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Finding may explain why people with schizophrenia have difficulty achieving real-world goals

People with schizophrenia struggle to turn goals into actions because brain structures governing desire and emotion are less active and fail to pass goal-directed messages to cortical regions affecting human decision-making, new research reveals.

18 Aug 2014

NIH-funded study explores how thalamic reticular nucleus influences consciousness

Ever wonder why it's hard to focus after a bad night's sleep? Using mice and flashes of light, scientists show that just a few nerve cells in the brain may control the switch between internal thoughts and external distractions.

16 Aug 2014

Findings may help identify teens who are at risk for dangerous behaviors in the future

According to the CDC, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for adolescents. Compared to the two leading causes of death for all Americans, heart disease and cancer, a pattern of questionable decision-making in dire situations comes to light in teen mortality.

16 Aug 2014

Bioengineers create 3D brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes

Bioengineers have created three-dimensional brain-like tissue that functions like and has structural features similar to tissue in the rat brain and that can be kept alive in the lab for more than two months.

12 Aug 2014

Schizophrenia-linked genetic variations and the developing brain: an interview with Prof. Guo-li Ming

How much is currently known about what happens in the developing brain that puts people at risk of schizophrenia?

11 Aug 2014

Study shows noticeable differences in brain function across the day for older adults

Older adults who are tested at their optimal time of day (the morning), not only perform better on demanding cognitive tasks but also activate the same brain networks responsible for paying attention and suppressing distraction as younger adults, according to Canadian researchers.

7 Aug 2014

UCSF researchers identify novel molecular features within the developing human brain

UC San Francisco researchers have identified cells' unique features within the developing human brain, using the latest technologies for analyzing gene activity in individual cells, and have demonstrated that large-scale cell surveys can be done much more efficiently and cheaply than was previously thought possible.

7 Aug 2014

Persons with ASD have trouble in noticing their movement imitated by others

A Japanese research group led by Prof Norihiro Sadato, a professor of the National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS), has found that people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have decreased activity in an area in the brain critical for understanding if his/her movement was imitated by others.

5 Aug 2014

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders show weaker brain activation

In the first study of its kind, Prapti Gautam, PhD, and colleagues from The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles found that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) showed weaker brain activation during specific cognitive tasks than their unaffected counterparts.

5 Aug 2014

Acupuncture at Waiguan can activate several brain regions in patients with ischemic stroke

Both acupuncture at Waiguan (SJ5) and sham acupuncture can activate/deactivate several brain regions in patients with ischemic stroke, but there are some difference in Brodmann areas 4, 6, 8, Brodmann areas 7, 39, 40, Brodmann areas 18, 19, 22 and Brodmann areas 13, 24, 32, 28.

5 Aug 2014

UC Davis researcher receives NSSEFF grant to advance new work on learning and memory

Professor Charan Ranganath of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology has received a National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense.

3 Aug 2014

Scientists unravel neural circuit that could play important role in autism

The insular cortex is an integral "hub", combining sensory, emotional and cognitive content. Not surprisingly, alterations in insular structure and function have been reported in many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, addiction and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

1 Aug 2014

Prolonged exposure to loud noise alters how the brain processes speech

Prolonged exposure to loud noise alters how the brain processes speech, potentially increasing the difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds, according to neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Dallas.

1 Aug 2014

Alterations to single gene could predict risk of suicide attempt

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a chemical alteration in a single human gene linked to stress reactions that, if confirmed in larger studies, could give doctors a simple blood test to reliably predict a person's risk of attempting suicide.

30 Jul 2014

New electrical pattern in brains predicts how well individual animals fare in stressful situations

Some people can handle stressful situations better than others, and it's not all in their genes: Even identical twins show differences in how they respond.

30 Jul 2014

Brains of autistic kids are relatively inflexible at switching from rest to task performance

The brains of children with autism are relatively inflexible at switching from rest to task performance, according to a new brain-imaging study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

30 Jul 2014

Parallel brain circuits associated with opposing emotional reactions

People choosing between two or more equally positive outcomes experience paradoxical feelings of pleasure and anxiety, feelings associated with activity in different regions of the brain, according to research led by Amitai Shenhav, an associate research scholar at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University.

27 Jul 2014

Melatonin has protective effects on traumatic brain injury-induced cerebral cortex

Traumatic brain injury can cause post-traumatic neurodegenerations with an increase in reactive oxygen species and reactive oxygen species-mediated lipid peroxidation. Melatonin, a non-enzymatic antioxidant and neuroprotective agent, has been shown to counteract oxidative stress-induced pathophysiologic conditions like cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, neuronal excitotoxicity and chronic inflammation.

26 Jul 2014

GW researcher awarded SFARI grant for autism research

The link between autism and disrupted brain development is an essential part of the puzzle of the disease, and is largely unknown. However, thanks to funding from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, George Washington University researcher Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D. may be able to offer truly integrative and in-depth answers to these key questions in the field of autism research.

26 Jul 2014

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

Astrocytes, the cells that make the background of the brain and support neurons, might be behind mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, according to new research by a Portuguese team from the ICVS at the University of Minho.

23 Jul 2014

Cortex News and Research

Finding may explain why people with schizophrenia have difficulty achieving real-world goals

NIH-funded study explores how thalamic reticular nucleus influences consciousness

Findings may help identify teens who are at risk for dangerous behaviors in the future

Bioengineers create 3D brain-like tissue to study chemical and electrical changes

Schizophrenia-linked genetic variations and the developing brain: an interview with Prof. Guo-li Ming

Study shows noticeable differences in brain function across the day for older adults

UCSF researchers identify novel molecular features within the developing human brain

Persons with ASD have trouble in noticing their movement imitated by others

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders show weaker brain activation

Acupuncture at Waiguan can activate several brain regions in patients with ischemic stroke

UC Davis researcher receives NSSEFF grant to advance new work on learning and memory

Scientists unravel neural circuit that could play important role in autism

Prolonged exposure to loud noise alters how the brain processes speech

Alterations to single gene could predict risk of suicide attempt

New electrical pattern in brains predicts how well individual animals fare in stressful situations

Brains of autistic kids are relatively inflexible at switching from rest to task performance

Parallel brain circuits associated with opposing emotional reactions

Melatonin has protective effects on traumatic brain injury-induced cerebral cortex

GW researcher awarded SFARI grant for autism research

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

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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