Brain And Consciousness Research Archives Page 27

Baby DVDs, Videos May Hinder, Not Help, Infants' Language Development (8/10/2007)

Despite marketing claims, parents who want to give their infants a boost in learning language probably should limit the amount of time they expose their children to DVDs and videos such as "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby." ...> Full Article

Simulated Relationships Offer Insight Into Real Ones (8/9/2007)

Is it me, or are you a less than ideal partner? For psychologists studying how people manage romantic relationships, that's not an easy question to answer. What if one of the partners is deeply afraid of intimacy? Could she be acting in ways that undermine the relationship? Or is her partner contributing to the problem? ...> Full Article

Study Shows Novel Way to Trigger New Neuron Production in the Aging Brain (8/9/2007)

Researchers have shown for the first time that putting two specific types of neural cells directly into an aging brain can kick-start creation of brain cells linked to learning and memory. ...> Full Article

Gene Predicts Better Outcome as Cortex Normalizes in Teens with ADHD (8/9/2007)

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). ...> Full Article

Electrical Implant Steadies Balance Disorder In Animals (8/8/2007)

Tests in chinchillas show promise for treating long-term unsteadiness and blurry vision ...> Full Article

Maturity Brings Richer Memories (8/8/2007)

MIT neuroscientists exploring how memory formation differs between children and adults have found that although the two groups have much in common, maturity brings richer memories. ...> Full Article

Discovery Of Novel Nerve Cell Modulator Offers Potential For Mood Disorders, Epilepsy Treatments (8/8/2007)

Study shows link between gut protein and brain's natural marijuana-like compounds ...> Full Article

Why Guilt Doesn’t Keep Some Of Us From Making The Same Mistakes Twice (8/7/2007)

Many of us experience a tinge of guilt as we delight in feelings of pleasure from our favorite indulgences, like splurging on an expensive handbag or having another drink. We make resolutions: this will be the last time, positively. Yet, in spite of documented ambivalence towards temptation and well-meaning vows not to succumb again, consumers often end up repeating the same or similar choices. A new study by Suresh Ramanathan (University of Chicago Graduate School of Business) and Patti Williams (Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania) examines repeated impulsive behavior despite the presence of guilt - important research underscored by the increasing prevalence of binge drinking, obesity, and credit card debt. ...> Full Article

How The Brain Responds As The Beat Goes On (8/7/2007)

McGill, Stanford researchers first to map neural responses to transitions in music ...> Full Article

Researcher Decodes the Toddler Language Explosion (8/7/2007)

The astonishing speed at which toddlers learn new words may relate to the distribution of easy and complex words in a language, not some specialized part of the toddler brain becoming active, according to new research published in the 3 August issue of Science. ...> Full Article

Orangutans Communicate As If They Were Playing Charades (8/7/2007)

When using gestures to get their points across, orangutans rely on the same basic strategy that humans follow when playing the popular game and intentionally modify or repeat hand (or other) signals based on the success or failure of their first attempt. ...> Full Article

Sensory Organ Differentiates Male/Female Behavior In Some Mammals (8/7/2007)

Vomeronasal organ, not brain, determines sex-specific behavior ...> Full Article

Does Playing The Brain/Memory Game Really Help? (8/6/2007)

Brain and memory training programs are popular, but they don't work well for everyone, says a Universitiy of Michigan psychologist. ...> Full Article

How Sweet It Is (8/6/2007)

USC College professors' collaboration helps explain how the body - and brain - sense drops in blood sugar. The partnership will help answer questions like how we know when we need to eat. ...> Full Article

High Pressure Jobs Linked to Depression and Anxiety (8/6/2007)

New research has shown that work-related stress is a cause of clinical depression and anxiety among young adults. In a study of almost 900 32-year olds, 14 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men experiencing stress at work - and with no prior mental health problems - had a first episode of depression or anxiety at age 32. ...> Full Article

