Tag: Memory

The rat in a maze may be one of the most classic research motifs in brain science, but a new innovation described in Cell Reports by an international collaboration of scientists shows just how far such experiments are still pushing the cutting edge of technology and neuroscience alike. In recent years, scientists have shown that

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

Breathing through the nose may improve the transfer of experience to long-term memory, finds a study of human adults published in JNeurosci. The findings add to growing evidence for the influence of respiration on human perception and cognition. Building on previous research in animals and humans, Artin Arshamian and colleagues compared the effects of nose

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

Hearing aids and cataract surgery are strongly linked to a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to new research by University of Manchester academics. According to Dr. Piers Dawes and Dr. Asri Maharani, cognitive decline- which affects memory and thinking skills- is slowed after patient’s hearing and sight are improved. The rate of decline

Lack of estrogen may play a role in the development of anxiety and memory problems, according to a new rodent study. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society’s (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. Estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, regulates the female

About every five seconds or so we close our eyes and blink to moisten them. During this brief moment no light falls on our retina yet it is not constantly dark and we continue to observe a stable picture of our environment. The brain seems to remember the percepts that have just happened. Caspar Schwiedrzik

Incredible sketches drawn entirely from MEMORY Incredible sketches drawn entirely from MEMORY: Boy, nine, with autism can recreate intricate land and cityscapes after looking at them for just two minutes Conan Andrews is one of the few in the UK to be diagnosed with autistic savant This causes his autism to be ‘sensory’ and requires him

I can remember being a baby. I recall being in a vast room inside a doctor’s surgery. I was passed to a nurse and then placed in cold metal scales to be weighed. I was always aware that this memory was unusual because it was from so early in my life, but I thought that

Testing how well people remember past events in their lives could help medical professionals make early predictions about who is at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Arizona. Researchers administered an “autobiographical memory” test to a group of 35 healthy adults, about half of whom carry the

New research in humans demonstrates the potential to improve memory with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique delivered during sleep. The results, published in JNeurosci, come from a project funded by the United States Department of Defense that aims to better understand the process of memory consolidation, which could translate into improved memory function in both

New research in humans demonstrates the potential to improve memory with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique delivered during sleep. The results, published in JNeurosci, come from a project funded by the United States Department of Defense that aims to better understand the process of memory consolidation, which could translate into improved memory function in both

Poor protein in a mother’s diet in early pregnancy, around the time of conception, can have a lasting effect on brain development, according to research recently published by University of Southampton academics. The project, led by Dr. Sandrine Willaime-Morawek, in collaboration with Professor Tom Fleming, is the first to clearly demonstrate that poor maternal nutrition

A study led by Luísa Lopes, Group Leader at Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and published today in the prestigious journal Molecular Psychiatry, describes a new mechanism involved in memory loss associated with aging. The work developed over three years by a team of Portuguese, French and German scientists now shows

Memories of traumatic experiences can lead to mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can destroy a person’s life. It is currently estimated that almost a third of all people will suffer from fear- or stress-related disorders at one point in their lives. Now, a new study shows — at the cellular

Glial cells surround neurons and provide support—not unlike hospital staff and nurses supporting doctors to keep operations running smoothly. These often-overlooked cells, which include oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, are the most abundant cell types in the central nervous system. But these cells do more than support neurons. They also actively influence them, University of California, Riverside,

‘Inattentional smell blindness’, or inattentional anosmia, has been proven to exist in a study from the University of Sussex. Just as it has previously been found that people can miss visual cues when they are busily engaged in a task, the same is true of smells. And unlike visual stimuli, which would be noticed once

Our ability to remember past events develops rapidly in the first couple of years of life, but it’s not clear exactly how this happens. Researchers at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis have now been able to carry out functional MRI brain scans of sleeping toddlers, and show for

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a gene associated with human intellectual ability is necessary for normal memory formation in mice. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study shows that mice with only one copy of the gene replay shorter fragments of their previous experiences during periods of rest,

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a gene associated with human intellectual ability is necessary for normal memory formation in mice. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study shows that mice with only one copy of the gene replay shorter fragments of their previous experiences during periods of rest,