today at the American Psychological Association 115th Annual Convention. Researchers working with veterans referred for psychiatric evaluation from a primary care service found that major or minor depression was associated with domestic abuse and other family problems. ...> Full Article

How the brain fills in gaps (8/24/2007)

When in doubt about what we see, our brains fill in the gaps for us by first drawing the borders and then "coloring" in the surface area, new research has found. The research is the first to pinpoint the areas in the brain, and the timing of their activity, that are responsible for how we see borders and surfaces. ...> Full Article

Last minute rethink (8/24/2007)

Neuroscientists at UCL (University College London) and Ghent University have found the brain circuit involved in thinking twice and checking impulsive behaviour. The duo discovered that an area in the fronto-median cortex of the brain is activated when you begin to think 'I'm not going to go through with this' and stop yourself doing what you were about to do. ...> Full Article

Brain research shows why long-term drug users just can't say no (8/23/2007)

Groundbreaking research from the University of Melbourne has shed new light on why long term drug users find it hard to say no, despite dire consequences to their health. ...> Full Article

Breaking Up May Not be as Hard as the Song Says (8/23/2007)

The devastation caused by a broken heart has been a dominant theme throughout the ages of great literature and pop culture alike. ...> Full Article

Baby Talk is Universal (8/23/2007)

A major function of speech is the communication of intentions. In everyday conversation between adults, intentions are conveyed through multiple channels, including the syntax and semantics of the language, but also through nonverbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, and rate of speech. ...> Full Article

Psychologist reveals the secrets of leadership (8/23/2007)

New research has found that leaders are most effective when they transform themselves into 'one of us'. The study by the University of Exeter, University of St Andrews and Australian National University shatters the stereotype that 'good' leaders must have a specific set of qualities. Instead, it shows that leaders must embody the qualities and opinions of the group they seek to influence, even down to personal appearance. ...> Full Article

Women Lose Weight at Least a Decade Before Developing Dementia (8/22/2007)

Women who have dementia start losing weight at least 10 years before the disease is diagnosed, according to a study published in the August 21, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Brain cells work differently than previously thought (8/22/2007)

Finding that axons process information may shed light on root of cognitive disorders ...> Full Article

Babies' brains to be monitored using light scans (8/22/2007)

Researchers hoping to better understand the development of the infant brain have long been stymied by a formidable obstacle: babies just don't want to sit still for brain scans. ...> Full Article

Users Mistakenly Trust Higher Positioned Results in Google Searches (8/22/2007)

An eye tracking experiment published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication revealed that college student internet users have an inherent trust in Google's ability to rank results by their true relevance to the query. When participants selected a link from Google's result pages, their decisions were strongly biased towards links higher in position, even if that content was less relevant to the search query. ...> Full Article

What Exactly Is 'Internet Addiction' And What Is The Treatment? (8/21/2007)

Is your first craving in the morning for your computer mouse? Do you obsessively check email in the middle of the night? ...> Full Article

Loneliness Is Bad For Your Health (8/21/2007)

Two University of Chicago psychologists, Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo, have been trying to disentangle social isolation, loneliness, and the physical deterioration and diseases of aging, right down to the cellular level. ...> Full Article

Memory Machine Keeps Long Term Memories Going (8/18/2007)

What happens in our brains when we learn and remember? Are memories recorded in a stable physical change, like writing an inscription permanently on a clay tablet? ...> Full Article

Professor, Students Publish Study On Learning New Languages (8/18/2007)

Is it better to talk more measuredly to people learning a new language, or to chat with them at a faster pace that mimics everyday conversation? ...> Full Article

The Memories You Want To Forget Are The Hardest Ones To Lose (8/17/2007)

Painful, emotional memories that people would most like to forget may be the toughest to leave behind, especially when memories are created through visual cues, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...> Full Article

Two Nicotine Addiction Puzzles Explained (8/16/2007)

The stranglehold of nicotine addiction leads to more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have now explained two roots of that addiction. The discoveries may offer new hope not just for smokers, but eventually also for sufferers of Parkinson's disease, a debilitating movement disorder that affects some 40 million people worldwide. ...> Full Article

Brains Learn Better At Night (8/15/2007)

If you think that the idea of a morning person or an evening person is nonsense, then postgraduate student Martin Sale and his colleagues from the University of Adelaide have news for you. ...> Full Article

Does The Desire To Consume Alcohol And Tobacco Come From Our Genetic Makeup? (8/15/2007)

Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role. The etiology of these desires is multifactorial and a result of complex interactions with the environment. Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one's sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use. ...> Full Article

When 'Don't Worry' Leads to Worrying (8/14/2007)

An employer's commitment to prevent layoffs can leave African American workers feeling less secure, University of Arkansas research shows. ...> Full Article

Internet Information Not Reaching Non-English Users (8/14/2007)

A first-ever study examining the language used to search the Internet has found web surfers across the globe are unable to access a majority of the information online because they aren't searching in English. ...> Full Article

New Centre Plans Early Attack For Dementia Crisis (8/14/2007)

Dementia prevention strategies that start with children as young as seven will be a focus of a new network of researchers and health practitioners based at The Australian National University who will develop ways to prevent and mitigate the growing crisis of dementia in Australia, which is predicted to affect up to 500,000 people by 2040. ...> Full Article

Study Reveals Hidden Suffering Of Children With Language Difficulties (8/13/2007)

Children in the UK with speech and language difficulties are prone to loneliness, feelings of frustration and poor self-esteem, a new Department of Health study has revealed. ...> Full Article

Research Underscores Value Of Scepticism In Judging Truth (8/12/2007)

The release of false information about political or other issues requires greater scepticism and critical input from the public, according to a leading researcher at The University of Western Australia. ...> Full Article

Most People Don't Bargain as Well as They Think They Do (8/12/2007)

The give-and-take of negotiating generally leads both parties to believe they strike harder bargains than they actually do. ...> Full Article

Macho Men Are Seen As Bad Choice For Long-Term Love (8/11/2007)

Women see 'masculine' men as unsuitable long-term partners, new research suggests. ...> Full Article

New Research Discovers Independent Brain Networks Control Human Walking (8/10/2007)

In a study published in the August issue of Nature Neuroscience, researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland found that there are separate adaptable networks controlling each leg and there are also separate networks controlling leg movements, e.g., forward or backward walking. These findings are contrary to the currently accepted theory that leg movements and adaptations are directed by a single control circuit in the brain. The ability to train the right and left legs independently opens the door to new therapeutic approaches for correcting walking abilities in patients with brain injury (e.g., stroke) and neurological disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis). ...> Full Article