Brain Discovery Could Block Aging’s Terrible Toll On The Mind

Posted on July 26, 2018Categories MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Brain Discovery Could Block Aging’s Terrible Toll On The Mind

Aging vessels connecting the brain and the immune system play critical roles in both Alzheimer’s disease and the decline in cognitive ability that comes with time, new research reveals. By improving the function of the lymphatic vessels, scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have dramatically enhanced aged mice’s ability to learn and improved their memories. The work may provide doctors an entirely new path to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, age-related memory loss and other neurodegenerative diseases. The research … Continue reading “Brain Discovery Could Block Aging’s Terrible Toll On The Mind”

What religion does to your brain

Posted on July 21, 2018Categories HEALTH & MEDICINE, HUMANS, MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on What religion does to your brain

Whether or not a divine power truly does exist might be a matter of opinion, but the neurophysiological effects of religious belief are scientific facts that can be accurately measured. Here, we take a look at some of these effects, as shown by the latest research. Whether you are a staunch atheist, a reserved agnostic, or a devout believer, you are equally likely to find the effects of religion on human brains astonishing. Religious belief can increase our lifespan and help us … Continue reading “What religion does to your brain”

MS: Iron levels in brain ‘predict disability’

Posted on July 19, 2018Categories HEALTH & MEDICINE, MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on MS: Iron levels in brain ‘predict disability’

Mapping iron levels in the brain with a noninvasive scan could help identify multiple sclerosis patients at higher risk of future physical disability. This was the conclusion of a study that showed how a new type of MRI might help predict the likelihood of severe disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. In a paper about to be published in the journal Radiology, the researchers describe how they used the MRI technique — called Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) — to measure brain levels of iron … Continue reading “MS: Iron levels in brain ‘predict disability’”

Life Experience Changes Structure Of Brain

Posted on July 16, 2018Categories MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Life Experience Changes Structure Of Brain

The way people think and act not only affects the way the brain operates, but also its shape, according to researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH). They found that each brain has physical properties as unique as fingerprints that can alter over time. “Professional musicians, golfers or chess players, for example, have particular characteristics in the regions of the brain which they use the most for their skilled activity,” stated a press releaseexternal link. Lead researcher and neuropsychology professor Lutz … Continue reading “Life Experience Changes Structure Of Brain”

SWITCHING BRAIN CIRCUITS ON AND OFF WITHOUT SURGERY

Posted on July 12, 2018Categories HUMANS, MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on SWITCHING BRAIN CIRCUITS ON AND OFF WITHOUT SURGERY

In the maze of our brains, there are various pathways by which neural signals travel. These pathways can go awry in patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Researchers have developed new therapeutic strategies to more precisely target neural pathways involved in these conditions, but they often require surgery. The latest findings from the laboratory of Mikhail Shapiro, assistant professor of chemical engineering and an affiliated faculty member of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute … Continue reading “SWITCHING BRAIN CIRCUITS ON AND OFF WITHOUT SURGERY”

Seven (or more) things you didn’t know about your brain

Posted on July 12, 2018July 12, 2018Categories HUMANS, MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Seven (or more) things you didn’t know about your brain

The brain — the central “control unit” of our bodies, repository of memories and emotions. Throughout history, philosophers have believed that the brain may even house that intangible essence that makes us human: the soul. What should we know about our brains? In a poem written around 1892, American poet Emily Dickinson described the wonder of the human brain. Her verses express a sense of awe, considering the brain’s marvellous capacities of thought and creativity. Musing on how this fascinating organ is … Continue reading “Seven (or more) things you didn’t know about your brain”

Forgotten Memories Brought Back in Mice

Posted on July 9, 2018Categories ANIMALS, HEALTH & MEDICINE, MIND & BRAIN 1 Comment on Forgotten Memories Brought Back in Mice

By stimulating specific neurons in mouse brains, researchers demonstrate that memories from infancy are not lost, but merely difficult to access. Like humans, mice experience a period of amnesia when they lose their memories of experiences from infancy. Now, researchers report that these memories are not entirely forgotten by mice but simply difficult to recollect—and can be brought out of storage. These findings were published today (July 5) in Current Biology. According to this study, early life experiences “leave very long-lasting … Continue reading “Forgotten Memories Brought Back in Mice”

Publishers go after networking site for illicit sharing of journal papers

Posted on April 6, 2018Categories MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Publishers go after networking site for illicit sharing of journal papers

A major scientific publishing group is taking aim at a social networking site for allowing researchers to illegally post copies of their journal papers. The International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers (STM) in Oxford, U.K., and The Hague, the Netherlands, has written to ResearchGate, a networking website for researchers, to express concerns over its article-sharing practices. ResearchGate, the world’s largest academic social network site with more than 13 million members, has been criticized before for facilitating the upload of paywalled papers. … Continue reading “Publishers go after networking site for illicit sharing of journal papers”

Kisspeptin: Mouse study shows how the brain controls sex

Posted on April 4, 2018Categories MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Kisspeptin: Mouse study shows how the brain controls sex

Summary: Kisspeptin has already been identified as the key molecule within the brain responsible for triggering puberty and controlling fertility. A new study in mice reveals that a subset of neurons in an evolutionarily ancient part of brain, the hypothalamus, drive both attraction to the opposite sex and sexual behavior by two independent mechanisms A research team led by Professor Julie Bakker at Liège University (Belgium) and Professor Ulrich Boehm at Saarland University (Germany) has made a major advancement in … Continue reading “Kisspeptin: Mouse study shows how the brain controls sex”

Diatoms Have Sex, and Ammonium Is a Turn-On

Posted on April 4, 2018Categories MIND & BRAIN   Leave a comment on Diatoms Have Sex, and Ammonium Is a Turn-On

Single-celled algae known as diatoms, long thought to reproduce asexually, were recently found to be friskier than expected. Researchers discovered that diatoms do engage in sexual reproduction — and are especially likely to do it when in the presence of the compound ammonium, a waste product generated by most animals. Previously, scientists had observed the complete life cycles in barely a handful of diatom species, and even among well-studied diatoms, sexual reproduction had never been seen, the researchers wrote in … Continue reading “Diatoms Have Sex, and Ammonium Is a Turn-On”