http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers using two brain-imaging technologies have found that apparently normal older individuals with brain deposits of amyloid beta – the primary constituent of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients – also had changes in brain structure similar to those seen in Alzheimer's patients. Results of the study, which has received early online publication in the Annals of Neurology, may help identify individuals who could be candidates for therapies to prevent the development of dementia. http://phys.org/news220702535.html Medicine & Health Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:17:57 EST news220702535 When Professor Henry Higgins instructed Eliza Doolittle that it was "Ay not I, O not Ow, Don't say 'Rine,' say 'Rain'", he was drawing on years of experience as a professor of phonetics. But research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the European Commission suggests that Higgins's ability to differentiate expertly between similar sounds may have stemmed from birth. http://phys.org/news219428086.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:50:01 EST news219428086 Stimulation of a distinct brain circuit that lies within a brain structure typically associated with fearfulness produces the opposite effect: Its activity, instead of triggering or increasing anxiety, counters it. http://phys.org/news218899705.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:20:04 EST news218899705 Although it is quite common for a brief, unique experience to become part of our long-term memory, the underlying brain mechanisms associated with this type of learning are not well understood. Now, a new brain-imaging study looks at the neural activity associated with a specific type of rapid learning, insight. The research, published by Cell Press in the March 10 issue of the journal Neuron, reveals specific brain activity that occurs during an "A-ha!" moment that may help encode the new information in long-term memory. http://phys.org/news218901977.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:06:43 EST news218901977 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have identified hyperactive cells in a tiny brain structure that may play an important role in depression. The study, conducted in rats and appearing in the February 24, 2011, issue of Nature, is helping to reveal a cellular mechanism for depressive disorders that could lead to new, effective treatments. http://phys.org/news217690482.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:34:57 EST news217690482 Lithium, introduced in the late 1940's, was the first "wonder drug" in psychiatry. It was the first medication treatment for the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and it remains among one of the most effective treatments for this disorder. http://phys.org/news217081783.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:30:01 EST news217081783 New research examines the anxious brain during a fear conditioning task and provides insight into why some individuals may be more or less prone to anxiety disorders. The study, published by Cell Press in the February 10 issue of the journal Neuron, reveals neural mechanisms that may contribute to resilience against pathological fear and anxiety. The findings may help to direct therapeutic strategies for individuals who suffer from chronic anxiety as well as strategies that could help "at risk" individuals avoid developing anxiety disorders. http://phys.org/news216477781.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:43:17 EST news216477781 (PhysOrg.com) -- Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter. http://phys.org/news214839934.html Medicine & Health Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:48:03 EST news214839934 Japanese scientists said Tuesday they had produced a mouse that tweets like a bird in a genetically engineered "evolution" which they hope will shed light on the origins of human language. http://phys.org/news212127648.html Biology Tue, 21 Dec 2010 04:21:17 EST news212127648 A brain structure called the habenula is crucial for modifications of fear responses in zebrafish, according to a new study by researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako. The zebrafish dorsal habenula is subdivided into two regions, each connected to different brain structures, but the function of each, and the significance of their connections, was unclear. http://phys.org/news211807838.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:31:00 EST news211807838 Good news for control freaks! New research confirms that having some authority over how one takes in new information significantly enhances one's ability to remember it. The study, in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also offers a first look at the network of brain structures that contribute to this phenomenon. http://phys.org/news210858866.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:54:41 EST news210858866 Walking may slow cognitive decline in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, as well as in healthy adults, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). http://phys.org/news210225239.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:40:06 EST news210225239 Obstructive sleep apnoea occurs when someone stops breathing while sleeping, because their airway at the back of the throat becomes blocked. This can lead to excessive sleepiness, increased risk of stroke and heart attack, and cognitive impairment. http://phys.org/news209977395.html Medicine & Health Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:40:01 EST news209977395 Whether it's food or sex, pleasurable activity provides more than just pleasure, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers say. It actually reduces stress by inhibiting anxiety responses in the brain. http://phys.org/news208629966.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:10:01 EST news208629966 Is there a relation between the structure of specific regions of the brain and nicotine dependence? This is the question researchers of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Berlin, Germany, have been investigating lately. The results of these investigations extend and specify those of preceding studies: A specific region of the cerebral cortex of smokers is thinner than that of people who have never smoked in their lives. This region is decisive for reward, impulse control, and the making of decisions. The questions of whether smoking leads to this cerebral region becoming thinner - or whether people who have a thinner cortex region by nature are more frequently inclined to become smokers - can only be clarified by further investigations. http://phys.org/news207478175.