Tag: brain

Modeling changes in brain activity over time provides deeper insights into learning and behavioral responses. Observing the brain’s response to repeated stimuli has helped KAUST researchers develop a method for modeling connectivity patterns in neural networks. Mapping connectivity patterns will help to better understand brain function, ultimately improving diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases and

Smoking cannabis may boost your risk of stroke by cutting off blood supply to the brain, scientists say Stroke increased by 15% among marijuana users between 2010 and 2014 Rates of stroke in non-cannabis users stayed constant over that time Marijuana use may be on the rise as it becomes legalised around the world Compounds

It has long been known that so-called place cells in the human hippocampus are responsible for coding one’s position in space. A related type of brain cell, called grid cells, encodes a variety of positions that are evenly distributed across space. This results in a kind of honeycomb pattern tiling the space. The cells exhibiting

The brain allows organisms to learn and adapt to their surroundings. It does this by literally changing the connections, or synapses, between neurons, strengthening meaningful patterns of neural activity in order to store information. The existence of this process—brain plasticity—has been known for some time. But actually, there are two different types of brain plasticity

Consciousness requires continuous, internally generated activity in the brain. The modulation of this activity is the basis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and of generation of sleep, dreams, and perception. Achieving such activity is thus an important milestone in normal brain maturation, which occurs around birth. Successful transition to this activity indicates a good prognosis for

A positive sense of mental well-being is related to better brain health among older adults, according to a new report issued today by the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) and involving University of Exeter research. Studies shows our sense of mental well-being tends to increase after middle age and there are steps we can

Here’s a sentence. Got it? You just involuntarily transformed symbols on a screen into sounds in your head. Or to put it another way, you read it. That seems simple enough, but moving from what letters look like to what they sound like is a complex multisensory task that requires cooperation among brain areas specialized

A special type of cell essential to the ability of olfactory neurons to regenerate may be genetically engineered to deliver anticancer therapy to the dangerous brain tumors called glioblastomas. In their report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers describe using olfactory ensheathing cells to deliver an anticancer

Imagine a situation where one child is teasing another. While the child doing the teasing means it playfully, the other child views it as hostile and responds aggressively. Behavior like this happens all the time with children, but why some react neutrally and others act aggressively is a mystery. In a new study, a University

Patients suffering from mental and neurological disorders, including autism, ADHD and dementia, could benefit from new developments in brain scanning technology, according to a new study published in The Neurodiagnostic Journal. Recent advances in electroencephalography (EEG) technology, which may one day be used to measure brain function throughout a patient’s lifespan, could encourage earlier diagnoses

Babies born before their due date show better brain development when fed breast milk rather than formula, a study has found. Experts say that helping mothers to provide breast milk in the weeks after giving birth could improve long-term outcomes for children born pre-term. Premature birth has been linked to an increased possibility of problems

About 30% of adults and 80% of teenagers today do not meet the minimum levels of daily physical activity for staying healthy, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Previous studies have already demonstrated that there is a gap between the intention to play sport and actually playing it among individuals with a leaning

Astrocytes—the star-shaped cells of our brain—are very busy. Their job description includes maintaining the blood-brain barrier, removing excess neurotransmitters, repairing brain tissue and more. Their important role in brain function suggests astrocytes are also involved in disease. Scientists are particularly interested in uncovering how they may drive inflammation in the brain. Brain inflammation is linked

Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have created a massive database of the changes in gene activity of individual cells in the cerebellum during embryonic development and immediately after birth. The analysis of thousands of brain cells isolated from mice offers researchers a high-resolution map that enables scientists to view the detailed genomic changes

A study led by Boston Children’s Hospital and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) may open up new opportunities for treating neuropathic pain, a difficult-to-treat type of chronic pain due to damage to the nervous system that can make the lightest touch intensely painful. In a report today in Nature, scientists led by Zhigang

Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University Hospital of Gießen and Marburg, in collaboration with colleagues from Bonn, the Netherlands, and the UK, have analysed what happens in the brain when humans want to voluntarily forget something. They identified two areas of the brain – the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus – whose activity patterns

Space and time are closely related — not just in physics, but also in the brain. This intimate connection becomes clearer when we take a look at how our brains form episodic memories. Episodic memories are autobiographical memories — that is, memories about specific events that happened to someone at a specific point in time

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that ketamine works as an antidepressant at least in part by activating the brain’s opioid system. The finding overturns previously held beliefs that the drug’s antidepressant effects stemmed solely from its impact on the glutamate system. These beliefs led to the widespread use of ketamine

Researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas investigated the effects on the brain of concurrent cannabis and nicotine use, versus the use of solely cannabis and solely nicotine. The results, recently published in the journal Brain Structure and Function, show that not only were the effects in these three

MONDAY, Aug. 27, 2018 — In a new study of patients with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (a-fib), 4 in 10 had previously undetected brain damage, though none had a history of stroke or mini-stroke. This brain damage could put them at risk for mental decline and dementia, researchers said. Their study included nearly