Neuroscience news

On the tip of your tongue: Researchers reveal our motor system activates when we hear speech

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 22, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (6) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London have discovered our motor system activates automatically when we hear speech. These findings could, in the future, play a central role ...

Got smell? Research shows that accurate taste perception relies on a functioning olfactory system

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 22, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

As anyone suffering through a head cold knows, food tastes wrong when the nose is clogged, an experience that leads many to conclude that the sense of taste operates normally only when the olfactory system is also in good ...

Researchers crack part of the neuronal code

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 22, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (7) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Prostheses for paralysed patients, communication with patients who have lost all capacity for normal communication - the hopes for modern brain research are high. However, such brain-machine ...

Doctors' bedside skills trump medical technology

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 18, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

Light used to map effect of neurons on one another

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 17, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Harvard University have used light and genetic trickery to trace out neurons' ability to excite or inhibit one another, literally shedding new light on the question of how neurons ...

Exposure to young triggers new neuron creation in females exhibiting maternal behavior

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 17, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Maternal behavior itself can trigger the development of new neurons in the maternal brain independent of whether the female was pregnant or has nursed, according to a study released by researchers at Tufts University's Cummings ...

Color my numbers

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 17, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

For as many as 1 in 20 people, everyday experiences can elicit extra-ordinary associated sensations. The condition is known as synaesthesia and the most common form involves "seeing" colours when reading words and numbers. ...

Small Fingers More Touch Sensitive

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

When it comes to finger sensitivity, bigger isn't always better.

Scientists decode memory-forming brain cell conversations

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (13) | 0

The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories have been decoded by Medical College of Georgia scientists.

Scientists Shed New Light On Right Brain Activity

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 0

It’s a world first: thanks to new technology developed by the University of Victoria, Canada, researchers can now show how multiple parts of the right brain dynamically process spatial relationships.

New study links DHA type of omega-3 to better nervous-system function

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

The omega-3 essential fatty acids commonly found in fatty fish and algae help animals avoid sensory overload, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The finding connects low omega-3s to ...

Glutamate can play key role in drug impact on brain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Addiction disorders of various kinds are a major health and social problem, and our knowledge of how the brain’s reward system functions needs to be enhanced. Uppsala researchers now shows an unexpected effect ...

How do we understand written language?

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | 4 / 5 (4) | 1

How do we know that certain combinations of letters have certain meanings? Reading and spelling are complex processes, involving several different areas of the brain, but researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the ...

New Web tool may help predict risk of second stroke

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Scientists have developed a new web-based tool that may better predict whether a person will suffer a second stroke within 90 days of a first stroke, according to research published in the December 16, 2009, online issue ...

People who 'see' numbers have better memories for dates

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 15, 2009 | 5 / 5 (6) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new research project has shown that people who perceive numbers visually, and who see sequences of numbers as visual patterns, have better memories for dates and events in the past than ...

Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 15, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long.

Rain or Shine? Computer Models How Brain Cells Reach a Decision

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 14, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (4) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers have devised a computer model to explain how the brain makes decisions based on statistical probabilities-as, for instance, when a doctor makes a diagnosis based on several conflicting ...

The Queen and I: How autistic brain distinguishes oneself from others

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Dec 14, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (7) | 0

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that the brains of individuals with autism are less active when engaged in self-reflective thought. The study published today in the journal Brain provid ...