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·October 9, 2012·2 min read

Rare Genetic Disorder Points to Molecules that May Play Role in Schizophrenia

Scientists studying a rare genetic disorder have identified a molecular pathway that may play a role in schizophrenia, according to new research. The findings may one day guide researchers to new treatment options for people with schizophrenia - a devastating disease that affects approximately 1 percent of the world's population.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·October 8, 2012·2 min read

Discovery of Gatekeeper Nerve Cells Explains the Effect of Nicotine on Learning and Memory

Researchers discovered a new group of nerve cells that regulate processes of learning and memory. These cells act as gatekeepers and carry a receptor for nicotine, which can help explain our ability to remember and sort information. The newly discovered gatekeeper nerve cells, also called OLM-alpha2 cells, provide an explanation to how the flow of information is controlled in the hippocampus.

Entorhinal cortical neurons and traces are shown and described in the caption.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·October 8, 2012·5 min read

Researchers Discover that the Sleeping Brain Behaves as if it’s Remembering Something

UCLA researchers have for the first time measured the activity of a brain region known to be involved in learning, memory and Alzheimer's disease during sleep. They discovered that the entorhinal cortex behaves as if it's remembering something, even under anesthesia, a finding that counters conventional theories about memory consolidation during sleep.

The numbers 1 through 9 are shown over a brain with two question marks over 3 and 5.

Featured Psychology

·October 5, 2012·4 min read

What Number is Halfway Between 1 and 9? Is it 5 or 3?

A new information-theoretical model of human sensory perception and memory sheds light on some peculiarities of the nervous system. Ask adults from the industrialized world what number is halfway between 1 and 9, and most will say 5. But pose the same question to small children, or people living in some traditional societies, and they're likely to answer 3.

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·October 4, 2012·4 min read

Babies Learn the Smell of Mum

Newborn mice use mom's unique odor, not a pheromone, to begin breastfeeding.

Featured Psychology

·September 20, 2012·2 min read

Fear Can Be Erased from the Brain

Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain.The findings may represent a breakthrough in research on memory and fear. This is shown by researchers from Uppsala University in a study being published by Science.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 18, 2012·3 min read

Theory: Music Underlies Language Acquisition

Contrary to the prevailing theories that music and language are cognitively separate or that music is a byproduct of language, theorists at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) advocate that music underlies the ability to acquire language.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 13, 2012·3 min read

Stress Breaks Loops that Hold Short-Term Memory Together

By watching individual neurons at work, a group of psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has revealed just how stress can addle the mind, as well as how neurons in the brain's prefrontal cortex help remember information in the first place.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·August 30, 2012·4 min read

Potential Treatment for Cognitive Effects of Stress-Related Disorders, Including PTSD

Researchers identified a potential medical treatment for cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2012·2 min read

Math Ability Requires Crosstalk in the Brain

A new study finds strength of communication between the left and right brain hemispheres predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems. Findings shed light on the neural basis of human math abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from dyscalculia - an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.

Brain Cancer Featured Genetics Neurology

·August 29, 2012·5 min read

Could a Cancer Drug Potentially Prevent Learning Disabilities in Some Kids?

U-M scientists stop abnormal brain cell growth in mice with neurofibromatosis using experimental tumor drug, make new discoveries in neural stem cells.

Featured Neurology

·August 20, 2012·4 min read

Stroke Disrupts How Brain Controls Muscle Synergies

A new study finds that after a stroke, muscle synergies are activated in altered ways. Furthermore, those disruptions follow specific patterns depending on the severity of the stroke and the amount of time that has passed since the stroke. Distinctive patterns could allow doctors to develop better rehab programs for stroke patients.