Neuroscience

Curing Phobias With An Injection?

Research published in Behavioral and Brain Functions suggests that scientists may one day be able to cure phobias, everything from fear of spiders to heights, with a simple injection. Researchers studied the cerebellum, an area of the brain thought to be i ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 23 2010 - 12:33pm

VMPC Regulates Response To Danger, Study Finds

A new study published in Neuron suggests that our ability to respond with outrage toward people who attempt to harm us is seated in a brain region called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC). Patients with damage to this brain area are unable to conju ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 24 2010 - 1:38pm

Environmental Factors Contributing To Autism

Evidence that environmental factors can contribute to autism has been around for several decades. The first clue comes from studies of monozygotic (‘identical’) twins, who share 100% of their inherited genes, but do not show complete concordance, i.e., one ...

Article - Irva Hertz-Picciotto - Apr 7 2010 - 6:17am

Drug Addiction, Overeating Fueled By Same Dopamine Receptors

Type 2 dopamine receptors (D2DR)—brain receptors that play a key role in addiction--also play a key role in rats' heightened response to food, according to Scripps Insititute Neuroscientists. The findings suggest that the same brain mechanisms that f ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 29 2010 - 11:20am

Brain Stimulation Can Alter Our Moral Judgments, Study Suggests

A team of neuroscientists claim it is possible to influence people's moral judgments by disrupting a specific brain region called the the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). The study offers "striking evidence" that the right TPJ, located ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 29 2010 - 3:57pm

Early Autism Diagnosis: The Infant Sibling Study

A cutting-edge UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute research project, the Infant Sibling Study, is leading the way in seeking clues to the earliest behavioral manifestations of autism. This project studies the younger siblings of children already diagnosed with aut ...

Article - Kimberly Crandell - Apr 5 2010 - 8:11am

Temple Grandin

For any of those that have not yet had the opportunity to see it (and have HBO), HBO will presenting its made-for-TV biopic on Temple Grandin this evening.  It's a very well-done piece, and superbly acted by Claire Danes. ...

Blog Post - Kimberly Crandell - Apr 2 2010 - 10:24am

Neurons Stick Together To Get Their Message Heard

Although they only account for a fraction of the synapses in the visual cortex, neurons in the thalamus get their message across loud and clear by coordination-- simultaneously hitting the "send" button—according to a computer simulation develope ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2010 - 7:06pm

Leaving The Ivory Tower Of Asperger Syndrome

I have been an educator for more than 20 years, and I have been an individual with Asperger syndrome for my entire life. I wasn't always aware of my autism, and more specifically, I wasn't self-aware as an autistic person. This is because I was d ...

Article - Valerie Paradiz - Apr 9 2010 - 12:55am

Defining Autism

Autism is an elusive disorder in all respects. Symptoms and behaviors vary greatly between individuals, and even within individuals day-to-day. Theories regarding causes and cures for autism ebb and flow throughout the media, sweeping us up daily in combat ...

Article - Kimberly Crandell - Apr 11 2010 - 11:44pm