http://www.physorg.com/health-news/neuroscience/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on neuroscience Ben W. Strowbridge, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience and physiology/biophysics, and Phillip Larimer, PhD, a MD/PhD student in the neurosciences graduate program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, are the first to create stimulus-specific sustained activity patterns in brain circuits maintained in vitro. http://www.physorg.com/news180848772.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:00:01 EST news180848772 (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 in helping to unravel various language difficulties seen in adults and children. http://www.physorg.com/news180724460.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:16:14 EST news180724460 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 working order. Evidence that the taste system influences olfactory perception, however, has been vanishingly rare -until now. In a novel study this week in Nature Neuroscience, Brandeis researchers report just such an influence. http://www.physorg.com/news180716870.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:10:03 EST news180716870 (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 interfaces (cyborgs) require a complete dictionary, with the help of which the activities of the brain can be translated successfully into desires, ideas and movement plans. http://www.physorg.com/news180694657.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:58:31 EST news180694657 A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion. http://www.physorg.com/news180635210.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:00:02 EST news180635210 (PhysOrg.com) -- By implanting an electrode into the brain of a person with locked-in syndrome, scientists have demonstrated how to wirelessly transmit neural signals to a speech synthesizer. The "thought-to-speech" process takes about 50 milliseconds - the same amount of time for a non-paralyzed, neurologically intact person to speak their thoughts. The study marks the first successful demonstration of a permanently installed, wireless implant for real-time control of an external device. http://www.physorg.com/news180620740.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:26:19 EST news180620740 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first steps of an infant is a real milestone in the development of all mammals including humans, but little is known about why some animals can walk soon after birth, while others need months, or in the case of humans, a year or so, to take those first steps. Now a new study by scientists in Sweden has shed light on the mystery, finding that the time it takes for all mammals to start walking closely correlates with the size of their adult brains. http://www.physorg.com/news180340234.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:41:29 EST news180340234 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 School of Veterinary Medicine. These findings performed in adult, virgin rats were published in Brain Research Bulletin. http://www.physorg.com/news180272844.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:49:01 EST news180272844 (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 interact with one another in live animals. http://www.physorg.com/news180269148.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:20:05 EST news180269148 When it comes to finger sensitivity, bigger isn't always better. http://www.physorg.com/news180120296.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:45:43 EST news180120296 The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories have been decoded by Medical College of Georgia scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news180162150.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:03:53 EST news180162150 (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 people who do not. http://www.physorg.com/news180085439.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:45:01 EST news180085439 (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 test results. http://www.physorg.com/news180039239.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:40:02 EST news180039239 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 provides new evidence for the neural correlates of self-awareness and a new window into understanding social difficulties in autism spectrum conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news179994011.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:21:06 EST news179994011 Scientists have resolved a question about how a popular class of drugs used to treat schizophrenia works using biosensors that reveal previously hidden components of chemical communication in the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news179932868.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:21:49 EST news179932868 It emerged today that more drivers are using hand-held mobile phones than two years ago, despite the introduction of tougher penalties. The Transport Research Laboratory is worried because phone-using drivers are four times more likely to crash and their reaction times are likely to be slower. http://www.physorg.com/news179759980.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:50:03 EST news179759980 Aging is the single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that simply slowing the aging process in mice prone to develop Alzheimer's disease prevented their brains from turning into a neuronal wasteland. http://www.physorg.com/news179670676.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:34:18 EST news179670676 Nerve cells transplanted into brain-damaged rats helped them to fully recover their ability to learn and remember, probably by promoting nurturing, protective growth factors, according to a new study. http://www.physorg.com/news179589260.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:50:11 EST news179589260 Scientists from the University of Zurich have discovered the physiological mechanisms in the brain that underlie broken promises. Patterns of brain activity even enable predicting whether someone will break a promise. The results of the study conducted by Dr. Thomas Baumgartner and Professor Ernst Fehr, both of the University of Zurich, and Professor Urs Fischbacher of the University of Konstanz, will be published in the journal Neuron on December 10, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news179585680.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:20:01 EST news179585680 Carnegie Mellon University scientists Timothy Keller and Marcel Just have uncovered the first evidence that intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself, creating new white matter that improves communication within the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news179584529.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:38:38 EST news179584529 (PhysOrg.com) -- A startup company, Neuropace in Mountain View Ca., has developed a device that offers new hope for epilepsy patients. The device is designed to neutralize the abnormal electrical activity in the region of the brain that causes seizures. http://www.physorg.com/news179580918.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:36:42 EST news179580918 (PhysOrg.com) -- A laboratory connection between Alzheimer's disease and brain-wasting diseases such as the human form of mad cow disease has moved into the clinic for what is believed to be the first time, manifesting itself in the brains of patients with a rare inherited disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news179570626.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:45:01 EST news179570626 New scientific evidence refutes the preconception that testosterone causes aggressive, egocentric, and risky behavior. A study at the Universities of Zurich and Royal Holloway London with more than 120 experimental subjects has shown that the sexual hormone with the poor reputation can encourage fair behaviors if this serves to ensure one's own status. http://www.physorg.com/news179504442.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:50:04 EST news179504442 Estrogen seems to act like a middleman in its positive effect on the brain, raising the possibility that future drugs may bypass the carcinogenic hormone altogether while reaping its benefits. http://www.physorg.com/news179505580.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:40:42 EST news179505580 (PhysOrg.com) -- A serendipitous discovery of deaf zebra fish larvae has helped narrow down the function of an elusive protein necessary for hearing and balance. The work, led by Rockefeller University`s A. James Hudspeth, suggests that hearing loss may arise from a faulty pathway that translates sound waves into electrical impulses the brain can understand. http://www.physorg.com/news179470963.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:03:48 EST news179470963 We have all had the embarrassing experience of seeing an acquaintance in an unfamiliar setting. We know we know them but can't recall who they are. But with the correct cues from conversation or context, something seems to click and we can readily access very rich and vivid memories about the individual. http://www.physorg.com/news179422949.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:20:01 EST news179422949 Two new studies show that the thalamus--the small central brain structure often characterized as a mere pit-stop for sensory information on its way to the cortex--is heavily involved in sensory processing, and is an important conductor of the brain's complex orchestra. http://www.physorg.com/news179422808.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:41:31 EST news179422808 Studies with fruit flies have shown that the specialized nerve cells called neurons can rebuild themselves after injury. http://www.physorg.com/news179328565.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:30:58 EST news179328565 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the very first time, scientists show what EEG can really tell us about how the brain functions. http://www.physorg.com/news179149173.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:10:02 EST news179149173 Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spasticity and an improvement in mobility. http://www.physorg.com/news179118127.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:30:01 EST news179118127