Neuroscience

Study Decodes Peripheral Neural Networks Defining Itch Sensations

The itch sensation is triggered by two categories of itch-inducing agents: histamine (involving the histamine receptor) and non-histamine (involving a Mas-like G-protein coupled receptor). While the molecular distinction is crucial for developing effective ...

Article - Jennifer Wong - May 30 2013 - 7:44pm

Targeting Expression Neuregulin 1 Gene Reverses Schizophrenia-Like Abnormalities

Researchers have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene, Neuregulin 1, that is over-expressed in humans with the illness. Targeting Neuregulin 1, which makes a ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 1 2013 - 1:00pm

OCD In Dogs And Humans Has Similar Brain Abnormalities

You've heard of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) but less well-known is canine compulsive disorder (CCD).  The causes of OCD, which affects about 2 percent of the population, are unknown and the disorder often goes untreated or undiagnosed for dec ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2013 - 9:56am

Researchers Link Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior And Obesity

An experiment to probe brain circuits involved in compulsive behavior- where mice were bred missing a gene suspected to be involved in compulsive behavior and obesity - resulted in offspring mice that were neither compulsive groomers nor obese. Their Proc ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 10 2013 - 6:00pm

Pregnancy: Moderate Drinking Doesn't Harm Baby's Neurodevelopment

While too much of anything can be bad at any time, a little drinking- 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week- does not seem to harm fetal neurodevelopment, according a large study published in the online only journal BMJ Open. Good thing too, or entire generati ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 18 2013 - 2:40pm

Fibromyalgia Is Not All In The Head, It's In Skin, Paper Concludes

Fibromyalgia is a blanket term for a general painful condition that affects approximately 10 million people in the United States. Because it lacks consistent symptoms and treatments, some doctors believe an unknown number of instances are psychosomatic bu ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 18 2013 - 11:02am

Imaging Study Says It Maps Effects Of Autism On The Brain

A group of investigators from San Diego State University's Brain Development Imaging Laboratory say they can see the effects of autism on the brain. They conclude that connectivity between the thalamus, a deep brain structure crucial for sensory and ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 25 2013 - 4:30pm

The Minds Of Impulsive And Premeditated Murderers Are Different

The minds of murderers who kill impulsively- crimes of passion, as they are commonly called- and those who carefully carry out premeditated crimes differ markedly both psychologically and intellectually, according to a new paper. ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 27 2013 - 5:04pm

Brain Training Products Work- Just Like Placebos

If you see commercials for brain-training products, the companies all tout laboratory studies and scientific backing for their products in how they can improve your brainpower. Most intervention studies like these have a critical flaw, notes a new paper i ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 6 2016 - 9:21pm

A Computer Model Of The Brain- That Daydreams

Researchers have created a virtual model of the brain based on the dynamics of brain cells and the many connections those cells make with their neighbors and with cells in other brain regions- and it daydreams like humans do. The group hope the model will ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 12 2013 - 7:21pm