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How the brain recognizes objects

When a human looks at a number, letter or other shape, neurons in various areas of the brain's visual center respond to different components of that shape, almost instantaneously fitting them together like a puzzle to create an image that the individual then "sees" and understands

18 Jan 2006

Alzheimer's may be triggered by neuron division

A new study in mice suggests that Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be triggered when adult neurons try to divide. The finding helps researchers understand what goes wrong in the disease and may lead to new ways of treating it.

18 Jan 2006

Face perception is mediated by a distributed neural system in the human brain

New research indicates that an area of the brain thought to act in reward circuitry may represent a phase in visual processing during which sexual orientation modulates how we perceive individual faces. The findings are reported by Felicitas Kranz and Alumit Ishai of the University of Zurich.

11 Jan 2006

Segregation of the brain into gray and white matter

By borrowing mathematical tools from theoretical physics, scientists have recently developed a theory that explains why the brain tissue of humans and other vertebrates is segregated into the familiar "gray matter" and "white matter."

11 Jan 2006

Myelin breakdown appears to be key contributor to Alzheimer disease later in life

A new UCLA imaging study shows that age-related breakdown of myelin, the fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring, correlates strongly with the presence of a key genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease.

8 Jan 2006

Researchers move closer to understanding the basis of a severe epilepsy and mental retardation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine took a step closer to understanding the basis of a severe epilepsy and mental retardation syndrome with work published in the January 5, 2006 issue of the journal Neuron.

5 Jan 2006

Breakdown of myelin linked to genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease

2 Jan 2006

Study finds light sensing cells develop before vision

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that cells making up a non-visual system in the eye are in place and functioning long before the rods and cones that process light into vision.

22 Dec 2005

Chronic pain sufferers may be able to reduce pain levels by studying their own live brain images

Chronic pain sufferers may be able to reduce pain levels by studying their own live brain images, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report in a new study.

15 Dec 2005

It's all in the mind so think that pain away

According to U.S. researchers chronic discomfort can be reduced by brain manipulation and people in chronic pain can "think away" their suffering by learning to manipulate the activity of the brain.

14 Dec 2005

Brain enlargement may indicate autism

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found evidence of brain enlargement in a relatively large sample of children with autism, compared with children who do not have the disorder, according to a study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

13 Dec 2005

Disruption of normal gene interaction linked to schizophrenia

Disruption of the normal interaction between the genes PRODH and COMT contributes directly to major symptoms of schizophrenia by upsetting the balance of the brain chemicals glutamate and dopamine, according to a group of investigators that includes a scientist now at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Dec 2005

Feeling fat - it's all in the mind!

UK scientists believe they have identified the part of the brain that determines whether a person feels fat.

29 Nov 2005

Orbitofrontal thickness, retention of fear extinction, and extraversion

The relationship between the size of a brain structure and the ability to recover from traumatic experiences also may influence overall personality type, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

28 Nov 2005

MGH study finds first function for, promising flexibility in adult-born nerve cells

New brain cells that develop in the olfactory system of adult mice appear to play a role in the brain different from that of older neurons.

28 Nov 2005

Visibility, visual awareness, and visual masking of simple unattended targets are confined to areas in the occipital cortex beyond human V1/V2

Dartmouth professor of psychological and brain sciences Peter Tse has published new results in his on-going investigation of the brain and how it transforms visual stimuli into conscious experience.

16 Nov 2005

Meditation may slow down brain aging

The regular practice of meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing.

14 Nov 2005

Gender affects the way a person's brain responds to humor

Need more evidence that men and women are different? Look no further than the Sunday funnies. According to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, gender affects the way a person's brain responds to humor.

14 Nov 2005

Meditation associated with increased cortical thickness

Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes, but a new study by researchers from Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.

13 Nov 2005

Hopkins study finds no "cognitive decline" after use of heart-lung machine during bypass surgery

The use of a cardiopulmonary heart pump during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not significantly damage such high-level mental tasks as thinking, reasoning and remembering, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers recently published in Neurology.

10 Nov 2005