ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News |
| Posted: 20 Dec 2021 05:31 AM PST A new study shows an increased risk of patients developing illnesses including mental ill-health and heart conditions if they have a GP-inputted medical history of gum disease. |
| Small measures can be a big help for children of mothers with depression Posted: 20 Dec 2021 05:31 AM PST Several new studies among Syrian refugee families in Turkey and families with infants in Sweden and Bhutan show that children of mothers in poor mental health risk falling behind in their cognitive development. However, very small changes can suffice to break this correlation and enable the children to return to their normal developmental level. Having plenty of people around them and an available community are two of the most important factors for helping children, in all three countries. |
| Wear and tear in vulnerable brain areas lead to lesions linked to cognitive decline Posted: 17 Dec 2021 02:27 PM PST As our brains age, small lesions begin to pop up in the bundles of white matter that carry messages between our neurons. The lesions can damage this white matter and lead to cognitive deficits. Now, researchers not only provide an explanation for the location of these lesions but also how they develop in the first place. |
| Using ergonomics to reduce pain from technology use Posted: 17 Dec 2021 09:38 AM PST The use of smartphones, tablets and laptops has become commonplace throughout the world and has been especially prevalent among college students. Recent studies have found that college students have higher levels of screen time, and they utilize multiple devices at higher rates compared to previous generations. |
| How the brain understands one voice in a noisy crowd Posted: 17 Dec 2021 08:32 AM PST Researchers find that the brain is taking an extra step when listening to one speaker in a crowd, and not taking that step with the other words swirling around the conversation. |
| Pain and anxiety impact breathing on a cellular level Posted: 17 Dec 2021 08:29 AM PST A team of scientists has uncovered a neural network in the brain that coordinates breathing rhythm with feelings of pain and fear. Along with contributions to the fields of pain management, psychological theories of anxiety, and philosophical investigations into the nature of pain, their findings could lead to development of an analgesic that would prevent opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), the disrupted breathing that causes overdose deaths. |
| Keeping active through varied activities can reduce risk of developing dementia Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:28 AM PST Older adults who participate in a variety of different activities are able to reduce their risk of developing dementia, according to a new study. |
| Rollercoaster of emotions: Exploring emotions with virtual reality Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:28 AM PST To the left and right, the landscape drifts idly by, the track in front of you. Suddenly, a fire. The tension builds. The ride reaches its highest point. Only one thing lies ahead: the abyss. Plummeting down into the depths of the earth. These are scenes of a rollercoaster ride as experienced by participants in a recent study. However, not in real life, but virtually, with the help of virtual reality (VR) glasses. The aim of the research was to find out what happens in participants' brains while they experience emotionally engaging situations. |
| Research breakthrough could see HIV drugs used to treat low-grade brain tumors Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Drugs developed to treat AIDS and HIV could offer hope to patients diagnosed with the most common form of primary brain tumor. The breakthrough is significant because, if further research is conclusive, the anti-retroviral drugs could be prescribed for patients diagnosed with meningioma and acoustic neuroma brain tumors (also known as schwannoma). |
| New research sheds light on how ultrasound could be used to treat psychiatric disorders Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST A new study has shown how the brain gives credit to events, along with how transcranial ultrasound (TUS) can disrupt this process. While currently developed in an animal model, this line of research and the use of TUS could one day be applied to clinical research to tackle conditions such as addiction. |
| One algorithm to rule decision-making Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Researchers uncover a single rule for how animals make spatial decisions while on the move. |
| Limited brain capacity in humans and birds Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Birds and humans have very different networks of neurons in their brains. Nevertheless, their working memory is limited by similar mechanisms. |
| Addiction relapse driven by drug-seeking habit, not just drug Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST Why are some individuals able to use recreational drugs in a controlled way, whereas others switch to the compulsive, relapsing drug-seeking and -taking habits that characterize substance use disorder (SUD)? Despite more than six decades of extensive research, the question remains unanswered, hampering the development of targeted prevention and therapeutic strategies. Now, a new study in rats has identified the maladaptive nature of drug-seeking habits and how they contribute to the perpetuation of addiction by promoting the tendency to relapse. |
| Women who practice self-compassion are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease Posted: 16 Dec 2021 12:00 PM PST Middle-aged women who practiced self-compassion had lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, irrespective of their blood pressure, insulin resistance and cholesterol levels. |
| College football players have abnormalities in coordination and inflammation Posted: 16 Dec 2021 11:59 AM PST Collegiate football athletes with a decade or more of experience with the sport have related abnormalities in inflammation, energy production and coordination that are apparent before the football season and across the season, a new study has found. The abnormalities are related to routine repetitive head impacts from tackling and blocking. |
| Realistic model of mouse hippocampus uncovers new mechanism for pattern separation Posted: 16 Dec 2021 11:59 AM PST Our brains can distinguish highly similar patterns, thanks to a process called pattern separation. How exactly our brains separate patterns is, however, not full,y understood yet. Using a full-scale computer model of the dentate gyrus, a brain region involved in pattern separation, researchers found that inhibitory neurons activated by one pattern suppress all their neighboring neurons, thereby switching off 'competing' similar patterns. |
| 1,500 endangered languages at high risk of being lost this century Posted: 16 Dec 2021 11:59 AM PST A new study warns 1,500 endangered languages could no longer be spoken by the end of this century. |
| How diet influences taste sensitivity and preference Posted: 15 Dec 2021 05:41 PM PST What you eat influences your taste for what you might want to eat next. So claims a University of California, Riverside, study performed on fruit flies. The study offers a better understanding of neurophysiological plasticity of the taste system in flies. |
| Mindfulness can get wandering thoughts back on track Posted: 15 Dec 2021 05:40 PM PST Mindfulness -- the ability to intentionally focus attention on the present moment -- can be effective for reducing mind wandering, though results do differ depending on the research methodology. |
| Molecular switch for addiction behavior Posted: 15 Dec 2021 08:32 AM PST A molecular switch influences addiction behavior and determines how strong the response to addictive drugs is. A research team made the discovery in mice treated with cocaine. The researchers demonstrated that the protein Npas4 regulates the structure and function of nerve cells that control addiction behavior in mice. If the quantity of Npas4 was reduced in an experiment, the animals' response to cocaine was much weaker. |
| Your perception of self becomes blurrier over time Posted: 13 Dec 2021 10:33 AM PST When you look at two objects close to you such as two leaves, it's easy to tell them apart but when they are farther away from you, they become difficult to distinguish. The two objects become 'compressed,' a basic principle of perception. One's concept of self, works the same way, according to a new study. |
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