Dementia spreads via connected brain networks
A new brain mapping study allows for individual predictions of the progression of frontotemporal dementia.... Read More...
PPA
Navigating ‘Neuralville’: Virtual town helps map brain functions
Combining neuroimaging and a constructed virtual reality town, researchers found the brain uses three different systems to perceive environment. One system allows us to recognize a place, another helps navigate through that location, and the third helps navigate from one place to another. The parahippocampal place area (PPA) helps encode location recognition, while the retrosplenial complex allows for mentally mapping the locations of specific places.... Read More...
Map of broken brain networks shows why people lose speech in language-based dementia
Researchers have identified the location of dysfunctional brain networks that lead to impaired sentence production and word-finding in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). PPA can occur in those with neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Mapping the networks allows clinicians to apply non-invasive brain stimulation to potentially improve speech in those with PPA. ... Read More...
Processed foods may hold key to rise in autism
Eating processed food which contains Propionic Acid (PPA) during pregnancy may affect neural stem cell development in the fetal brain. Excessive PPA reduces the number of neurons and over-produces glial cells, causing inflammation. Additionally, PPA shortens neural pathways. The combination of damaged pathways and reduced neurons may be associated with behavioral deficits associated with ASD.... Read More...
Detecting dementia’s damaging effects before it’s too late
Using MEG neuroimaging, researchers identify abnormalities in functional activity in brain regions which look structurally normal on conventional MRI scans. The findings could help with early detection of primary progressive aphasia.... Read More...
Room for thought: Brain region that watches for walls identified
MEG neuroimaging implicates the occipital place area (OPA) in our ability to rapidly sense our surroundings. The findings may advance improving machine learning and robotics technology aimed at mimicking visual processes in the human brain.... Read More...
Brain region discovered that only processes spoken, not written words
A small, preliminary study helps researchers identify a region of the brain that specializes in the processing of auditory words.... Read More...
The Brain Combats Dementia By Shifting Resources
A new study reveals the brain may reassign tasks to different regions of the brain in order to counter the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. ... Read More...
Memory Loss Not Enough to Diagnose Alzheimer’s
Researchers report on the other, often overlooked, symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.... Read More...
How The Brain Builds Panoramic Memories
Researchers have identified specific, key brain regions that help us link different views of our surroundings.... Read More...
The Brain’s Super-Sensitivity to Curbs
Researchers have pinpointed the areas of the brain most sensitive to even the tiniest borders.... Read More...
Remapping the Brain’s Language Area
New dementia research comes up with new locations for words and sentence comprehension in the brain.... Read More...