Brain | Page 1238 | Science Codex

How reasonable it is to deceive yourself?

Anyone who simply denies the facts is most certainly behaving unreasonably – aren't they? Bochum's philosophers Prof. Dr. Albert Newen and Christoph Michel expound that in some cases it may be useful to deceive yourself. The self-deception can be an important motivating factor and not entirely lacking reason. The reason may be locally restricted, however basic strategies of rational evaluation processes remain intact. The researchers have published their work in the international specialist journal Consciousness & Cognition.

Targeting amyloid to stop HIV

Amyloid protein structures are best known for the troubles they pose in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Now researchers are trying to exploit their presence in a very different place – in semen – to find a new way to stop HIV.

Friends, family detect early Alzheimer's signs better than traditional tests

Family members and close friends are more sensitive to early signs of Alzheimer's dementia than traditional screening tests, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Right or left? Brain stimulation can change which hand you favor

BERKELEY — Each time we perform a simple task, like pushing an elevator button or reaching for a cup of coffee, the brain races to decide whether the left or right hand will do the job. But the left hand is more likely to win if a certain region of the brain receives magnetic stimulation, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

Rewiring a damaged brain

Researchers in the Midwest are developing microelectronic circuitry to guide the growth of axons in a brain damaged by an exploding bomb, car crash or stroke. The goal is to rewire the brain connectivity and bypass the region damaged by trauma, in order to restore normal behavior and movement.

Study finds brainstorming 'rules' can lead to real-world success in business settings

Researchers have long held that there are steps that can be taken to make brainstorming sessions more productive. New research from North Carolina State University finds that these recommendations actually do contribute to success when applied in real-world business environments.

Interaction with neighbors: Neuronal field simulates brain activity

The appearance of a spot of light on the retina causes sudden activation of millions of neurons in the brain within tenths of milliseconds. At the first cortical processing stage, the primary visual cortex, each neuron thereby receives thousands of inputs from both close neighbors and further distant neurons, and also sends-out an equal amount of output to others.

Scientists discover gene linked to a common form of migraine

Montreal, September 26th, 2010 at 1:00 PM – An international study led by scientists at Université de Montréal and University of Oxford, has identified a gene associated with common migraines. Their findings show that a mutation in the KCNK18 gene inhibits the function of a protein called TRESK. TRESK normally plays a key role in nerve cell communication. Published today in Nature Medicine, this study may have implications for people who suffer from recurrent headaches, which include more than six million Canadians.

High death and disability rates due to fractures in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe

Preliminary findings from an upcoming new report by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) show alarming projections and reveal the poor state of post-fracture care in the Russian Federation and many other countries in the region. The findings were announced today at a press conference in St. Petersburg at the IOF Summit of Eastern European and Central Asian Osteoporosis Patient Societies.

Let your fingers do the driving

Let your fingers do the driving

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 27, 2010 – If drivers are yakking on cell phones and don't hear spoken instructions to turn left or right from a passenger or navigation system, they still can get directions from devices that are mounted on the steering wheel and pull skin on the driver's index fingertips left or right, a University of Utah study found.

Can't focus? Maybe it's the wrong time of the month

Montreal September 24, 2010 – Feeling a little sluggish and having trouble concentrating? Hormones might be to blame, according to new research in Brain and Cognition.

Human females have high estrogen levels while they are ovulating and those high levels have been shown to interfere with women's ability to pay attention.

While the study affirms that high estrogen levels are associated with an inability to pay attention, it claims to be the first such paper to report how learning can be impeded due to a direct effect of the hormone on mature brain structures.

Phantom limbs after stroke more common than previously thought

Milan, Italy, 24 September 2010 – After the loss of a limb, most patients experience the feeling of a phantom limb – the vivid illusion that the amputated arm or leg is still present. Damage to the nervous system, such as stroke, may cause similar illusions in weakened limbs, whereby an arm or leg may feel as if it is in a completely different position or may even feel as if it is moving when it is not.

Video gaming prepares brain for bigger tasks

Milan, Italy, 24 September 2010 – Playing video games for hours on end may prepare your child to become a laparoscopic surgeon one day, a new study has shown. Reorganisation of the brain's cortical network in young men with significant experience playing video games gives them an advantage not only in playing the games but also in performing other tasks requiring visuomotor skills. The findings are published in Cortex.

New invention could improve treatment for children with 'water on the brain'

Grand Rapids, Mich. (September 23, 2010) – Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists participated in a study with researchers from the University of Utah that could help find ways to improve shunt systems used to treat the neurological disorder hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain," the leading cause of brain surgery for children in the United States. Researchers studied the shunt systems under a variety of conditions by creating a bioreactor that mimics the environment inside patients.

New gene associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have identified a gene that appears to increase a person's risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD), the most common type of the disease. Abbreviated MTHFD1L, a gene on chromosome six, was identified in a genome-wide association study by a team of researchers led by Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., director of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics (HIHG) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Details appear September 23 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.