The Unexpected Creates Reward When Listening to Music
A new study reports unexpected changes in music activates the nucleus accumbens, providing reward and helping us to learn about the music as we listen. ... Read More...
McGill University
Gut Hormone Increases Response to Food
Researchers discover activity in brain regions involved in reward response from dopamine was higher in subjects injected with the hormone ghrelin, but only when responding to images associated with food smells. The study reports ghrelin controls the extent to which the brain associates reward with food odors.... Read More...
Cannabis Pain Relief Without the High
Researchers have pinpointed an effective dose of CBD to help treat chronic pain, without generating the typical marijuana 'high'.... Read More...
AI Could Predict Cognitive Decline Leading to Alzheimer’s
Researchers have developed a new machine learning algorithm that can make accurate predictions about cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer's. The algorithm, researchers say, may help doctors stream people onto a preventative path and offer treatment sooner.... Read More...
New Insight Into Aging
Researchers report plasticity is dysregulated in older brains, but increasing levels of GABA can induce longer lasting changes in the auditory cortex. ... Read More...
Teens Have a Hard Time Reading One Another’s Tones of Voice
A new study reports teenagers have a more difficult time discerning the emotional vocal tones of their peers. The results, researchers suggest, show teens have not reached a level of maturity in either ability to identify or express vocal emotions. ... Read More...
The Link Between Obesity, Genetics and the Brain
A new study sheds light on the roles both genetics and neuroanatomy play in obesity. Researchers report those with higher BMI had reduced cognitive flexibility, reduced ability to delay gratification and worse verbal memory. Additionally, those with increased BMI have increased amygdala and left prefrontal cortex volume.... Read More...
15 Minutes of Exercise Creates Optimal Brain State for Mastering New Motor Skills
A new study reports a short burst of exercise can dramatically improve long term retention of new motor skills.... Read More...
Pathway for Alzheimer’s Degeneration Discovered
Researchers have developed a new neuroimaging method to track neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. The method helped uncover a new pathway for how degeneration spreads from one brain region to another.... Read More...
New Insight Into How Autism Might Develop in the Brain
Researchers have identified a new molecular mechanism that may play a role in the development of autism.... Read More...
Genes Associated with Infantile Forms of Schizophrenia Identified
Researchers have identified gene mutations responsible for childhood onset schizophrenia. ... Read More...
The Secret to Longevity is in the Microbiome and Gut
Feeding fruit flies a combination of probiotics and Triphala, a herbal supplement, increased longevity by 60% and protected them against age related diseases, researchers report.... Read More...