Tag: brain

At first, the man couldn't believe his eyes. The icons on his desktop computer were slowly jumping out of his monitor, hovering in the space between him and the screen. For 10 minutes, these icons wavered in his vision before eventually disappearing off to his right side. These strange symptoms and others sent the 54-year-old

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16, 2019 — Staying active in old age may help preserve your memory and thinking skills, a new study suggests. In fact, older people who were physically active kept their minds sharp, even if their brains showed signs of lesions or other markers linked to Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, researchers found. “Physical

When we remember a past event, the human brain reconstructs that experience in reverse order, according to a new study at the University of Birmingham. Understanding more precisely how the brain retrieves information could help us better assess the reliability of eye witness accounts, for example of crime scenes, where people often are able to

When we perceive the world around us, certain objects appear to be more noticeable than others, depending on what we do. For example, when we view a forest-covered mountain from a distance, the forest looks like a large green carpet. But as we get closer, we start noticing the individual trees, and the forest fades

THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 — Teens who are often bullied may be left with shrinkage in key parts of their brain, increasing their risk for mental illness, European researchers report. They said such shrinkage eventually appears to create a growing sense of anxiety, even after taking into account the possible onset of other mental health

We know a good meal can stimulate the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine, and now a study in humans from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Germany suggests that dopamine release in the brain occurs at two different times: at the time the food is first ingested and another once the food

A new study links higher levels of several key nutrients in the blood with more efficient brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tests in older adults. The study, reported in the journal NeuroImage, looked at 32 key nutrients in the Mediterranean diet, which previous research has shown is associated with better brain function in aging.

Hope for epileptics as scientists discover implanting stem cells into the brain could stop seizures The treatment, tested on rats, would modify the patient’s own skin cells Stem cell treatment led to 70% fewer seizures in the months following It inhibits excitement in the hippocampus, where epileptic seizures can start  Currently, surgery to remove the hippocampus

Disorders of sleep are some of the most common problems experienced by patients after traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is important to recognize and treat these problems early to allow for optimal cognitive recovery, but because they are so common, the importance of treating them is often underestimated. In this special issue of NeuroRehabilitation scientists

THURSDAY, Nov. 29, 2018 — Connections between different areas of the brain are sustained longer than usual in people with autism, perhaps explaining some of their symptoms, a new study suggests. It’s possible these prolonged connections make it difficult for the brain to switch from one activity to another, the researchers said. “People with autism

Researchers have found an effective target in the brain for electrical stimulation to improve mood in people suffering from depression. As reported in the journal Current Biology on November 29, stimulation of a brain region called the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reliably produced acute improvement in mood in patients who suffered from depression at the

Previously on Medical News Today, we covered a study explaining that an experience called chemo brain affects many people undergoing cancer — particularly breast cancer — treatment. Chemo brain occurs during cancer treatment, and it may last for a long time after the treatment is over. People experiencing it report a loss of quality in

Due to technological advancements in recent years, medical science has made huge leaps — many with vast implications for medical and neuroscientific research. For instance, scientists devised an innovative method that allowed them to record a million neurons at once, as well as to decode neural activity in real time. The techniques gave researchers access

Low-protein high-carbohydrate diets may be the key to longevity, and healthy brain ageing in particular, according to a new mice study from the University of Sydney. Published today in Cell Reports, the research from the University’s Charles Perkins Centre shows improvements in overall health and brain health, as well as learning and memory in mice

A newborn baby’s brain responds to being touched on the face, according to new research co-led by UCL. Babies use this sense of touch—facial somatosensation—to find and latch onto their mother’s nipple, and should have this ability from birth. Premature babies often have difficulty feeding, and underdevelopment of their facial sensitivity may be one of

For decades, scientists have examined how regions of the brain communicate to understand autism. Researchers at University of Utah Health believe the symptoms of autism may result from sustained connections between regions of the brain. The details of their study are available November 16 in the journal JAMA Network Open. “People with autism do not

Toddler battling a rare brain condition is left with ‘devil horns’ after an operation to drain fluid from his head caused his skull to CAVE IN Clyne Solano, 22 months old, was born with the rare condition hydranencephaly It means his brain is underdeveloped and his enlarged skull is filled with fluid Surgeons operated to

Most of us have had moments when we’re feeling down—maybe we can’t stop thinking about our worst mistakes, or our most embarrassing memories—but for some, these poor mood states can be relentless and even debilitating. Now, new research from UC San Francisco has identified a common pattern of brain activity that may be behind those

Hope of a Parkinson’s breakthrough as experts transplant MILLIONS of stem cells into a patient’s brain ‘to regrow parts ravaged by the disease’ Experts at Kyoto University in Japan performed the first-of-its-kind procedure The man is in his 50s and is one of seven people who will take part in the trial  The procedure has

Stress in middle age can make your brain shrink and make your memory worse, Harvard study finds The brain-reducing effects of stress were found to be triggered by cortisol The Harvard Medical School study was published in the journal Neurology Scientists have said ‘it’s important for people to find ways to reduce stress’  Stress in