Getting an expected award music to the brain's ears
Several studies have shown that expecting a reward or punishment can affect brain activity in areas responsible for processing different senses, including sight or touch. For example, research shows...
View ArticleNeuroscientists find a key to reducing forgetting—it's about the network
A team of neuroscientists has found a key to the reduction of forgetting. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, show that the better the coordination between two regions of the brain, the...
View ArticleThe Zuelch Prize 2013—reward for brain researchers
Maximum reward, minimum punishment: these are the maxims humans and animals often apply when making decisions. A network of nerve cells in the brain conveys gratification. This reward system uses the...
View ArticleBrain pathways tie together mental maps
To find its way in the world, your brain has to decipher a set of directions muddled by different points of view. Individual neurons in the brain are constantly processing information about our...
View ArticleThe importance of keeping a beat: Researchers link ability to keep a beat to...
The findings of a Northwestern University study of more than 100 high school students lend proof to the surprising link between music, rhythmic abilities and language skills.
View ArticleTo predict, perchance to update: Neural responses to the unexpected
(Medical Xpress)—Among the brain's many functions is the use of predictive models to processing expected stimuli or actions. In such a model, we experience surprise when presented with an unexpected...
View ArticleStudy shows maths experts are 'made, not born'
(Medical Xpress)—A new study of the brain of a maths supremo supports Darwin's belief that intellectual excellence is largely due to "zeal and hard work" rather than inherent ability.
View ArticleScientists find brain region that helps you make up your mind
One of the smallest parts of the brain is getting a second look after new research suggests it plays a crucial role in decision making.
View ArticleCould brain thickness point to stronger religious belief?
(HealthDay News) —Higher levels of self-professed spiritual belief appear to be reflected in increased thickness of a key brain area, a new study finds.
View ArticleHistological sectioning and digital 3D reconstruction of H.M's brain detailed
(Medical Xpress)—The team of researches that sliced up the brain of famous neurological patient H.M has published a postmortem examination of their work in the journal Nature Communications. In their...
View ArticleMaking your brain social: Failure to eliminate links between neurons produces...
In many people with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, different parts of the brain don't talk to each other very well. Scientists have now identified, for the first time, a way in which...
View ArticleLong distance signals protect brain from viral infections
The brain contains a defense system that prevents at least two unrelated viruses—and possibly many more—from invading the brain at large. The research is published online ahead of print in the Journal...
View ArticleBrain differences in college-aged occasional drug users
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered impaired neuronal activity in the parts of the brain associated with anticipatory functioning among occasional...
View ArticleScientists identify part of brain linked to gambling addiction
New research reveals that brain damage affecting the insula – an area with a key role in emotions – disrupts errors of thinking linked to gambling addiction. The research, led by Dr Luke Clark from the...
View ArticleAre three brain imaging techniques better than one?
(Medical Xpress)—Many recent imaging studies have shown that in children with autism, different parts of the brain do not connect with each other in typical ways. Initially, most researchers thought...
View ArticleResearchers take a look at the competitor's brain, find possible switching...
(Medical Xpress)—A small team of researchers at Yale University has found a possible logic switching mechanism in the brains of rhesus monkeys. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team...
View ArticleWhat happens in our brain when we unlock a door?
People who are unable to button up their jacket or who find it difficult to insert a key in lock suffer from a condition known as apraxia. This means that their motor skills have been impaired – as a...
View ArticleResearchers identify brain regions that encode words, grammar, story
Some people say that reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" taught them the importance of friends, or that easy decisions are seldom right. Carnegie Mellon University scientists used a chapter...
View ArticleIsolation of important centres in the brain results in age-related memory...
Poor memory among the elderly can be explained by regions in the hippocampus complex, an important part of the brain, becoming more co-active during rest, thereby interacting less efficiently with...
View ArticleComplex environments push 'brain' evolution
Little animations trying to master a computer game are teaching neuroscience researchers how the brain evolves when faced with difficult tasks.
View ArticleStudy finds brain processes that are key to understanding pupils
How does the brain of a teacher work? New research has identified the parts of the brain involved in computing mistakes in other people's understanding, which is a key process in guiding students'...
View ArticleResearchers build brain-machine interface to control prosthetic hand
A research team from the University of Houston has created an algorithm that allowed a man to grasp a bottle and other objects with a prosthetic hand, powered only by his thoughts.
View ArticleMaking an impact on concussions
The crash test dummy head is weighted and hauled with a pulley up the track. After a final check of the instruments and a quick countdown, the helmeted head plummets into an inevitable collision,...
View ArticleRedrawing the brain's motor map
Neuroscientists at Emory have refined a map showing which parts of the brain are activated during head rotation, resolving a decades-old puzzle. Their findings may help in the study of movement...
View ArticleStudy reveals how our brains can form first impressions quickly
A study of how people can quickly spot animals by sight is helping uncover the workings of the human brain.
View ArticleFight or flight neural pathway mapped in mouse brain
(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has succeeded in mapping the neural pathway that is involved when a mouse sees something frightening. In their paper...
View ArticleNew brain atlas opens up alternative means for studying brain disorders
A new study, led by Jesús M. Cortés, an Ikerbasque lecturer at the Biocruces Institute for Healthcare Research and an academic collaborator in the Department of Cell Biology and Histology of the...
View ArticleNon-invasive brain stimulation technique could transform learning
Researchers have discovered a new technique to enhance brain excitability that could improve physical performance in healthy individuals such as athletes and musicians.
View ArticlePractice doesn't always make perfect (depending on your brain)
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? New research on the brain's capacity to learn suggests there's more to it than the adage that "practise makes perfect." A music-training study by scientists at the...
View ArticleSevere poverty affects brain size, researchers find
A six-year study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has added to the mounting evidence that growing up in severe poverty affects how children's brains develop, potentially putting...
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