Neuroscience news

Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning

6 hours ago | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the st ...

Hormone ghrelin can boost resistance to Parkinson's disease

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 25, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach, may be used to boost resistance to, or slow, the development of Parkinson's disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a study published in a recent issue of the Journal of ...

Auditory illusion: How our brains can fill in the gaps to create continuous sound

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 25, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

It is relatively common for listeners to "hear" sounds that are not really there. In fact, it is the brain's ability to reconstruct fragmented sounds that allows us to successfully carry on a conversation in a noisy room. ...

Scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 25, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 1

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Their findings, which may be relevant to the relationship betwee ...

Two molecules affecting brain plasticity

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 25, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (6) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- You wouldn't want a car with no brakes. It turns out that the developing brain needs them, too.

High unexpressed anger in MS patients linked to nervous system damage, not disease severity

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 24, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) feel more than twice as much withheld anger as the general population and this could have an adverse effect on their relationships and health, according to a study published in the December ...

Moderate-to-heavy exercise may reduce risk of stroke for men

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Men who regularly take part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, such as walking, golfing, ...

Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 23, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Women who store fat on their waist in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy.

Upending textbook science on Alzheimer's disease

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 23, 2009 | 5 / 5 (6) | 0

Alzheimer's disease is caused by the build-up of a brain peptide called amyloid-beta. That's why eliminating the protein has been the focus of almost all drug research pursuing a cure for the devastating neurodegenerative ...

The court will now call its expert witness: the brain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 20, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Will advances in neuroscience make the justice system more accurate and unbiased? Or could brain-based testing wrongly condemn some and trample the civil liberties of others? The new field ...

Waking up memories while you sleep

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 19, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (9) | 2

They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle and a cat's meow, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds presented during the nap were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern ...

Drug studied as possible treatment for spinal injuries

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 19, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 0

Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed.

Good news on multiple sclerosis and pregnancy

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 18, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean ...

New study shows brain's ability to reorganize

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 18, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (11) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. The reason they can do this, researchers suggest, ...

Findings could speed the development of drugs for Parkinson's disease

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 18, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Australian scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of dopamine release from nerve cells, findings that should speed the development of more effective drugs for treating Parkinson's Disease.