Neuroscience

Cognitive Map: How The Brain Organizes Everything We See

Our eyes are the window to the world, but making sense of the thousands of images that flood us each day is squarely in the purview of the brain- and now researchers say they have created the first interactive map of how the brain organizes these grouping ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 28 2012 - 1:50am

Brain Imaging Shows Cannabis Only Brings Subjective Pain Relief

Brain imaging shows us what is happening during events and stimuli but it can't tell us much about how or why. Regardless, conclusion are often drawn and the poles of cultural debates are always jumping on the latest study to affirm their beliefs. No ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 21 2012 - 12:10pm

Fat Influences Brain Cells

Two molecules, cholic acid and 24,25-EC, play an important role in the survival and production of nerve cells in the brain, including nerve cells that produce dopamine, according to a new study.   Receptors known as "liver X receptors", or LXR, ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 23 2012 - 6:28pm

Excessive EIF4E Protein Synthesis Linked To Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autistic-like behaviors in laboratory mice can be partially remedied by normalizing excessive levels of protein synthesis in the brain, according to a new paper The researchers focused on the EIF4E gene, whose mutation is associated with autism. The mutat ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 24 2012 - 3:05am

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: How Electricity Helps Release Opiate-Like Painkiller

A radiotracer has shown that researchers who used electricity on certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain led to release of an opiate-like substance that's considered one of the body's most powerful painkillers. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 2 2013 - 3:00pm

How Your Hearing Is Similar To A Car Battery

One of the mechanisms involved in hearing is similar to the battery in your car. How do researchers know?  They heard it in a fruit fly love song. The auditory system of the fruit fly contains a protein that functions as a sodium/potassium pump, often cal ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2013 - 3:40pm

MPL Moves Science Toward An Alzheimer's Vaccine

Researchers have discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defense mechanisms in people with Alzheimer's disease.  One of the main characteristics of Alzheimer's disease is the production in the brain of the toxic molecule amyloid b ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 15 2013 - 8:32pm

The Addiction Of Isolation

Rats socially isolated during a critical period in adolescence are more vulnerable to addiction to amphetamine and alcohol, according to a new paper. Amphetamine addiction is also harder to extinguish in the socially isolated rats. These effects persist e ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 23 2013 - 5:00pm

Multitasking While Driving- You Still Stink At It

While many people believe they can multitask, a new paper indicates yet again that people who multitask the most, including supposedly easy things like talking on a cell phone while driving, are least capable of doing so. Since this is a psychology study, ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 24 2013 - 2:01pm

Lightning Linked To Onset Of Headache, Migraines

You know how your grandfather could tell a storm was coming by an ache in his knee? University of Cincinnati researchers say lightning may affect the onset of headache and migraines. Geoffrey Martin, fourth-year medical student, and his father Vincent Mar ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 24 2013 - 4:14pm