Neuroscience News and Research

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New method for efficient tracing of neuronal pathways

New technologies have been likened, famously, to magic. At first, even the few who understand how they work have a tendency to sit back and marvel. Soon, flaws and limitations are detected and the invention process begins again, resulting, almost always, in improvements.

6 Jun 2018

The Human Brain Project successfully enters the third phase

"This is a major step and the result of a lot of hard and excellent work by our members and partners all over Europe", says the HBPs Scientific Director, Katrin Amunts, a medical doctor and neuroscientist based at Forschungszentrum Jülich and Full Professor for Brain Research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany.

6 Jun 2018

Relying on arthritis therapies alone may not improve patients' mental health, shows study

Drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis may impact mental health by improving pain and stiffness and by targeting inflammatory processes common to arthritis and depression; however, a recent review of published studies demonstrates that relying on rheumatoid arthritis therapies alone may not meaningfully improve patients' mental health.

6 Jun 2018

Researchers examine effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on the brain

Researchers of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have gained new insights on the question of how transcranial magnetic stimulation effects functional interconnectivity of neurones.

6 Jun 2018

New project aims to encourage people to quit smoking

SmokeFreeBrain brings together experts in toxicology, pulmonary medicine, neuroscience, and behavioral therapy, as well as health economics and health informatics.

5 Jun 2018

Brain mechanism gives people confidence that what they see is real

Researchershave uncovered a mechanism involved in visual awareness that gives people confidence that what they see is real.

5 Jun 2018

New study describes brain functions that provide confidence about things seen

There's a long way to go before neuroscience can fathom the vastness of human consciousness, but researchers pushing that envelope have uncovered a mechanism that helps create a simple visual awareness.

5 Jun 2018

Disintegrating brain lesions could predict disease progression in MS patients

For decades, clinicians treating multiple sclerosis have interpreted the appearance of new or expanding brain lesions on magnetic resonance imaging scans as a sign that a patient's disease is getting worse.

5 Jun 2018

Poor sleep linked to junk food cravings, nighttime snacking, obesity, and diabetes

Nighttime snacking and junk food cravings may contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors and represent a potential link between poor sleep and obesity, according to a study by University of Arizona Health Sciences sleep researchers.

1 Jun 2018

Research: Memory processes depend on protein ‘off-switch’ in the brain

Memory, learning and cognitive flexibility depend on a protein 'off-switch' in the brain, according to a breakthrough discovery made by an international research collaboration co-led by the University of Warwick.

1 Jun 2018

Rockefeller scientists shed new light on the neuroscience of sleep

A good night of sleep entails about eight hours of blissful immobility--a state of near paralysis that, though welcome at night, would be inconvenient during the day. In a recent paper published in Cell Reports, Rockefeller scientists shed new light on the transitions between a wakeful, active state and the stillness of sleep.

1 Jun 2018

Hunger peptides sent through the brain's fluid cause appetite, shows study

A USC study shows the brain's plumbing system serves double duty, flushing waste and channeling a hunger molecule that tells you when you should eat.

1 Jun 2018

Study highlights complexity of the brain’s molecular response to cocaine use

A study in Biological Psychiatry has identified unique genetic changes in the brain's reward circuitry that are associated with cocaine use, including first-time use, withdrawal, and re-exposure to the drug after prolonged withdrawal.

31 May 2018

Strong social network can positively influence the aging brain

A strong social network could be the key to preserving memory. New research from The Ohio State University found that mice housed in groups had better memories and healthier brains than animals that lived in pairs.

31 May 2018

Longer-term exercise program may be needed to improve thinking skills, suggests study

We know that exercise may help improve thinking skills. But how much exercise? And for how long? To find the answers, researchers reviewed all of the studies where older adults were asked to exercise for at least four weeks and their tests of thinking and memory skills were compared to those of people who did not start a new exercise routine.

31 May 2018

UTSA scientists explore stuttering and develop new technology to optimize brain function

A team of researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio received a two-year, $387,000 grant, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop technology that will identify brain activity patterns that contribute to stuttering and use that technology to train people how to optimize brain functions.

31 May 2018