Electric Shock News and Research

RSS

Cortisol study may explain persistence of emotional memories occurring in anxiety, PTSD

The stress hormone cortisol strengthens memories of scary experiences. However, it is effective not only while the memory is being formed for the first time, but also later when people look back at an experience while the memory reconsolidates. This has been published by cognition psychologists from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in the journal "Neuropsychopharmacology".

2 Jul 2015

Vitamin E helps build strong muscles

Body builders have it right: vitamin E does help build strong muscles, and scientists appear to have figured out one important way it does it.

19 May 2015

Scripps florida scientists find a defect responsible for memory impairment in aging

Everyone worries about losing their memory as they grow older—memory loss remains one of the most common complaints of the elderly. But the molecular reasons behind the processes remain unclear, particularly those associated with advancing age.

4 Mar 2015

TSRI scientists find mechanism that causes long-term memory loss due to age

Everyone worries about losing their memory as they grow older--memory loss remains one of the most common complaints of the elderly. But the molecular reasons behind the processes remain unclear, particularly those associated with advancing age.

4 Mar 2015

Researchers successfully monitor expression of genes in neurons

Gene expression within neurons is critical for the formation of memories, but it's difficult to identify genes whose expression is altered by learning. Now researchers have successfully monitored the expression of genes in neurons after rats were exposed to auditory fear conditioning, in which a neutral auditory tone is paired with electric shock.

3 Feb 2015

Researchers say that misfiring of the brain's control system may underpin compulsions in OCD

Misfiring of the brain's control system might underpin compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to researchers at the University of Cambridge, writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

19 Dec 2014

Study shows how specific trauma changes into a state of generalized fear

"I can't get the memories out of my mind!... I am right back in Vietnam, in the middle of the monsoon season at my guard post. My hands are freezing, yet sweat pours from my entire body...I smell a damp sulfur smell. Suddenly I see what's left of my buddy Troy, his head on a bamboo platter, sent back to our camp by the Viet Cong."

2 Dec 2014

Researchers use light to erase specific memories in mice

Just look into the light: not quite, but researchers at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology have used light to erase specific memories in mice, and proved a basic theory of how different parts of the brain work together to retrieve episodic memories.

10 Oct 2014

New therapeutic targets release mechanisms in reactive astrocytes for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, is fatal and currently, there is no cure. In Alzheimer's disease, brain cells are damaged and destroyed, leading to devastating memory loss.

9 Jul 2014

New evidence for painless AF treatment to be presented at FCVB 2014

The first evidence for a shockless treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) will be presented today at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. T

4 Jul 2014

Research finding may accelerate development of treatments for PTSD

Scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have identified a drug that appears to make memories of fearsome events less durable in mice.

1 Jul 2014

Loyola offers new type of implantable defibrillator that prevents sudden cardiac death

Loyola University Medical Center has begun offering patients a new type of implantable defibrillator that prevents sudden cardiac death with an electric shock to the heart.

29 Apr 2014

Mechanical circulatory assist device may have untapped potential in heart surgery patients, say physicians

The most frequently used mechanical circulatory assist device in the world may have untapped potential, physicians say.

31 Mar 2014

Going on a double date may be more effective at reigniting passion in own relationship, says study

Going on a double date may be more effective at reigniting passion in your own relationship than the classic candlelit dinner for two. According to new research, striking up a friendship with another couple in which you discuss personal details of your life will bring you closer to your own partner.

11 Feb 2014

Research findings could provide better understanding of anxiety disorders

In a new study published today in Science, John McGann, associate professor of behavioral and systems neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, and his colleagues, report that neurons in the noses of laboratory animals reacted more strongly to threatening odors before the odor message was sent to the brain.

13 Dec 2013

Study sheds new light on neuropsychiatric disorders

Trauma can scar people so indelibly that their children are affected. History provides examples of generations traumatized by war and starvation, whose children experience altered physiology.

4 Dec 2013

Brain research provides new clues to Pavlovian conditioning

Do fruit flies hold the key to treating dementia? Researchers at the University of Houston have taken a significant step forward in unraveling the mechanisms of Pavlovian conditioning. Their work will help them understand how memories form and, ultimately, provide better treatments to improve memory in all ages.

27 Nov 2013

Inhibition of parvalbumin-expressing prefrontal interneurons triggers fear behaviours

Using an approach combining in vivo recordings and optogenetic manipulations in mice, the researchers succeeded in showing that the inhibition of parvalbumin-expressing prefrontal interneurons triggers a chain reaction resulting in fear behaviour. Conversely, activation of these parvalbumin interneurons significantly reduces fear responses in rodents.

22 Nov 2013

Study shows that different brain regions process different types of fear

What do bullies and sex have in common? Based on work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, it seems that the same part of the brain reacts to both.

11 Nov 2013

WUSTL's Igor Efimov studies new potential treatment for irregular heartbeat

Although an irregular heartbeat is a common malady in the United States, affecting an estimated 5 million people, the treatments for it are limited in scope and effectiveness.

29 Oct 2013