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brain research

Research articles and news stories tagged with brain research

·September 24, 2010·2 min read

Gamers Have Advantage In Performing Visuomotor Tasks

A study published in October's Cortex has shown young people who regularly play video games have an advantage in performing tasks which require visuomotor skills. The study also found that gamers show increased activity in the prefrontal cortex when asked to perform visuomotor tasks. By contrast, non-gamers had more reliant use of the parietal cortex, an area which involves hand-eye coordination, when performing visuomotor tasks.

Featured Neurology

·September 22, 2010·3 min read

Can Career Choices Influence Dementia?

Correlating data from 588 patients diagnosed with frontotemporal lobe degeneration (FTLD), researchers found that subjects with professions which related highly for verbal skills had greater tissue loss on the right hand side of the brain. By contrast, those whose professions required less aptitude for verbal skills, for example flight engineers, had more tissue damage to the left hand side of the brain.

Electrophysiology Featured

·September 21, 2010·2 min read

The Rapid Speed Of Brain Cell Communication

Neuroscience researchers have studied the organic protein complexes linking vesicles and membranes before fusion, in order to understand the rapidity of transmission.

Featured Neurology

·September 21, 2010·1 min read

Area Of Brain Responsible For Controlling Impulses Discovered

Neuroscientists have identified an area within the brain which controls impulsive behavior and have discovered the mechanisms that affect how impulsive behavior is learned. Training rats to control impulsive responses, neuroscientists discovered electrical signals between cells in the frontal lobe grew stronger when impulses were controlled. These findings could eventually help to help diagnose and treat impulse behavior problems such as addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 20, 2010·3 min read

Children’s Intellectual Abilities Affected By Manganese In Drinking Water

Researchers have discovered that children exposed to high levels of manganese in drinking water perform poorly on cognitive tests. The research stated that, on average, children who drink water with more concentrated levels of manganese have an IQ score 6 points lower than children whose drinking water contained little to no manganese.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 17, 2010·3 min read

Disabling The RGS14 Gene Makes Mice Smarter

Researchers have discovered that disabling the RGS14 gene in mice can make them smarter. When the RGS14 gene was disabled within the CA2 region of the hippocampus, researchers found that mice were better able to remember objects they had explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 15, 2010·2 min read

Physically Fit Children Have Bigger Hippocampal Volume

Neuroscientists have reported they have found an association between physical fitness and brain development in children. The report suggests children who are physically fitter tend to have larger hippocampi and perform better in memory based tests than their less fit counterparts.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·September 15, 2010·1 min read

Human Neural Stem Cells Reverse Rat Stroke Brain Damage

Neuralstem has released a new report detailing positive results for stem cell treatments. Initial findings show that not only do implanted human spinal cord-derived stem cells survive, but also differentiate into neurons in rats brains affected by strokes. This finding could potentially provide new therapies for treating strokes.

Featured Genetics Neurology

·August 20, 2010·3 min read

DUX4 Gene Product May Cause FSHD, A Form of Muscular Dystrophy

New research points to a DNA sequence that causes the DUX4 gene to become more active in producing proteins that are toxic to muscle cells, leading to a form of muscular dystrophy.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 19, 2010·4 min read

Pesticides Linked to ADHD and Attention Problems

Scientists have found evidence linking pesticides to attention problems in children.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 18, 2010·3 min read

Older Corpus Collosum Crosstalk Slows Response Times

This research shows that the loss of connections in the corpus collosum could be partly responsible for slower response times seen in older animals and humans due to too much crosstalk and confusion between the brain hemispheres.

Neurology Neuroscience

·August 15, 2010·2 min read