http://www.physorg.com/health-news/neuroscience/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on neuroscience (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 Communication between nerve cells is vital for our bodies to function. Part of this communication happens through vesicles containing signalling molecules called neurotransmitters. The vesicle fuses with the nerve cell membrane; the neurotransmitters are released and quickly recorded by the next nerve cell. It is crucial that new vesicles constantly are produced for the nerve cell communication continuously to take place. If parts of this communication do not work, it leads to nerve pain like phantom pain following amputation. http://www.physorg.com/news180713035.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:30:07 EST news180713035 (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 At present the task of diagnosing brain disorders using electroencephalography (EEG) is still performed by humans, but in years to come it will increasingly be taken over by computerized systems. This will then also enable us to monitor the brain better in critical situations, during surgery or in intensive care, said Michel van Putten upon his inauguration as Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, on Thursday 10 December 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news180620071.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:15:47 EST news180620071 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. http://www.physorg.com/news180359481.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:10:01 EST news180359481 (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 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. Many previous studies have shown that the brains of people who experience this phenomenon are different from those who do not and, in a new study reported in the February 2010 issue of Cortex, researchers from the University of Padova, Italy, have discovered that learning may also play an important role in synaesthesia and can lead to synaesthetic behaviour even when the person is not consciously aware of the experience. http://www.physorg.com/news180267383.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:41:50 EST news180267383 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. http://www.physorg.com/news180208497.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:30:13 EST news180208497 (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 of the signal substance glutamate on the midbrain in mice. The study is published in the Web edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS. http://www.physorg.com/news180207696.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:00:19 EST news180207696 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 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 of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news180204697.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:52:18 EST news180204697 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 the information-processing problems found in people with schizophrenia; bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders; Huntington's disease; and other afflictions of the nervous system. http://www.physorg.com/news180191375.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:20:01 EST news180191375 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 USA have now identified a specific part of the brain - named the left fusiform gyrus - which is necessary for normal, rapid understanding of the meaning of written text as well as correct word spelling. Their findings are published in the February 2010 issue of Cortex. http://www.physorg.com/news180181796.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:30:52 EST news180181796 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 Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long. http://www.physorg.com/news180118964.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:20:15 EST news180118964 (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 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scottish researchers have discovered a new class of neuron that may lead to new therapies for spinal injury. http://www.physorg.com/news179758572.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:56:37 EST news179758572 Following up on their previous work showing the rescue of dopamine neurons by chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), researchers have now investigated the potential of these chemicals, known as RXR ligands, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience the scientists describe the use of two cellular models of Parkinsonian damage to explore the neuroprotective function of the two RXR ligands LG268 and XCT. http://www.physorg.com/news179737522.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:20:02 EST news179737522 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 The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) has received a lot of attention because of its connection with coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis, but now it appears as if it may have a beneficial influence in degenerative brain diseases. New research, published by Cell Press in the December 10th issue of the journal Neuron, links LDLR with a reduction in brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and suggests a new therapeutic strategy for this incurable disease. http://www.physorg.com/news179590178.html Medicine & Health - Neuroscience Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:10:04 EST news179590178