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Memory

·September 18, 2012·3 min read

Some Viruses Not to Blame for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome After All

Contrary to previous findings, new research finds no link between chronic fatigue syndrome and the viruses XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) and pMLV (polytropic murine leukemia virus). A study reveals that research that reported patients with chronic fatigue syndrome carried these two viruses was wrong and that there is still no evidence for an infectious cause behind chronic fatigue syndrome.

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 Genetics

·September 11, 2012·2 min read

How Genetics Shape Our Addictions: Genes Predict the Brain’s Reaction to Smoking

Have you ever wondered why some people find it so much easier to stop smoking than others? New research shows that vulnerability to smoking addiction is shaped by our genes.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·September 10, 2012·3 min read

Researchers Create Short-Term Memories In-Vitro

Researchers have discovered how to store diverse forms of artificial short-term memories in isolated brain tissue. Using isolated pieces of rodent brain tissue, the researchers demonstrated that they could form a memory of which one of four input pathways was activated.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 7, 2012·3 min read

A Brain Filter for Clear Information Transmission

Frequently, as many as one thousand signals rain down on a single neuron simultaneously. To ensure that precise signals are delivered, the brain possesses a sophisticated inhibitory system. Scientists have now illuminated how this system works.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 6, 2012·2 min read

Noisy Surroundings Take Toll on Short-term Memory

Scientists found that adverse listening situations are difficult for the brain, partly because they draw on the same, limited resources supporting our short-term memory. The new findings are particularly relevant to understanding the cognitive consequences of hearing damage, a condition that affects an increasing number of people.

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 Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 23, 2012·4 min read

The Roots of Human Self-Awareness

Neuroscientists have believed that three brain regions are critical for self-awareness: the insular cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the medial prefrontal cortex. Patient R is helping a research team show that self-awareness is more a product of a diffuse patchwork of pathways in the brain—including other regions—rather than confined to specific areas.

Electrophysiology Featured Psychology

·August 20, 2012·5 min read

Psychologists Link Emotion to Vividness of Perception and Creation of Vivid Memories

Have you ever wondered why you can remember things from long ago as if they happened yesterday, yet sometimes can't recall what you ate for dinner last night? A new study suggests it's because how much something means to you actually influences how you see it as well as how vividly you can recall it later.

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.

Featured Neurology

·August 20, 2012·2 min read

Brain Enzyme is Double Whammy for Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers discover that an enzyme known for generating toxic brain plaques in Alzheimer's disease also causes additional memory and cognitive deficits via a separate mechanism. They found that BACE1 disrupts the cell's production of other molecules required for PKA function. By that mechanism, BACE1 inactivates PKA and therefore inhibits memory formation in mice, even in the absence of neurotoxic β-amyloid.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 18, 2012·3 min read

Dopamine: A Substance with Many Messages

Researchers recently localised and identified the most important types of nerve cells involved in forming positive and negative memories of a fruit fly. All four nerve cell types they discovered use dopamine to communicate with other nerve cells. Three of the nerve cell types assume various functions in mediating negative stimuli, while the fourth enables the fly to form positive memories.