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Computer-based program may help relieve some ADHD symptoms in children

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An intensive, five-week working memory training program shows promise in relieving some of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, a new study suggests.

Researchers found significant changes for students who completed the program in areas such as attention, ADHD symptoms, planning and organization, initiating tasks, and working memory.

"This program really seemed to make a difference for many of the children with ADHD," said Steven Beck, co-author of the study an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

Our brains are wired so we can better hear ourselves speak

Our brains are wired so we can better hear ourselves speak

Researchers track the impacts of depression during pregnancy

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The cocktail of hormones cascading through depressed mothers' bodies may play an important role in the development of their unborn children's brains.

A higher level of depression in mothers during pregnancy was associated with higher levels of stress hormones in their children at birth, as well as with other neurological and behavioral differences, a University of Michigan-led study found.

'1-drop rule' appears to persist for biracial individuals

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 9, 2010 -- The centuries-old "one-drop rule" assigning minority status to mixed-race individuals appears to live on in our modern-day perception and categorization of people like Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, and Halle Berry.

So say Harvard University psychologists, who've found that we still tend to see biracials not as equal members of both parent groups, but as belonging more to their minority parent group. Their research appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Look: What your reaction to someone's eye movements says about your politics

It goes without saying that conservatives and liberals don't see the world in the same way. Now, research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that is exactly, and quite literally, the case.

In a new study, UNL researchers measured both liberals' and conservatives' reaction to "gaze cues" – a person's tendency to shift attention in a direction consistent with another person's eye movements, even if it's irrelevant to their current task – and found big differences between the two groups.

Autism breakthrough: Researchers identify possible treatment for impaired sociability

NORFOLK, Va. – Eastern Virginia Medical School researchers have identified a potential novel treatment strategy for the social impairment of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), an aspect of the condition that has a profound impact on quality of life.

School-based program effective in helping adolescents

(New York, December 8, 2010) – A school-based intervention program helped New York City high school students with moderate to severe asthma better manage their symptoms, dramatically reducing the need for urgent care, including hospitalizations and emergency room visits, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Different origins discovered for medulloblastoma tumor subtypes

Investigators have demonstrated for the first time that the most common malignant childhood brain tumor, medulloblastoma, is actually several different diseases, each arising from distinct cells destined to become different structures. The breakthrough is expected to dramatically alter the diagnosis and treatment of this major childhood cancer.

Unlocking the secrets of our compulsions

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Researchers have shed new light on dopamine's role in the brain's reward system, which could provide insight into impulse control problems associated with addiction and a number of psychiatric disorders.

A joint study by the University of Michigan and University of Washington found that, contrary to the prevailing conception, differences in individuals' styles of response to environmental cues can fundamentally influence chemical reward patterns in the brain.

Scientists discover brain's inherent ability to focus learning

Medical researchers have found a missing link that explains the interaction between brain state and the neural triggers responsible for learning, potentially opening up new ways of boosting cognitive function in the face of diseases such as Alzheimer's as well as enhancing memory in healthy people.

New mechanism links cellular stress and brain damage

A new study uncovers a mechanism linking a specific type of cellular stress with brain damage similar to that associated with neurodegenerative disease. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, is the first to highlight the significance of the reduction of a specific calcium signal that is directly tied to cell fate.

Yale scientists find molecular glue needed to wire the brain

Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. The findings, reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may help researchers discover ways to improve memory and could lead to new therapies to correct neurological disorders.

What Zen meditators don't think about won't hurt them

Montreal, December 8, 2010 – Zen meditation has many health benefits, including a reduced sensitivity to pain. According to new research from the Université de Montréal, meditators do feel pain but they simply don't dwell on it as much. These findings, published in the month's issue of Pain, may have implications for chronic pain sufferers, such as those with arthritis, back pain or cancer.

Widening our perceptions of reading and writing difficulties

Milan, Italy, 8 December 2010 – Learning to read and write are complex processes, which can be disrupted in various ways, leading to disorders known as dyslexia and dysgraphia. Two new studies, published in a recent special issue of Elsevier's Cortex (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00109452) provide evidence of this variety, suggesting that effective treatment needs to take it into account.

Mayo Clinic finds seizure generation in brain is isolated from surrounding brain regions

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/) researchers found that the part of the brain generating seizures in individuals with epilepsy is functionally isolated from surrounding brain regions. The researchers hope this finding could be a clinical biomarker to help identify individuals with abnormal brain function. This study was presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (http://www.aesnet.org/) annual meeting in San Antonio on Dec. 4.