Cortex News and Research

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Ocean cells contribute to contextual learning process, shows research

When we misplace something, retracing our steps often helps us remember where we put it because environmental contexts are strongly linked to memory formation.

26 Sep 2015

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

The human cerebral cortex contains 16 billion neurons, wired together into arcane, layered circuits responsible for everything from our ability to walk and talk to our sense of nostalgia and drive to dream of the future. In the course of human evolution, the cortex has expanded as much as 1,000-fold, but how this occurred is still a mystery to scientists.

25 Sep 2015

Neuroscientists reveal the brain malady responsible for tinnitus, chronic pain

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and Germany's Technische Universität München say they've uncovered the brain malady responsible for tinnitus and for chronic pain — the uncomfortable, sometimes agonizing sensations that persist long after an initial injury.

24 Sep 2015

MIT neuroscientists identify brain circuit critical in forming episodic memory

When you remember a particular experience, that memory has three critical elements -- what, when, and where. MIT neuroscientists have now identified a brain circuit that processes the "when" and "where" components of memory.

24 Sep 2015

Healthy adults with larger orbitofrontal cortex are more optimistic, less anxious

A new study links anxiety, a brain structure called the orbitofrontal cortex, and optimism, finding that healthy adults who have larger OFCs tend to be more optimistic and less anxious.

23 Sep 2015

Reduced conflict-related brain activity linked to higher risk for psychosis

Researchers led by Bradley S. Peterson, MD, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, have shown that lower levels of conflict-related brain activity are associated with a higher risk for later psychosis.

23 Sep 2015

Subtle differences in brain function make women react differently to negative emotions, shows research

Women react differently to negative images compared to men, which may be explained by subtle differences in brain function.

23 Sep 2015

Findings may suggest new therapeutic target to combat memory loss in aging, Alzheimer's disease

Northwestern Medicine scientists have examined activity in a little-studied part of the brain associated with memory and found for the first time the reason that neurons there become more active in old age, findings that may suggest a new target for future therapies to combat memory loss in aging and Alzheimer's disease.

23 Sep 2015

A three-step brain oscillation plays significant role in memory consolidation

Our long-term memory is consolidated when we sleep. Short-term memory traces in the hippocampus, an area deep in the brain, are then relocated to more outer parts of the brain. An international team of neuroscientists, among who Mathilde Bonnefond and Til Ole Bergmann from the Donders Institute at Radboud Universiy, now shows how a three-step brain oscillation plays an important part in that process.

22 Sep 2015

Precise mouse brain map may provide new insights into brain circuits and origins of mental illnesses

Scientists at Duke University have released a highly detailed model of connections in the mouse brain that could provide generations of neuroscientists new insights into brain circuits and origins of mental illness, such as depression and schizophrenia.

16 Sep 2015

Missing part of the brain may play vital role in how people understand the world

A study three years ago sparked a medical mystery when it revealed a part of the brain not found in any present-day anatomy textbooks.

15 Sep 2015

New study reveals link between cardiorespiratory fitness, brain activation and executive function in older adults

The aging process is associated with declines in brain function, including memory and how fast our brain processes information, yet previous research has found that higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults leads to better executive function in the brain, which helps with reasoning and problem solving. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels have also been found to increase brain volume in key brain regions.

14 Sep 2015

Study shows external brain stimulation temporarily improves motor symptoms in Parkinson's patients

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) tend to slow down and decrease the intensity of their movements even though many retain the ability to move more quickly and forcefully.

10 Sep 2015

Nerve damage caused by leprosy linked to changes in the brain of patients

Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to change both anatomically and functionally in response to changes in the body or in the environment.

10 Sep 2015

Studies suggests that insular cortex may hold key to treating addiction

A pair of studies suggests that a region of the brain - called the insular cortex - may hold the key to treating addiction. Scientists have come to this conclusion after finding that smokers who suffered a stroke in the insular cortex were far more likely to quit smoking and experience fewer and less severe withdrawal symptoms than those with strokes in other parts of the brain.

8 Sep 2015

Researchers find intrinsic differences in mice’s neural stem cells using image-tracking technology

One of the longstanding debates in science, that has, perhaps unsurprisingly, permeated into the field of stem cell research, is the question of nature versus nurture influencing development.

4 Sep 2015

Diabetes may be linked to buildup of brain tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Diabetes may be linked to the buildup of tangles or tau in the brain, separate from Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published in the September 2, 2015, online version of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Sep 2015

Researchers reveal how the brain manages multitasking

What makes someone better at switching between different tasks? Looking for the mechanisms behind cognitive flexibility, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Germany's Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and Charité University Medicine Berlin have used brain scans to shed new light on this question.

2 Sep 2015

SKA2 gene may play a role in development of PTSD

A gene linked in previous research, appears to predict more severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as a thinner cortex in regions of the brain critical for regulating strong emotions and coping with stressful experiences. This study is believed to be the first to show that the spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunit 2 (SKA2) gene may play a role in the development of PTSD.

2 Sep 2015

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can alleviate FOG, improve motor skills in PD patients

About 50% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience freezing of gait (FOG), an inability to move forward while walking. This can affect not only mobility but also balance. In a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers report that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can reduce FOG and improve other motor skills in PD patients.

1 Sep 2015

Cortex News and Research

Ocean cells contribute to contextual learning process, shows research

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

Neuroscientists reveal the brain malady responsible for tinnitus, chronic pain

MIT neuroscientists identify brain circuit critical in forming episodic memory

Healthy adults with larger orbitofrontal cortex are more optimistic, less anxious

Reduced conflict-related brain activity linked to higher risk for psychosis

Subtle differences in brain function make women react differently to negative emotions, shows research

Findings may suggest new therapeutic target to combat memory loss in aging, Alzheimer's disease

A three-step brain oscillation plays significant role in memory consolidation

Precise mouse brain map may provide new insights into brain circuits and origins of mental illnesses

Missing part of the brain may play vital role in how people understand the world

New study reveals link between cardiorespiratory fitness, brain activation and executive function in older adults

Study shows external brain stimulation temporarily improves motor symptoms in Parkinson's patients

Nerve damage caused by leprosy linked to changes in the brain of patients

Studies suggests that insular cortex may hold key to treating addiction

Researchers find intrinsic differences in mice’s neural stem cells using image-tracking technology

Diabetes may be linked to buildup of brain tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers reveal how the brain manages multitasking

SKA2 gene may play a role in development of PTSD

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can alleviate FOG, improve motor skills in PD patients

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