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Study explores how the brain finds meaning in metaphor

You can grasp a hand. You can also grasp a concept. One is literal. One is metaphorical. Our brains know the difference, but would we be able to understand the latter without the former?

3 Apr 2019

Neuroscientists question effectiveness of using electrical currents to improve memory

The effectiveness of applying electrical currents to the brain to improve memory and enhance cognitive ability - often used to treat Alzheimer's patients and children with developmental disorders - has been thrown into question by neuroscientists at Kingston University in London.

1 Apr 2019

Researchers describe mathematical model as key to developing effective drugs for brain disorders

A collaboration between researchers from the UAB Institute of Neurosciences and the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, published in March in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, describes a mathematical model to quantify the activity of biased G-protein-coupled receptors.

28 Mar 2019

Preoperative donor muscle training expedites rehabilitation process in patients

Researchers at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience of the Higher School of Economics have proposed to train transplanted muscles in advance with new movements so that the brain can learn to use them more quickly after autotransplantation.

28 Mar 2019

Virtual reality could be used to treat people with neurological disorders

Playing games in virtual reality (VR) could be a key tool in treating people with neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

28 Mar 2019

Special input pathway may hold the key to coding sensory information in the cerebellum

As we go about our daily lives, we are constantly bombarded by a steady stream of sensory information. Take a typical morning routine for example- roused from sleep by a shrill alarm, the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and the brake lights and traffic horns of rush hour. In the course of a single day, we experience thousands of different cues across all senses.

28 Mar 2019

Portable mini microscope could improve scientists' ability to study brain disease in living mice

Working with mice, a team of Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has developed a relatively inexpensive, portable mini microscope that could improve scientists' ability to image the effects of cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions in the brains of living and active mice over time.

28 Mar 2019

Purdue engineers develop tiny glutamate sensors for spinal cord injuries

Your chances of getting a nasty migraine increase following a spinal cord injury, thanks to a chemical messenger in the brain that spikes to toxic levels, past studies have suggested.

28 Mar 2019

Study sheds light on why some people hear 'hear' silent flashes or movement

A synaesthesia-like effect in which people 'hear' silent flashes or movement, such as in popular 'noisy GIFs' and memes, could be due to a reduction of inhibition of signals that travel between visual and auditory areas of the brain, according to a new study led by researchers at City, University of London.

28 Mar 2019

Study explores how a hallucinogenic drug impacts the brains of mice

While there is increasing interest in using hallucinogenic drugs to treat conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, scientists are just beginning to understand what these drugs actually do in the brain—and how they cause hallucinations.

27 Mar 2019

Study uncovers large-scale brain patterns and networks that control sleep

An international study headed by researchers from Aarhus University has for the first time uncovered the large-scale brain patterns and networks which control sleep, providing knowledge which in the future may help the large proportion of people who experience problems sleeping.

27 Mar 2019

Discovery could lead to new drugs for pain conditions

If a particular protein is missing during the fetal stage, no neurons develop that convey pain, temperature and itch, a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Cell Reports shows. The discovery can eventually lead to new drugs for pain conditions.

27 Mar 2019

New research illuminates positive effects of exercise on the brain

Anyone who trains for a marathon knows that individual running workouts add up over time to yield a big improvement in physical fitness.

25 Mar 2019

Nervous system relies on guidance cues for neuronal axons to reach destinations

Similar to the dozens of Sherpas that guide hikers up treacherous Himalayan mountains to reach a summit, the nervous system relies on elaborate timing and location of guidance cues for neuronal axons--threadlike projections--to successfully reach their destinations in the body.

25 Mar 2019

Antidepressant drugs may not work when neurons are out of shape

elective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the most commonly prescribed medication for major depressive disorder, yet scientists still do not understand why the treatment does not work in nearly thirty percent of patients with MDD.

22 Mar 2019

The Brain Institute wins $7.04 million grant to investigate 'neurophilosphy of free will'

The newly-minted Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Science (The Brain Institute) at Chapman University, with Dr. Uri Maoz as project leader, is the recipient of a total of $7.04 million to study how the human brain enables conscious control of decisions and actions.

22 Mar 2019

Research links participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children

Adult depression has long been associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory and response to stress. Now, new research from Washington University in St. Louis has linked participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children and less depression in boys ages 9 to 11.

22 Mar 2019

Pitt engineers win $550,000 NSF CAREER award to develop new intervention for people with ASD

Autism was first described by U.S. researchers more than 70 years ago, and today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 59 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder, affecting more than 3.5 million Americans.

22 Mar 2019

New mathematical algorithm objectively classifies shapes of neurons in the brain

For nearly 100 years, scientists have been trying to name cells. They have been describing them in the same way that Darwin described animals and trees. Now the Blue Brain Project has developed a mathematical algorithm to objectively classify the shapes of the neurons in the brain.

22 Mar 2019

Allergic reaction during pregnancy may alter sexual-development in offspring's brain

A single allergic reaction during pregnancy prompts sexual-development changes in the brains of offspring that last a lifetime, new research suggests.

22 Mar 2019

Neuroscience News and Research

Study explores how the brain finds meaning in metaphor

Neuroscientists question effectiveness of using electrical currents to improve memory

Researchers describe mathematical model as key to developing effective drugs for brain disorders

Preoperative donor muscle training expedites rehabilitation process in patients

Virtual reality could be used to treat people with neurological disorders

Special input pathway may hold the key to coding sensory information in the cerebellum

Portable mini microscope could improve scientists' ability to study brain disease in living mice

Purdue engineers develop tiny glutamate sensors for spinal cord injuries

Study sheds light on why some people hear 'hear' silent flashes or movement

Study explores how a hallucinogenic drug impacts the brains of mice

Study uncovers large-scale brain patterns and networks that control sleep

Discovery could lead to new drugs for pain conditions

New research illuminates positive effects of exercise on the brain

Nervous system relies on guidance cues for neuronal axons to reach destinations

Antidepressant drugs may not work when neurons are out of shape

The Brain Institute wins $7.04 million grant to investigate 'neurophilosphy of free will'

Research links participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children

Pitt engineers win $550,000 NSF CAREER award to develop new intervention for people with ASD

New mathematical algorithm objectively classifies shapes of neurons in the brain

Allergic reaction during pregnancy may alter sexual-development in offspring's brain

Event guide: 8th Neuroimmunology Drug Development Summit 2026 eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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