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:49:48 EST news207478175 People love to speculate about differences between the sexes, and neuroscience has brought a new technology to this pastime. Brain imaging studies are published at a great rate, and some report sex differences in brain structure or patterns of neural activity. But we should be skeptical about reports of brain differences between the sexes, writes psychological scientist Cordelia Fine in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. http://phys.org/news207416025.html Medicine & Health Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:35:20 EST news207416025 Electrical stimulation has been used as a sort of defibrillator of consciousness, rousing a victim of traumatic brain injury to at least partial awareness, after years in a coma. The procedure, termed deep brain stimulation, has also been used to treat Parkinson’s disease and has shown some promise for use in epilepsy, cluster headaches and treatment-resistant depression. But new research shows that the even, equally spaced electrical pulses typically used in the procedure now are not necessarily the most effective. Complicating the temporal pattern, Rockefeller University researchers say, may improve outcomes by more closely mimicking the dynamic signals that comprise the natural traffic of neurons. http://phys.org/news205059100.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:51:55 EST news205059100 Researchers have found an association between physical fitness and the brain in 9- and 10-year-old children: Those who are more fit tend to have a bigger hippocampus and perform better on a test of memory than their less-fit peers. http://phys.org/news203787303.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:35:22 EST news203787303 Prior research has shown that alcohol abuse and dependence are typically associated with higher rates of obesity, as evidenced by a high body mass index (BMI). Findings from a new study of the relationship between BMI and regional measures of brain structure, metabolite concentrations, and cerebral blood flow suggest that alcohol-related brain injuries may result from a complicated fusion of hazardous drinking, chronic cigarette smoking, and even elevated BMI. http://phys.org/news203096777.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:30:09 EST news203096777 Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. http://phys.org/news202581219.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:50:01 EST news202581219 All humans are synchronised to the rhythmic light-dark changes that occur on a daily basis. Rhythms in physiological and biochemical processes and behavioural patterns persist in the absence of all external 24-hour signals from the physical environment, with a period that is close to 24 hours. http://phys.org/news202376777.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:46:32 EST news202376777 Schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders are a chronic and often disabling condition. Despite modern treatment techniques they still present an enormous burden to the patients and their relatives and take a serious toll in terms of human suffering and societal expenditure. http://phys.org/news202138963.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:00:03 EST news202138963 A group of "professional couch potatoes," as one researcher described them, has proven that even moderate exercise - in this case walking at one's own pace for 40 minutes three times a week - can enhance the connectivity of important brain circuits, combat declines in brain function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks. http://phys.org/news202046895.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:08:27 EST news202046895 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Harvard University have found that humans can make difficult moral decisions using the same brain circuits as those used in more mundane choices related to money and food. http://phys.org/news201955984.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:00:03 EST news201955984 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators showed a gene named Prox1 is a key player in normal development of a brain structure crucial for learning and memory and remains active throughout life, nurturing the cells vital for making new memories. http://phys.org/news201340967.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:03:06 EST news201340967 Where you grow up can have a big impact on the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and even how your brain works. In a report in a special section on Culture and Psychology in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Denise C. Park from the University of Texas at Dallas and Chih-Mao Huang from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign discuss ways in which brain structure and function may be influenced by culture. http://phys.org/news200062422.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:30:02 EST news200062422 General aptitude tests and specific mental ability tests are important tools for vocational guidance. Researchers are now asking whether performance on such tests is based on differences in brain structure, and if so, can brain scans be helpful in choosing a career? http://phys.org/news198935477.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:00:01 EST news198935477 A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution's imprint on the human brain. http://phys.org/news198170497.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:00:13 EST news198170497 A scientist at Barrow Neurological Institute is leading the global discussion and research on a hidden lobe of the brain called the insula. A.D. "Bud" Craig, PhD, who began studying the often-ignored lobe more than two decades ago, has organized and edited a special edition of the journal Brain Structure and Function dedicated to the emerging medical and scientific interest in the insula. http://phys.org/news197735312.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:40:03 EST news197735312 Dendritic spines act as hubs for communication between nerve cells. Reductions in spines may contribute to a lack of coordination in activity between brain regions. This structural abnormality is particularly relevant in schizophrenia, where pyramidal neurons located in layer 3, the principal cell type receiving communication from other brain regions, have fewer dendritic spines. http://phys.org/news197633212.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:07:08 EST news197633212