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Common antidepressant medications not helpful for people with mood, anxiety disorders

Studies indicate that the majority of people with mood and anxiety disorders who receive the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRI's, are not helped by these medications. SSRIs are designed to increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is key to maintenance of mood.

4 Mar 2015

Neuroscientists find new pathway that allows several brain areas communicate within striatum

Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientists have identified a new pathway by which several brain areas communicate within the brain's striatum.

4 Mar 2015

Brain scientists map changes in communication between nerve cells in rats

Lights, sound, action: we are constantly learning how to incorporate outside sensations into our reactions in specific situations. In a new study, brain scientists have mapped changes in communication between nerve cells as rats learned to make specific decisions in response to particular sounds. The team then used this map to accurately predict the rats' reactions. These results add to our understanding of how the brain processes sensations and forms memories to inform behavior.

3 Mar 2015

Study shows physical similarities, differences between extrovert types in the brain

Everyday experience and psychological studies alike tell us that there are two different types of extroverts: The gregarious "people-persons" who find reward in sharing affection and affiliation with others, and the ambitious "go-getters" who flash those bright-white smiles in their pursuit of achievement and leadership agendas.

27 Feb 2015

Carnegie Mellon study identifies intermediary neuron system that acts as synaptic cloaking device

Neuroscientists believe that the connectome, a map of each and every connection between the millions of neurons in the brain, will provide a blueprint that will allow them to link brain anatomy to brain function. But a new study from Carnegie Mellon University has found that a specific type of neuron might be thwarting their efforts at mapping the connectome by temporarily cloaking the synapses that link a wide field of neurons.

27 Feb 2015

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

Cortex News and Research

Common antidepressant medications not helpful for people with mood, anxiety disorders

Neuroscientists find new pathway that allows several brain areas communicate within striatum

Brain scientists map changes in communication between nerve cells in rats

Study shows physical similarities, differences between extrovert types in the brain

Carnegie Mellon study identifies intermediary neuron system that acts as synaptic cloaking device

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

New study finds that wandering mind can impart distinct cognitive advantage

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

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

New discovery could lead to potential treatment for preventing blindness

Neuroscientist to discuss teenage brain development at AAAS meeting in California

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

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

Mindfulness training can influence health via stress reduction pathways

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

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

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

Groundbreaking study reveals potential dangers of ice hockey for young athletes

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

Brain scans can predict therapeutic responses to talk therapy

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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