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New study shows how anterior cingulate cortex can be stimulated to control pain

A new study by a University of Texas at Arlington physics team in collaboration with bioengineering and psychology researchers shows for the first time how a small area of the brain can be optically stimulated to control pain.

27 Feb 2015

New study finds that wandering mind can impart distinct cognitive advantage

Does your mind wander when performing monotonous, repetitive tasks? Of course! But daydreaming involves more than just beating back boredom. In fact, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a wandering mind can impart a distinct cognitive advantage.

24 Feb 2015

Broca's Area Is The Brain's Scriptwriter, Shaping Speech, Study Finds

What is happening in the brain of an actor reciting Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy or of the person next to you at lunch saying, "Please pass the salt"? For 150 years, scientists have known that a brain region called Broca's area plays a key role in speech production, but exactly what it does and how it does it have been a mystery.

19 Feb 2015

Research may lead to future medical treatments for children with neurodevelopmental problems

Children born with a DNA abnormality on chromosome 16 already linked to neurodevelopmental problems show measurable delays in processing sound and language, says a study team of radiologists and psychologists.

18 Feb 2015

New discovery could lead to potential treatment for preventing blindness

Scientists have made a major new discovery detailing how areas of the brain responsible for vision could potentially adapt to injury or trauma and ultimately prevent blindness.

18 Feb 2015

Neuroscientist to discuss teenage brain development at AAAS meeting in California

Teenage exploration and risk taking could be explained by dramatic changes in the brain that allow elaborate planning and are driven by the need for immediate reward, according to a University of Pittsburgh neuroscientist who will be talking about her research in a panel discussion and press briefing at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, Feb. 13 to 16, in San Jose, Calif.

17 Feb 2015

Study shows amyloid formation may link type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer disease

The pathological process amyloidosis, in which misfolded proteins (amyloids) form insoluble fibril deposits, occurs in many diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

17 Feb 2015

New Penn Medicine study reveals how sleep deprivation increases intake of fat

Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain. A new Penn Medicine study found that not only do we consume more food following a night of total sleep deprivation, but we also we consume more fat and less carbohydrates and a region of the brain known as the salience network is what may lead us to eat more fat.

15 Feb 2015

Mindfulness training can influence health via stress reduction pathways

Over the past decade, there have been many encouraging findings suggesting that mindfulness training can improve a broad range of mental and physical health problems. Yet, exactly how mindfulness positively impacts health is not clear.

15 Feb 2015

Adolescents meth abusers suffer greater alterations in their brain than adult drug abusers

Adolescents who chronically use methamphetamine suffer greater and more widespread alterations in their brain than adults who chronically abuse the drug-and damage is particularly evident in a part of the brain believed to control the "executive function," researchers from the University of Utah and South Korea report.

13 Feb 2015

UC San Diego School of Medicine project receives 2015 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research

A University of California, San Diego School of Medicine project involving the creation of miniature models of the human brain - developed with stem cells - to study neurological disorders caused by HIV and methamphetamine use has been named one of five recipients of the 2015 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

11 Feb 2015

Five researchers selected to receive 2015 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research

With proposals ranging from innovative therapies to the development of unique organoid models of the brain, five scientists have been selected to receive the 2015 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. The five scientists will each receive $500,000 per year for five years to support their research.

10 Feb 2015

Groundbreaking study reveals potential dangers of ice hockey for young athletes

James Hudziak, M.D., has two children who love ice hockey. His son skates for his college team and one of his daughters plays in high school.

9 Feb 2015

Researchers report that neurons in the brain are connected like a social network

Neurons in the brain are wired like a social network, report researchers from Biozentrum, University of Basel. Each nerve cell has links with many others, but the strongest bonds form between the few cells most similar to each other.

5 Feb 2015

Brain scans can predict therapeutic responses to talk therapy

UNC School of Medicine researchers have shown that brain scans can predict which patients with clinical depression are most likely to benefit from a specific kind of talk therapy.

4 Feb 2015

SuperAgers have distinctly different looking brains

SuperAgers, aged 80 and above, have distinctly different looking brains than those of normal older people, according to new Northwestern Medicine research that is beginning to reveal why the memories of these cognitively elite elders don't suffer the usual ravages of time.

4 Feb 2015

Researchers successfully monitor expression of genes in neurons

Gene expression within neurons is critical for the formation of memories, but it's difficult to identify genes whose expression is altered by learning. Now researchers have successfully monitored the expression of genes in neurons after rats were exposed to auditory fear conditioning, in which a neutral auditory tone is paired with electric shock.

3 Feb 2015