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Preference-based decisions become less stable when information flowing between brain regions gets disrupted

Some people find it difficult to make decisions. In a new study, neuroeconomists from the University of Zurich now reveal that the intensity of the communication between different regions of the brain dictates whether we are indecisive or not.

21 Aug 2015

Maltreated children experience more intense emotions than their peers

Children who have been abused or exposed to other types of trauma typically experience more intense emotions than their peers, a byproduct of living in volatile, dangerous environments.

21 Aug 2015

Temporary postnatal visual deprivation induces permanent auditory responses in the brain's visual area

A brief period of postnatal visual deprivation, when early in life, drives a rewiring of the brain areas involved in visual processing, even if the visual restoration is completed well before the baby reaches one year of age, researchers at the University of Trento, McMaster University, and the University of Montreal revealed today in Current Biology.

21 Aug 2015

Scientists discover special brain mechanism that can retrieve unconscious memories

Some stressful experiences - such as chronic childhood abuse - are so overwhelming and traumatic, the memories hide like a shadow in the brain.

18 Aug 2015

Scientists identify where the brain records time and place of real-life memories

For the first time, scientists have seen evidence of where the brain records the time and place of real-life memories. Results showed that the similarity of the brain activation patterns when memories were recalled was an indicator of the breadth of space and time between the actual events.

18 Aug 2015

Study uses fMRI scans to examine neural substrates of moral cognition in healthcare decision making

Areas of the brain associated with social and moral disgust are triggered when healthcare funding is split unequally, researchers from the UK and Australia have found.

18 Aug 2015

New research identifies cause of disruption in brain's communication channels linked to psychiatric disorders

New research has identified the mechanisms that trigger disruption in the brain's communication channels linked to symptoms in psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. The University of Bristol study, published today [17 Aug] in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, could have important implications for treating symptoms of brain disorders.

18 Aug 2015

MGH papers reveal the way anesthetics affect brains of older patients and children

Recent Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigations into the neurobiology underlying the effects of general anesthesia have begun to reveal the ways different anesthetic agents alter specific aspects of the brain's electrical signals, reflected by EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures. While those studies have provided information that may lead to improved techniques for monitoring the consciousness of patients receiving general anesthesia, until now they have been conducted in relatively young adult patients.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers identify novel brain network that plays wide role in memory and learning processes

One of the more heartbreaking realities of Alzheimer's is the moment when a loved one struggling with the disease no longer fully recognizes a family member or close friend who is caring for them.

13 Aug 2015

Study sheds light on what motivates people to trust

Trust matters whether it's love, money or another part of our everyday lives that requires risk, and a new study by a Dartmouth brain researcher and his collaborators sheds light on what motivates people to make that leap of faith.

12 Aug 2015

EPFL scientists reveal that the brain is not as compact as we thought

Using an innovative method, EPFL scientists show that the brain is not as compact as we have thought all along. To study the fine structure of the brain, including its connections between neurons, the synapses, scientists must use electron microscopes. However, the tissue must first be fixed to prepare it for this high magnification imaging method.

11 Aug 2015

DISC-1: schizophrenia's "Rosetta Stone" gene? An interview with Professor Kevin Fox

The DISC-1 gene has been studied intensively over the years because people with mutations in DISC1 have a high likelihood of mental illness. DISC-1 was known to be associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major clinical depression and autism.

10 Aug 2015

McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

Researchers at McGill have clearly identified, for the first time, the specific parts of the brain involved in decisions that call for delayed gratification. In a paper recently published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, they demonstrated that the hippocampus (associated with memory) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with pleasure) work together in making critical decisions of this type, where time plays a role.

5 Aug 2015

DBS may aid cortical plasticity in Parkinson’s patients

Deep-brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus may help to restore long-term potentiation-like plasticity in the motor cortex of patients with Parkinson’s disease, a study shows.

4 Aug 2015

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

Like top musicians, songbirds train from a young age to weed out errors and trim variability from their songs, ultimately becoming consistent and reliable performers. But as with human musicians, even the best are not machines. To learn and improve, the songbird brain needs to shake up its tried-and-true patterns with a healthy dose of creative experimentation. Until now, no one has found a specific mechanism by which this could occur.

4 Aug 2015

Study reveals how brain work leads to physical fatigue

Do you ever notice how stress and mental frustration can affect your physical abilities? When you are worried about something at work, do you find yourself more exhausted at the end of the day? This phenomenon is a result of the activation of a specific area of the brain when we attempt to participate in both physical and mental tasks simultaneously.

31 Jul 2015

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? New research on the brain's capacity to learn suggests there's more to it than the adage that "practise makes perfect." A music-training study by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at McGill University and colleagues in Germany found evidence to distinguish the parts of the brain that account for individual talent from the parts that are activated through training.

29 Jul 2015

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

Like Duke Ellington's 1931 jazz standard, the human brain improvises while its rhythm section keeps up a steady beat. But when it comes to taking on intellectually challenging tasks, groups of neurons tune in to one another for a fraction of a second and harmonize, then go back to improvising, according to new research led by UC Berkeley.

29 Jul 2015

New research may aid in treatment of vision problems like lazy eye

If you have two working eyes, you are live streaming two images of the world into your brain. Your brain combines the two to produce a view of the world that appears as though you had a single eye -- like the Cyclops from Greek mythology.

25 Jul 2015

Twenty Radboud researchers receive Veni grant as part of Innovational Research Incentives Scheme

Twenty young and promising researchers from Nijmegen - eleven from Radboud University and nine from Radboudumc - are each to receive up to 250,000. NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) is awarding the Veni grant as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme.

25 Jul 2015

Cortex News and Research

Preference-based decisions become less stable when information flowing between brain regions gets disrupted

Maltreated children experience more intense emotions than their peers

Temporary postnatal visual deprivation induces permanent auditory responses in the brain's visual area

Scientists discover special brain mechanism that can retrieve unconscious memories

Scientists identify where the brain records time and place of real-life memories

Study uses fMRI scans to examine neural substrates of moral cognition in healthcare decision making

New research identifies cause of disruption in brain's communication channels linked to psychiatric disorders

MGH papers reveal the way anesthetics affect brains of older patients and children

Researchers identify novel brain network that plays wide role in memory and learning processes

Study sheds light on what motivates people to trust

EPFL scientists reveal that the brain is not as compact as we thought

DISC-1: schizophrenia's "Rosetta Stone" gene? An interview with Professor Kevin Fox

McGill researchers identify brain structures involved in delayed gratification

DBS may aid cortical plasticity in Parkinson’s patients

Research finding could help reveal how the human brain learns complex motor skills

Study reveals how brain work leads to physical fatigue

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

New research may aid in treatment of vision problems like lazy eye

Twenty Radboud researchers receive Veni grant as part of Innovational Research Incentives Scheme

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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