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Now Anyone Can Tour the Fly Brain
NewsA new fly-through of the fly brain allows anyone to whizz past neurons and visit any of the 40 million synapses where neurons touch neuron. It’s a super-resolution view of the complex network connections in the insect’s brain that underlie behaviors ranging from feeding to mating.
Memories of Meals Influence Future Eating Behavior
NewsBrain cells involved in memory play an important role after a meal in reducing future eating behavior, a finding that could be key in understanding and fighting obesity, according to a study led by Georgia State University.
A Shield for a Sheath
NewsA small molecule, Sephin1, may be able to significantly delay harm to nerve cells caused by multiple sclerosis, a disabling immune-mediated disease that damages nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, suggests studies in mouse models of the disease.
Study Suggests You Can Improve Your Learning Ability by Self-Modulating Your Neural Oscillations
NewsNeuronal alpha oscillations in the range of 10 Hz are neural waves that reduce processing in certain brain regions to provide resources for upcoming information. Alpha oscillations can be easily influenced by neurofeedback training. Researchers have discovered that participants can self-regulate their learning success in a perceptual learning task by altering their alpha oscillations.
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Machine Learning Uncovers New Insights into the Human Brain
News Jan 14, 2019Researchers have successfully employed machine learning to uncover new insights into the cellular architecture of the human brain. The team demonstrated an approach that automatically estimates parameters of the brain using data collected from fMRI, enabling neuroscientists to infer the cellular properties of different brain regions without probing the brain using surgical means.
Millions on Prescription Sleeping Pills Would Sleep Through a Fire Alarm
News Jan 14, 2019In a trial of one of the main class of prescription sleeping pills, half the participants slept through a fire alarm as loud as someone vacuuming next to their bed. But a newer alternative preserves the ability to wake in response to danger signals, according to a new research.
How Words Get an Emotional Meaning
News Jan 14, 2019Many objects in everyday life have an emotional meaning. The same applies to words. The name of a stranger has no emotional value at first, but if a loving relationship develops, the same name suddenly has a positive connotation. Researchers have investigated how the brain processes such stimuli, which can be positive or negative. The results were published in the journal Neuropsychologia.
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Revealing Gene Regulation in the Brain
News Jan 14, 2019Researchers have built a resource with information on gene regulation from more than 2,000 human brains. Initial results included identifying mechanisms that may drive the risk of mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.
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Alleviating Flashbacks by Playing Tetris
News Jan 14, 2019A behavioural intervention procedure including the computer game Tetris could help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to alleviate involuntarily recurring visual memories of traumatic experiences.
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How Today’s High School Cliques Compare to Yesterday’s
News Jan 14, 2019Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin, have found that while many high school peer crowds and influences have remained constant over time, changing demographics, cultural influences and the increasing number of college-bound youth have led to the emergence of new peer groups and perceptions.
Novel Scale Measures Children's Connection to Nature
News Jan 14, 2019City lifestyle has been criticised for being an important reason for children being disconnected from nature. This has led to an unhealthy lifestyle in regards to active play and eating habits. Even worse, many young children do not feel well psychologically – they are often stressed and depressed. 16 per cent of pre-schoolers in Hong Kong and up to 22% in China show signs of mental health problems (Kwok SY, Gu M, Cheung AP, 2017; Zhu J, et al. 2017).
Recent research shows that spending time in nature may bring many health benefits, and many environmental programmes around the world are trying to decrease ‘nature-deficit’ and ‘child-nature disconnectedness’ in order to improve children’s health. For example, the WHO, in order to monitor implementation of the Parma Declaration commitment to providing every child with access to “green spaces to play and undertake physical activity”, has set a 300-meter target. Interestingly, 90 per cent of the Hong Kong population lives within 400 metres of such areas. However, despite the extensive, adjacent greenness, families are not using these areas.
Keeping Time in the Brain
News Jan 11, 2019Astrocytes are star-shaped nerve cells found in the brain and spinal cord that were thought to support neurons in regulating circadian rhythms – the body’s internal 24-hour 'clock'. But new research reveals how the cells can actually lead the tempo of the circadian rhythms and shows for the first time how astrocytes are able to control patterns of daily behaviour in mammals.
Mo' Pain, Less Gain for a Brain on Cocaine
News Jan 11, 2019A new study shows how the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine changes when working for cocaine. Our brains naturally release dopamine to reward us for working hard for something gratifying, for example, a sweet piece of chocolate. Yet when it comes to illicit substances such as cocaine, the harder the effort put into getting cocaine, the less likely there will be a large jolt of dopamine.
Poor Sleep Associated With Higher Levels of Alzheimer's Protein
News Jan 10, 2019Poor sleep is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. But how and why restless nights are linked to Alzheimer’s disease is not fully understood. Now, researchers may have uncovered part of the explanation. They found that older people who have less slow-wave sleep – the deep sleep you need to consolidate memories and wake up feeling refreshed – have higher levels of the brain protein tau.
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14th Annual Conference on Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
Sep 19 - Sep 20, 2019
