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neuroimaging

·August 7, 2012·3 min read

Making It Easier to Learn to Read: Dyslexia Caused by Signal Processing in the Brain

Major step in understanding the cause of dyslexia is taken. Scientists have discovered an important neural mechanism underlying dyslexia and shown that many difficulties associated with dyslexia can potentially be traced back to a malfunction of the medial geniculate body in the thalamus.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·July 30, 2012·2 min read

Brain Development is Delayed in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Researchers found that development of the cortical surface is delayed in frontal brain regions in children with ADHD. The typically developing children attained 50% peak area in the right prefrontal cortex at a mean age of 12.7 years, whereas the ADHD children didn’t reach this peak until 14.6 years of age.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 27, 2012·3 min read

The Seat of Meta-Consciousness in the Brain

Studies of lucid dreamers visualise which centers of the brain become active when we become aware of ourselves. Studies demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroethics

·July 26, 2012·2 min read

Controlling Monkey Brains and Behavior With Light

Researchers can control the behavior of monkeys by using pulses of blue light to very specifically activate particular brain cells. The findings represent a key advance for optogenetics, a state-of-the-art method for making causal connections between brain activity and behavior. Researchers say that similar light-based mind control could likely also be made to work in humans for therapeutic ends.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology

·July 24, 2012·3 min read

New Probe Provides Vital Assist in Brain Cancer Surgery

A new probe developed uses an innovative fluorescence-reading technology to help brain surgeons distinguish cancerous tissue from normal tissue. The probe tool, now already in use at the Cancer Center for brain surgery, may one day be used for surgeries for a variety of cancers.

Electrophysiology Featured Genetics Neurology

·July 18, 2012·2 min read

Protein Build-Up Leads to Neurons Misfiring

Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become leaky, but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 6, 2012·4 min read

When Anxiety Won’t Go Away

Scientists discovered a mechanism which stops the process of forgetting anxiety after a stress event. They showed that feelings of anxiety don’t subside if too little dynorphin is released into the brain. The results can help open up new paths in the treatment of trauma patients.

Electrophysiology Featured

·July 5, 2012·4 min read

Robot Vision: Muscle-Like Action Allows Camera to Mimic Human Eye Movement

Using piezoelectric materials, researchers have replicated the muscle motion of the human eye to control camera systems in a way designed to improve the operation of robots. This new muscle-like action could help make robotic tools safer and more effective for MRI-guided surgery and robotic rehabilitation.

Neurology

·July 2, 2012·2 min read

Why Chronic Pain is All in Your Head

Researchers were able to predict, with 85 percent accuracy at the beginning of the study, which participants would go on to develop chronic pain based on the level of interaction between the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens.