Neuroscience

Human Neural Stem Cells Transplanted Into Primate Brains Survive Long-Term- And Differentiate

Researchers have transplanted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the brains of nonhuman primates and assessed cell survival and differentiation. The results: After 22 and 24 months the neural stem cells had differentiated into neurons and did not cause ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 23 2014 - 12:20pm

You Took The Words Right Out Of My Brain

Do you find yourself finishing the sentences of a speaker you are watching? You are not alone. Our brain activity is similar to speakers we are listening to when we can predict what they are going to say, according to a team of neuroscientists writing in ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 29 2014 - 8:30pm

Deep Brain Stimulation For OCD Releases Dopamine In The Brain

 A new paper suggests that dopamine release is increased in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and may be normalized by the therapeutic application of deep brain stimulation (DBS). The authors of the paper in Biological Psychiatry  characterize dopamine ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 30 2014 - 9:30am

There's A Reason So Many Professional Musicians Are Deaf

A good guitar player tunes their guitar by putting a tuning fork in their mouth and matching the vibrations. They made need it when they are older. A new paper in Occupational & Environmental Medicine finds that professional musicians are almost four ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 30 2014 - 10:27pm

Environmental Factors May Be 50 Percent Of Autism Cases- Study

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder defined by impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviors. The exact causes are unknown and so a range of genetic and environmental ri ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2014 - 2:30am

Maybe Elizabeth Bathory Was Onto Something: Young Blood Recharges Brains Of Old Mice

Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed of Hungary was such a prolific serial killer she has been termed "The Blood Countess". Her vampire-like tendencies- especially bathing in the blood of young women to supposedly keep her skin young- became folk ...

Article - News Staff - May 5 2014 - 9:53am

Are You A Morning Person Or Night Owl? Actually, Your Mental Abilities Are Keenest At This Time

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Is it just a personal preference or is there something to it? It's a complex puzzle with a lot of variables to consider. Literature concerning variation of sensory function according to the circadian cycle is ...

Article - News Staff - May 5 2014 - 9:29am

Yawning Is Not About Blood Oxygen, It Is About Cooling The Brain

Why do we yawn? It's unclear. One hypothesis is that yawning helps to increase the oxygen supply but there no association between yawning and blood oxygen levels has been found. Psychologists now have a different notion- that yawning cools the brain. ...

Article - News Staff - May 6 2014 - 9:22am

Left Brain: Musical Training Increases Blood Flow

A new study looked into the modulatory effects that musical training could have on the use of the different sides of the brain when performing music and language tasks.  It found that brief musical training can increase the blood flow in the left hemisphe ...

Article - News Staff - May 8 2014 - 12:30am

KLOTHO Longevity Gene Variant May Boost Brain Power

People who have a variant of a longevity gene called KLOTHO also have improved brain skills such as thinking, learning and memory regardless of their age, sex, or whether they have a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Correlation but not ca ...

Article - News Staff - May 9 2014 - 3:30pm