ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News |
| Research suggests interrupting immune response improves multiple sclerosis outcomes Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:10 PM PDT Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that damages neurons. New research looks at the role that a protein, STAT5, plays in the development of MS. |
| Drug use beliefs found to be strongest predictor of youth substance use Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:10 PM PDT What are the most important factors to consider for developing effective drug use prevention programs? Many current programs for adolescents focus on elements including peer and family relationships, school connection, and youth's self-confidence and self-assertion. However, a new study suggests another factor may be equally -- or even more -- influential: whether the youth believes drug use is wrong. |
| Researchers control brain circuits from a distance using infrared light Posted: 22 Mar 2022 12:09 PM PDT Scientists have developed the first non-invasive technique for controlling targeted brain circuits in behaving animals from a distance. The tool has the potential to solve one of the biggest unmet needs in neuroscience: a way to flexibly test the functions of particular brain cells and circuits deep in the brain during normal behavior. |
| Shining a light on protein aggregation in Parkinson's disease Posted: 22 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT A novel system to control protein aggregation in a model of Parkinson's disease may answer longstanding questions about how the disease begins and spreads, according to a new study. Initial results suggest that aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein plays a critical role in disrupting neuronal homeostasis and triggering neurodegeneration. |
| Scientists hunt for neurons responsible for alcohol withdrawal Posted: 22 Mar 2022 11:11 AM PDT When a heavy alcohol drinker tries to take a night off, their body protests, with shaky hands, heart palpitations, anxiety and headaches. These acute symptoms of alcohol withdrawal -- but even more so the enduring emotional distress that lingers into protracted abstinence -- are one reason people with alcohol use disorders have a hard time quitting. Now, scientists have made new headway in understanding the basis of alcohol withdrawal in the brain. |
| Seen and ‘herd’: Collective motion in crowds is largely determined by participants’ field of vision Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new model to predict human flocking behavior based on optics and other sensory data. |
| Our sleep shows how risk-seeking we are Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:28 AM PDT Each person has their own individual sleep profile which can be identified by the electrical brain activity during sleep. Researchers have now demonstrated that the brain waves during periods of deep sleep in a specific area of the brain can be used to determine the extent of an individual's propensity for risk during their everyday life. |
| Novel heart ultrasound measures can be used to predict risk of developing dementia Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT New research assessed if there is a link between heart health and dementia. |
| Study points to strategies for closing the participation gender gap in engineering courses Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT Students' identities can play a key role in how comfortable they feel and how often they speak up in the classroom, especially in STEM fields. For instance, women generally speak far less than men in undergraduate engineering classes, but this is not always the case, according to Princeton researchers. When classes are taught by women instructors, the gender gap practically disappears. |
| Environmentally conscious consumers more likely to buy chicken raised on insects or algae Posted: 22 Mar 2022 09:25 AM PDT Eating chicken raised on a diet of bugs or algae may sound downright unappetizing to some, but there are ways to make the idea more palatable to at least one type of food shopper. Consumers who are environmentally aware will likely warm up to the idea of using alternative proteins like insect meal in poultry feed if they're given enough information about the health and environmental benefits, a new study shows. |
| Switching social identities happens seamlessly Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:12 AM PDT People can switch seamlessly between different social identities, new research shows. Each person has multiple social identities, such as: employee, parent, young person, friend or even fan of a particular sports team. |
| Team identifies compound with potent antiseizure effects Posted: 22 Mar 2022 08:12 AM PDT Researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe -- the most common type of epilepsy -- discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate. The compound, known as TC-2153, lessened the severity of seizures in mice. |
| COVID-19 has left GPs struggling around the world, new study shows Posted: 21 Mar 2022 05:55 PM PDT The pandemic left many GPs around the world feeling depressed, anxious and in some cases burned out, a review of global studies has revealed. |
| 'Switching off' specific brain cells protects against stress Posted: 18 Mar 2022 01:13 PM PDT Researchers have discovered a small group of brain cells in the claustrum that controls stress-induced anxiety behaviors. Manipulating the activity of these cells also altered anxiety-related behaviors, which suggested that these claustrum cells are key to the pathogenesis of stress-related mental disorders. Furthermore, this group of cells may be considered a new target for the treatment of stress-related conditions. |
| Scientists see what research participants picture in their mind’s eye Posted: 18 Mar 2022 05:02 AM PDT Researchers have found that the meaning of what a person is imagining can be determined from the pattern of their electrical brain activity, even if what they are imagining is different from what they are looking at, and that real-time feedback makes this distinction even clearer. Communication devices based on this technology could be invaluable for severely paralyzed patients, such as those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, who are otherwise unable to express their thoughts. |
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