Cortex News and Research

RSS

Transcranial direct current stimulation assists chronic stroke rehabilitation

Adding ipsilesional anodal transcranial direct current stimulation to upper limb rehabilitation delivers motor improvements in chronic stroke patients that last for at least 3 months, a randomised trial shows.

18 Mar 2016

New study provides insight into working memory

When you hold in mind a sentence you have just read or a phone number you're about to dial, you're engaging a critical brain system known as working memory.

18 Mar 2016

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

In one of the first studies to 'read' the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell. The cells under study came from the hippocampus, a memory-related structure that is the only place in a mammal's brain where new neurons can form throughout life.

18 Mar 2016

Learning complex tactile tasks activates the visual cortex

Biology lessons teach us that the brain is divided into separate areas, each of which processes a specific sense. But findings to be published in eLife show we can supercharge it to be more flexible.

15 Mar 2016

Could environmental toxins trigger amyloid plaques in the brain? An interview with Dr Paul Alan Cox

Many Chamorro villagers on the island of Guam perished from a puzzling paralytic disease that combines aspects of ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease.

From Huron Technologies 14 Mar 2016

NIMH-supported researchers discover key secrets of the underlying brain circuitry

A few years ago, researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health discovered in rats that awake mental replay of past experiences is critical for learning and making informed choices. Now, the team has discovered key secrets of the underlying brain circuitry -- including a unique system that encodes location during inactive periods.

14 Mar 2016

Grid cells involved in broader range of cognitive process than previously thought

Evidence of grid cell activity has been seen in healthy volunteers asked to imagine moving through an environment in new UCL research funded by the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust.

11 Mar 2016

Maternal bacterial infections affect fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how pieces of bacterial cell wall cross the placenta and enter developing neurons, altering fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth. The study appears today in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.

10 Mar 2016

Repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can help individuals retain motor skills

Researchers in Japan have found that repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can alter an area of the brain responsible for movement, and help individuals retain these motor skills.

10 Mar 2016

Hemispheric and thalamic volumes point to electrical epilepticus during sleep

Early assessment of hemispheric and thalamic volumes in children with polymicrogyria and epilepsy can reliably predict the risk of continuous spike-and-wave complexes during sleep, a study indicates.

10 Mar 2016

UC Berkeley study provides compelling evidence in favor of 'active learning'

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have captured unique images of problem-solving in action by tapping into the minds of mice. The study shows rapid rewiring in the frontal brains of mice after they learn by trial and error.

8 Mar 2016

Researchers identify how Zika virus may cause microcephaly in fetuses

Working with lab-grown human stem cells, a team of researchers suspect they have discovered how the Zika virus probably causes microcephaly in fetuses. The virus selectively infects cells that form the brain's cortex, or outer layer, making them more likely to die and less likely to divide normally and make new brain cells.

7 Mar 2016

Allen Institute, Blue Brain Project collaborate to develop simulation-based tools to study neurons

The Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Blue Brain Project are deepening their collaboration. Today, the US-based Allen Institute is releasing a set of 40 computer models of neurons from the mouse visual cortex, created using tools developed by the Swiss-based Blue Brain Project at EPFL. Using Blue Brain technology, the researchers were able to reproduce the physiology and electrical activity of the neurons with an extremely high level of detail.

4 Mar 2016

Research highlights how the brain handles numbers

Small numbers are processed in the right side of the brain, while large numbers are processed in the left side of the brain, new research suggests.

4 Mar 2016

New imaging study shows how exercise affects the brain

People who exercise have better mental fitness, and a new imaging study from UC Davis Health System shows why. Intense exercise increases levels of two common neurotransmitters -- glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA -- that are responsible for chemical messaging within the brain.

27 Feb 2016

New treatment for adults with lazy eye one step closer to reality

A new treatment for adults with lazy eye, a condition previously thought to be treatable only in childhood, is one step closer as a result of research from the University of Waterloo in Canada and Sun Yat-sen University in China.

23 Feb 2016

Study unravels physiological signature of fear memory within prefrontalamygdala networks

Fear response to traumatic or threatening situations helps us evade or escape danger. At the same time fear response is learned in the form of association between stimulus or situation and the presence of a stressor.

23 Feb 2016

Rehabilitation-induced reorganization of damaged brain circuits responsible for functional recovery

Each year millions of people worldwide suffer from stroke, which can occur to anyone at any time. While some may recover completely, the majority of survivors will experience some form of impairment that requires a lengthy process toward partial or full recovery of functioning. Therefore, continuous improvement of rehabilitation methods is needed to ensure more positive long-term outcomes among survivors.

19 Feb 2016

Graphic anti-smoking images can warn smokers about cigarettes' health consequences

Viewing graphic anti-smoking images on cigarette packs triggers activity in brain areas involved in emotion, decision-making and memory as observed via brain scans.

17 Feb 2016

AKT1 gene moderates mind-altering effects of smoking cannabis in young people

Researchers at the University of Exeter and UCL (University College London) have identified a gene which can be used to predict how susceptible a young person is to the mind-altering effects of smoking cannabis. The finding could help identify otherwise healthy users who are most at risk of developing psychosis.

17 Feb 2016

Cortex News and Research

Transcranial direct current stimulation assists chronic stroke rehabilitation

New study provides insight into working memory

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

Learning complex tactile tasks activates the visual cortex

Could environmental toxins trigger amyloid plaques in the brain? An interview with Dr Paul Alan Cox

NIMH-supported researchers discover key secrets of the underlying brain circuitry

Grid cells involved in broader range of cognitive process than previously thought

Maternal bacterial infections affect fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth

Repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can help individuals retain motor skills

Hemispheric and thalamic volumes point to electrical epilepticus during sleep

UC Berkeley study provides compelling evidence in favor of 'active learning'

Researchers identify how Zika virus may cause microcephaly in fetuses

Allen Institute, Blue Brain Project collaborate to develop simulation-based tools to study neurons

Research highlights how the brain handles numbers

New imaging study shows how exercise affects the brain

New treatment for adults with lazy eye one step closer to reality

Study unravels physiological signature of fear memory within prefrontalamygdala networks

Rehabilitation-induced reorganization of damaged brain circuits responsible for functional recovery

Graphic anti-smoking images can warn smokers about cigarettes' health consequences

AKT1 gene moderates mind-altering effects of smoking cannabis in young people

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Latest News