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Study: Binge drinking impairs working memory in adolescent brain

A new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center found that binge drinking impairs working memory in the adolescent brain. The study, in mice, explains why teenagers who binge drink are 15 times more likely to become alcoholics during adulthood.

19 Jul 2018

Rat study shows negative effects of perinatal exposure to phthalates

Male and female rats exposed in the womb and during lactation to plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates had significantly fewer neurons and synapses than those that were not exposed, researchers report in a new study.

19 Jul 2018

Research shows that neurons can encode more than one signal at a time

Back in the early days of telecommunications, engineers devised a clever way to send multiple telephone calls through a single wire at the same time.

19 Jul 2018

Researchers elucidate how the brain drives trial-by-trial adaptation to compensate for errors

Osaka University scientists clarify how the brain drives trial-by-trial adaptation to compensate for errors by differentiating the cause of error

17 Jul 2018

New super-resolution 'nanoscope' provides insight into progression of Alzheimer's disease

Recent studies show that 40 percent of Americans over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's disease, and that the disease begins 10 to 20 years before people show up at the doctor's office with memory problems.

17 Jul 2018

Research provides better understanding of mechanisms underlying memory storage

Memories are formed through long-term changes in synaptic efficacy, a process known as synaptic plasticity, and are stored in the brain in specific neuronal ensembles called engram cells, which are activated during corresponding events.

16 Jul 2018

Neurogenesis underlies the brain's capacity for new memories

The ability to obtain new memories in adulthood may depend on neurogenesis -- the generation of new neurons in the hippocampus -- to clear out old memories that have been safely stored in the cortex, according to research in male rats published in JNeurosci.

13 Jul 2018

Machine-learning may aid in diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders

Could the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders one day be aided through the help of machine learning? New research from the University of Alberta is bringing us closer to that future through a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

12 Jul 2018

Researchers uncover gene that plays role in cocaine addiction

Cocaine can have a devastating effect on people. It directly stimulates the brain's reward center, and, more importantly, induces long-term changes to the reward circuitry that are responsible for addictive behaviors.

12 Jul 2018

Study finds disrupted stress response in people with schizophrenia

Stressful situations affect the brain and body differently in people with schizophrenia compared to people without the mental illness or individuals at high risk for developing psychosis, a new CAMH study shows.

11 Jul 2018

Breakthrough in building computers to mimic brain's neural networks

A computer built to mimic the brain's neural networks produces similar results to that of the best brain-simulation supercomputer software currently used for neural-signaling research, finds a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.

11 Jul 2018

New study tracks how the brain turns simple sensory inputs into meaningful categories

Here's the neuroscience of a neglected banana: whenever you look at its color - green in the store, then yellow, and eventually brown on your countertop - your mind categorizes it as unripe, ripe, and then spoiled.

11 Jul 2018

Neurotransmitter responsible for brain arousal plays vital role in early sensory perceptions

Being aware of our surroundings is a fundamental aspect of our existence. But what in our biological makeup determines how we access and interpret the endless stream of information around us?

10 Jul 2018

Study shows that no two people have the same brain anatomy

Like with fingerprints, no two people have the same brain anatomy, a study by researchers of the University of Zurich has shown.

10 Jul 2018

Violent tendencies could be curbed by brain stimulation

According to a new study, a brain intervention could stop a perverse desire to be physically or sexually violent in some individuals.

4 Jul 2018

Study provides evidence that crucial brain region plays key role in converting vision into action

You see the flour in the pantry, so you reach for it. You see the traffic light change to green, so you step on the gas. While the link between seeing and then moving in response is simple and essential to everyday existence, neuroscientists haven't been able to get beyond debating where the link is and how it's made.

3 Jul 2018

Brain stimulation can reduce a person's intention to commit violent act

Stimulating the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for controlling complex ideas and behaviors, can reduce a person's intention to commit a violent act by more than 50 percent, according to research published in the Journal of Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University.

2 Jul 2018

Short, intensive arithmetic training strengthens neuronal connections between brain regions

Researchers at the Leibniz-Institutes für Wissensmedien and of the Graduate School and Research Network LEAD at the University of Tübingen now found out: Short and intensive arithmetic training strengthens the neuronal connections between brain regions in adults

2 Jul 2018

Obesity together with aging may contribute to development of Alzheimer's disease

A new study suggests that when a high-fat, high-sugar diet that leads to obesity is paired with normal aging, it may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

29 Jun 2018

Study describes new mechanism involved in memory loss associated with aging

A study led by Luísa Lopes, Group Leader at Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes and published today in the prestigious journal Molecular Psychiatry, describes a new mechanism involved in memory loss associated with aging.

28 Jun 2018