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Brain mechanisms for behavioral flexibility

New research provides insight into how the brain can execute different actions in response to the same stimulus.

15 Apr 2009

Imaging reveals abnormalities in pathways connecting brain areas in those with writer's cramp

Abnormalities in the fibers connecting different brain areas may contribute to muscle disorders such as writer's cramp, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Neurology.

13 Apr 2009

Creating ideal neural cells for clinical use

Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have developed a protocol to rapidly differentiate human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into neural progenitor cells that may be ideal for transplantation.

13 Apr 2009

New insights into perception - sensory processing of visual and tactile motion use overlapping neural circuits

In the classic waterfall illusion, if you stare at the downward motion of a waterfall for some period of time, stationary objects - such as rocks - appear to drift upward.

12 Apr 2009

$Adult brain processes fractions easier than child's$

Adult brain processes fractions easier than child's

Although fractions are thought to be a difficult mathematical concept to learn, the adult brain encodes them automatically without conscious thought, according to new research in the April 8 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

8 Apr 2009

Researchers regenerate axons necessary for voluntary movement

For the first time, researchers have clearly shown regeneration of a critical type of nerve fiber that travels between the brain and the spinal cord and which is required for voluntary movement.

6 Apr 2009

Researchers aim to determine if specific brain circuits and pathways might be responsible for wisdom

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have compiled the first-ever review of the neurobiology of wisdom – once the sole province of religion and philosophy.

6 Apr 2009

Schizophrenics appear to rely considerably less on top-down processing during perception

Patients with schizophrenia are able to correctly see through an illusion known as the 'hollow mask' illusion, probably because their brain disconnects 'what the eyes see' from what 'the brain thinks it is seeing', according to a joint UK and German study published in the journal NeuroImage.

6 Apr 2009

Brain scan-assisted diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder a step closer to reality

Florence, Italy: Preliminary research examining the difference in brain activity between soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and those without it moves scientists a step closer to the possibility of being able one day to use brain scans to help diagnose the condition.

6 Apr 2009

What drives brain changes in macular degeneration?

In macular degeneration, the most common form of adult blindness, patients progressively lose vision in the center of their visual field, thereby depriving the corresponding part of the visual cortex of input.

2 Apr 2009

Schizophrenia could be caused by faulty signalling in the brain

In the biggest study of its kind, scientists looking in detail at brain samples donated by people with the condition have identified 49 genes that work differently in the brains of schizophrenia patients compared to controls.

2 Apr 2009

Activation of the prefrontal cortex improves working memory

Psychologists and neurologists invest considerable effort in the study of working memory.

1 Apr 2009

Rigorous visual training helps the brain to see again after stroke

By doing a set of vigorous visual exercises on a computer every day for several months, patients who had gone partially blind as a result of suffering a stroke were able to regain some vision, according to scientists who published their results in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

1 Apr 2009

Experimental brain tools developed by Hebrew University scientists

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a new analytical tool to answer the question of how our brain cells record outside stimuli and react to them.

1 Apr 2009

Mother's criticism causes distinctive neural activity among formerly depressed

Formerly depressed women show patterns of brain activity when they are criticized by their mothers that are distinctly different from the patterns shown by never depressed controls, according to a new study from Harvard University.

1 Apr 2009

How your brain grows might come down to how your cells divide

In the April 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), Lake and Sokol report that mouse protein Vangl2 controls the asymmetrical cell division and developmental fate of progenitor neurons.

30 Mar 2009

Action video games improve real-world vision

Video games that involve high levels of action, such as first-person-shooter games, increase a player's real-world vision, according to research in today's Nature Neuroscience.

29 Mar 2009

Thinning of right hemisphere in brain a marker for familial form of depression

Findings from one of the largest-ever imaging studies of depression indicate that a structural difference in the brain - a thinning of the right hemisphere - appears to be linked to a higher risk for depression, according to new research at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

23 Mar 2009

Distinct electric signature in brain predicts blunders

From spilling a cup of coffee to failing to notice a stop sign, everyone makes an occasional error due to lack of attention.

23 Mar 2009

Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study headed by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.

17 Mar 2009