Thalamus News and Research

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The Thalamus is an area of the brain that helps process information from the senses and transmit it to other parts of the brain.

Research at Rice may help explain aspects of synesthesia

A research team led by Rice University Psychology Professor Tony Ro has published its findings that may help to explain the phenomenon known as synesthesia, in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway.

27 Sep 2007

Ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus plays role in sensory perception

The ventrolateral nucleus (VL) of the thalamus is connected to the cerebellum and motor cortex and therefore thought to be involved in motor function.

25 Sep 2007

European project to look at the wiring of the brain during growth

One of the great questions of neurobiology, how the brain is built up during embryonic development, could be resolved by a young French scientist in an award winning project organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the European Heads of Research Councils (EuroHORCS).

24 Sep 2007

Discovery of gene responsible for binocular vision

In work that could lead to new treatments for sensory disorders in which people experience the strange phenomena of seeing better with one eye covered, MIT researchers report that they have identified the gene responsible for binocular vision.

13 Sep 2007

Alcoholics carry untold liability for brain damage

Researchers know that heavy alcohol intake can lead to structural and functional changes in the brain, but have not been able to establish direct links between these changes and specific cognitive functions.

28 Aug 2007

People with writer's cramp have less grey matter in three areas of the brain

People with serious cases of writer's cramp have brain abnormalities, according to a study published in the July 24, 2007, issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Jul 2007

Scientists identify two brain networks in Parkinson's

The disease that causes tremors, rigidity and slowed movements in a million Americans also targets another brain network that regulates cognitive thought and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.

10 Jul 2007

The brain predicts our perception of the outside world

The human brain anticipates our perception of the outside world. For example, it is capable of predicting if we are going to perceive tactile stimulation of weak intensity or, on the contrary, if a more intense stimulation will be perceived more or less painfully.

9 Jul 2007

Hypothyroidism linked to mood swings

Hypothyroidism is often associated with mood changes like depression lethargy.

5 Jun 2007

Key source of chronic pain appears to be an old memory trace stuck in the prefrontal cortex

Why do so many people continue to suffer from life-altering, chronic pain long after their injuries have actually healed"

5 Jun 2007

Arthritis pain processed in parts of brain concerned with emotions and fear

Researchers at The University of Manchester have discovered that arthritis pain, unlike that induced as part of an experiment, is processed in the parts of the brain concerned with emotions and fear.

From The University of Manchester 30 Mar 2007

Role of emotions in how patients feel arthritis pain

How does the brain process the experience of pain? Thanks to advances in neuroimaging, we now know the answer lies in a network of brain structures called the pain matrix.

30 Mar 2007

Scientists answer brain mystery

The taste of champagne, the sound of a train, the flash of a pop fly into left field - indeed all of human perception ' begins in the brain's center. That's where sensory information passes from the thalamus to the neocortex for processing.

5 Mar 2007

Scientists spot mechanism behind promising new sleep drug

An experimental drug called gaboxadol may soon help millions of bleary-eyed insomniacs get to sleep, and a multi-center team of U.S. scientists believes they've pinpointed just how the drug works.

1 Nov 2006

New understanding of how our brains process sensory information

The same chemical in the body that is targeted by the drug Viagra. also helps our brains "boot up" in the morning so we can process sights, sound, touch and other sensory information.

8 Aug 2006

Fly research sheds light on sleep regulation and its role in memory

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that a brain region previously known for its role in learning and memory also serves as the location of sleep regulation in fruit flies.

18 Jun 2006

Vitamin B3 variant reverses effects of fetal alcohol syndrome in mice

A form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide can reverse the molecular, cellular, and behavioral effects of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in mice, according to a study by physician-scientists at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

21 Feb 2006

Aspirin may not increase the risk of recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage

Aspirin is typically prescribed for people at risk of having an ischemic stroke to prevent blood clots. Because aspirin may cause bleeding, it is typically avoided in people who have had a hemorrhagic stroke, also called intracerebral hemorrhage.

25 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

Brain has more than one pathway along which visual information can be sent

Visual information can be processed unconsciously when the area of the brain that records what the eye sees is temporarily shut down, according to research at Rice University in Houston.

1 Nov 2005