'Wake-Up Pill' Under Study to Treat Patients with Bipolar Disorder (8/5/2007)

Preliminary study shows drug's potential in treating the depressive phase of bipolar disorder ...> Full Article

New Epilepsy Therapy Device Being Tested (8/5/2007)

Clinical trial examines new responsive brain stimulation technology ...> Full Article

Monkeys Learn In The Same Way As Humans (8/5/2007)

"Like humans, monkeys benefit enormously from being actively involved in learning instead of having information presented to them passively," said Nate Kornell, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in psychology and lead author of the study, which appears in the August issue of the journal Psychological Science. "The advantage of active learning appears to be a fundamental property of memory in humans and nonhumans alike." ...> Full Article

Music Moves Brain To Pay Attention (8/4/2007)

Using brain images of people listening to short symphonies by an obscure 18th-century composer, a research team from the Stanford University School of Medicine has gained valuable insight into how the brain sorts out the chaotic world around it. ...> Full Article

Aging Adults Have Choices When Confronting Perceived Mental Declines (8/4/2007)

Aging adults may joke about memory lapses and "early Alzheimer's." They may worry when they can't understand a drug plan or lose track of the characters in a novel. ...> Full Article

Cognitive Impairment Link Found in Popular Medications (8/4/2007)

Long-term use of histamine2 receptor antagonists (H2A), one class of drugs that blocks stomach acid, may be associated with cognitive impairment in older African-American adults. ...> Full Article

Should Antipsychotic Drugs Be Taken For Dementia? (8/3/2007)

Antipsychotic drugs are approved mainly for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they are also used for many other purposes. One of the most controversial is reducing disruptive behavior among elderly people with dementia. ...> Full Article

Study Discovers Link Between Increased White Matter in the Brain and Poor Motor Skills in Children with Autism (8/3/2007)

Research Conducted at the Kennedy Krieger Institute Examines How Motor Skill Deficits Can Provide Insight into the Brain Basis of Autism ...> Full Article

Double Trouble: Hopelessness Key Component Of Mood Disorder (8/3/2007)

There's depression, and then there's double depression. ...> Full Article

Neurologist Says Seizures Can Indicate Brain Abnormalities (8/2/2007)

On Monday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a "grand mal" or generalized seizure. University of Missouri-Columbia neurologist Pradeep Sahota said that seizures such as this represent abnormal electrical activity in the brain. It is like an electrical storm, Sahota said. ...> Full Article

Hallucinations in Schizophrenia Linked to Brain Area that Processes Voices (8/2/2007)

For the first time, researchers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have found both structural and functional abnormalities in specific brain regions of schizophrenic patients who experience chronic auditory hallucinations, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology. ...> Full Article

Reading Ability Protects Brain from Lead Exposure (8/2/2007)

Lead smelter workers who are better readers have more protection against the effect of lead exposure on the brain than those who do not read as well, according to a study on the impact of cognitive reserve published in the July 31, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Reading More Into a Face Than Noticeably Meets the Eye (8/1/2007)

Reading the face of a person who is trying to conceal fear or other emotions is tricky business, according to a new Northwestern University study of electrical activity in the brain. ...> Full Article

Patterns Of Excitation Waves Found In Brain's Visual Processing Center (8/1/2007)

Neuroscientists have long believed that vision is processed in the brain along circuits made up of neurons, similar to the way telephone signals are transferred through separate wires from one station to another. But scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center discovered that visual information is also processed in a different way, like propagating waves oscillating back and forth among brain areas. Their findings are published in the July 5 issue of the journal Neuron. ...> Full Article

Brain Abnormalities Found in People with Writer's Cramp (8/1/2007)

People with serious cases of writer's cramp have brain abnormalities, according to a study published in the July 24, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. People with writer's cramp had less brain tissue than healthy people in three areas of the brain that connect the senses and movement with their affected hand. ...> Full Article