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Salk studies pave way to better computer object recognition and therapies for visual disorders

How is it possible for a human eye to figure out letters that are twisted and looped in crazy directions, like those in the little security test internet users are often given on websites?

3 Jul 2013

Research: Change in functional state, structure of spinal cord and brain occur within 40 days of injury

A spinal cord injury changes the functional state and structure of the spinal cord and the brain. For example, the patients' ability to walk or move their hands can become restricted. How quickly such degenerative changes develop, however, has remained a mystery until now.

3 Jul 2013

Researchers pinpoint role of Arl13b gene in guiding placement of neurons during brain development

Researchers have pinpointed the role of a gene known as Arl13b in guiding the formation and proper placement of neurons in the early stages of brain development. Mutations in the gene could help explain brain malformations often seen in neurodevelopmental disorders.

3 Jul 2013

Self-consciousness associated with physiological and brain responses in adolescence

Teenagers are famously self-conscious, acutely aware and concerned about what their peers think of them. A new study reveals that this self-consciousness is linked with specific physiological and brain responses that seem to emerge and peak in adolescence.

2 Jul 2013

Researchers find fear can increase or decrease ability to discriminate among sounds depending on context

Anyone who's ever heard a Beethoven sonata or a Beatles song knows how powerfully sound can affect our emotions. But it can work the other way as well - our emotions can actually affect how we hear and process sound.

1 Jul 2013

Scientists use brain-tracing technique to untangle circuitry that guides brain function

The power of the brain lies in its trillions of intercellular connections, called synapses that together form complex neural "networks." While neuroscientists have long sought to map these individual connections to see how they influence specific brain functions, traditional techniques have been unsuccessful.

28 Jun 2013

Study suggests amylin deposits are a new biomarker for age-related dementia and Alzheimer's

A second amyloid may play a role in Alzheimer's disease, UC Davis researchers find. A protein secreted with insulin travels through the bloodstream and accumulates in the brains of individuals with type 2 diabetes and dementia, in the same manner as the amyloid beta (Αβ) plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found.

28 Jun 2013

Study examines role of six-layered cerebral cortex in processing sensory information

A series of studies conducted by Randy Bruno, PhD, and Christine Constantinople, PhD, of Columbia University's Department of Neuroscience, topples convention by showing that sensory information travels to two places at once: not only to the brain's mid-layer (where most axons lead), but also directly to its deeper layers. The study appears in the June 28, 2013, edition of the journal Science.

28 Jun 2013

Breaking habits is easy, reveal MIT researchers

Our daily routines can become so ingrained that we perform them automatically, such as taking the same route to work every day. Some behaviors, such as smoking or biting your fingernails, become so habitual that we can't stop even if we want to.

28 Jun 2013

Innate worriers are more vulnerable to impacts of sleep loss, find UC Berkeley neuroscientists

UC Berkeley researchers have found that a lack of sleep, which is common in anxiety disorders, may play a key role in ramping up the brain regions that contribute to excessive worrying.

27 Jun 2013

Spontaneously emerging brain activity patterns preserve traces of previous cognitive activity

What if experts could dig into the brain, like archaeologists, and uncover the history of past experiences? This ability might reveal what makes each of us a unique individual, and it could enable the objective diagnosis of a wide range of neuropsychological diseases.

26 Jun 2013

UCSF scientists explore how Dact1 mutations contribute to psychiatric disorders

Gene mutations that cause cell signaling networks to go awry during embryonic development and lead to major birth defects may also cause subtle disruptions in the brain that contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder, according to new research by UC San Francisco scientists.

25 Jun 2013

NeuroSigma's Monarch eTNS System to make Canadian debut at 30th International Epilepsy Congress

NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles based medical device company, today announced that its Monarch eTNS System for the adjunctive treatment of epilepsy and depression will make its Canadian debut at the 30th International Epilepsy Congress, taking place in Montreal, Canada from June 23 to June 27, 2013.

21 Jun 2013

Penn researchers find ALS disease progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern

The motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern which can be classified into four distinct stages, report pathologists with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the Annals of Neurology.

20 Jun 2013

Stem cell patterns in flies offer potential applications for human biologists

A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date.

20 Jun 2013

Study: People suffering from narcissistic disorder exhibit structural abnormalities in brain

A far-reaching disorder of the self-esteem is denoted as a narcissistic personality disorder. Persons with pathological narcissism on the one hand suffer from feelings of inferiority, while on the other hand projecting themselves to the world as arrogant, disparaging and self-absorbed. One of the key features of a narcissistic personality disorder is the lack of empathy

19 Jun 2013

Researchers discover a rational source of pain in skin of patients with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting approximately 10 million people in the U.S., is not imaginary after all, as some doctors have believed. A discovery, published this month in PAIN MEDICINE (the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine), clearly now demonstrates that fibromyalgia may have a rational biological basis located in the skin.

19 Jun 2013

Study identifies brain regions, interactions involved in impersonations and accents

A study, led by Royal Holloway University researcher Carolyn McGettigan, has identified the brain regions and interactions involved in impersonations and accents.

19 Jun 2013

Study shows brain abnormalities in MTBI patients closely resemble Alzheimer's dementia

The distribution of white matter brain abnormalities in some patients after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) closely resembles that found in early Alzheimer's dementia, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

18 Jun 2013

Research: Sleep mechanism enables brain to consolidate emotional memory

Sleep researchers from University of California campuses in Riverside and San Diego have identified the sleep mechanism that enables the brain to consolidate emotional memory and found that a popular prescription sleep aid heightens the recollection of and response to negative memories.

13 Jun 2013

Cortex News and Research

Salk studies pave way to better computer object recognition and therapies for visual disorders

Research: Change in functional state, structure of spinal cord and brain occur within 40 days of injury

Researchers pinpoint role of Arl13b gene in guiding placement of neurons during brain development

Self-consciousness associated with physiological and brain responses in adolescence

Researchers find fear can increase or decrease ability to discriminate among sounds depending on context

Scientists use brain-tracing technique to untangle circuitry that guides brain function

Study suggests amylin deposits are a new biomarker for age-related dementia and Alzheimer's

Study examines role of six-layered cerebral cortex in processing sensory information

Breaking habits is easy, reveal MIT researchers

Innate worriers are more vulnerable to impacts of sleep loss, find UC Berkeley neuroscientists

Spontaneously emerging brain activity patterns preserve traces of previous cognitive activity

UCSF scientists explore how Dact1 mutations contribute to psychiatric disorders

NeuroSigma's Monarch eTNS System to make Canadian debut at 30th International Epilepsy Congress

Penn researchers find ALS disease progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern

Stem cell patterns in flies offer potential applications for human biologists

Study: People suffering from narcissistic disorder exhibit structural abnormalities in brain

Researchers discover a rational source of pain in skin of patients with fibromyalgia

Study identifies brain regions, interactions involved in impersonations and accents

Study shows brain abnormalities in MTBI patients closely resemble Alzheimer's dementia

Research: Sleep mechanism enables brain to consolidate emotional memory

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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