Functional MRI News and Research

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Research may lead to improved treatments for mental health

The National Institutes of Health awarded Penn State researchers a $1.85 million grant to develop a new way to test if dysfunctions in certain areas of the brain lead to mental health complications and brain disorders. If proven, the research would lead to better mental health treatments.

25 Jul 2020

New technique evaluates connectivity of brain networks in COVID-19 patients

Many patients with severe coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) remain unresponsive after surviving critical illness.

7 Jul 2020

Problems in how the brain recognizes and processes novel information underlie psychosis

Problems in how the brain recognizes and processes novel information lie at the root of psychosis, researchers from the University of Cambridge and King's College London have found.

23 Jun 2020

Neuroscientist discovers neuronal pulses in the human brain that activate after an injury

A neuroscientist's neon pink arm cast led him and fellow researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to discover previously undetected neuronal pulses in the human brain that activate after an immobilizing illness or injury.

17 Jun 2020

Brain activity studies are not as useful as previously thought

Hundreds of published studies over the last decade have claimed it's possible to predict an individual's patterns of thoughts and feelings by scanning their brain in an MRI machine as they perform some mental tasks.

3 Jun 2020

Using functional MRI to demonstrate neural suppression in autism

According to the National Autism Association, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience sensory hypersensitivity.

29 May 2020

New computer model predicts the age of the human brain

Scientists have trained a computer to analyze different types of brain scan and predict the age of the human brain, according to a new study in the open-access journal eLife.

20 May 2020

First-of-its-kind trial identifies a viable target for treating anhedonia

A first-of-its-kind trial has demonstrated that a receptor involved in the brain's reward system may be a viable target for treating anhedonia (or lack of pleasure), a key symptom of several mood and anxiety disorders.

31 Mar 2020

Wearable magnetic brain stimulation device could improve motor function in stroke patients

A non-invasive, wearable, magnetic brain stimulation device could improve motor function in stroke patients, according to preliminary late breaking science presented today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2020.

20 Feb 2020

Study identifies brain and social factors underlying racial, ethnic disparities in pain

In her Social and Cultural Neuroscience Lab at the University of Miami, assistant professor of Psychology Elizabeth Losin investigates the mechanisms underlying racial and ethnic disparities related to pain and pain treatment.

3 Feb 2020

Hot flashes associated with decreased verbal memory

If you're having difficulty identifying the right word to express yourself clearly or remembering a story correctly, you may blame menopause.

23 Jan 2020

New research demonstrates the importance of personalized brain models

New research conducted by Professors Christophe Bernard and Viktor Jirsa of Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France and Professor Itamar Kahn, director of the Brain Systems Organization in Health and Disease Lab in the Technion's Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, demonstrates the importance of personalized brain models.

12 Jan 2020

Gulf war illness – one or two diseases?

A study of veterans who have Gulf war syndrome shows that moderate exercise can bring about a spectrum of brain imaging abnormalities, which fall into one of two groups. This could mean that this is a more complicated illness than was first thought. The study was published on December 12, 2019, in the journal Brain Communications.

12 Dec 2019

New review explores relationship between yoga practice and brain health

Scientists have known for decades that aerobic exercise strengthens the brain and contributes to the growth of new neurons, but few studies have examined how yoga affects the brain.

12 Dec 2019

Study advances understanding of mechanisms involved in functional neurological disorder

Individuals with functional neurological disorder have symptoms not explained by traditional neurological conditions, including limb weakness, tremor, gait abnormalities, seizures and sensory deficits.

27 Nov 2019

Study of 'face blindness' provides clues to what goes wrong in the brain

People with prosopagnosia, or "face blindness," have trouble recognizing faces -- even those of close friends and family members.

19 Nov 2019

Study may shake up certain conventional theories on workings of sense of smell

Is a pair of brain structures called the olfactory bulbs, which are said to encode our sense of smell, necessary? That is, are they essential to the existence of this sense? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently showed that some humans can smell just fine, thank you, without olfactory bulbs.

11 Nov 2019

Study of young boys and girls finds no gender difference in brain function or math ability

In 1992, Teen Talk Barbie was released with the controversial voice fragment, "Math class is hard." While the toy's release met with public backlash, this underlying assumption persists, propagating the myth that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematic fields due to biological deficiencies in math aptitude.

10 Nov 2019

Study shows how the complex neural map of human brain operates

Fans of the blockbuster movie "Iron Man 3" might remember the characters step inside the digital projection of a "big brain" and watch as groups of neurons are "lit up" along the brain's neural "map" in response to physical touch.

6 Nov 2019

Deep sleep can calm and reset the anxious brain

When it comes to managing anxiety disorders, William Shakespeare's Macbeth had it right when he referred to sleep as the "balm of hurt minds." While a full night of slumber stabilizes emotions, a sleepless night can trigger up to a 30% rise in anxiety levels, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

4 Nov 2019