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putamen

·December 4, 2024·5 min read

How Evolution Shaped the Brain’s Understanding of Numbers

Human number cognition may be rooted in the putamen, a deep brain structure traditionally associated with movement rather than abstract thought. Neurosurgery patients demonstrated activity in this area while processing numbers as symbols, words, and concepts, suggesting that numerical understanding emerged early in evolution.

This shows smoke stacks overlayed with a child's eyes

Featured Neuroscience

·September 23, 2022·3 min read

An Association Between Exposure to Air Pollution in the First 5 Years of Life and Alterations in Brain Structure

Assessing a child's exposure to air pollution on a monthly basis from conception to the age of 8.5, researchers found the greater the exposure to air pollution before the age of 5, the greater the alteration in brain structure by preadolescence.

This shows a little boy looking through a fence

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 9, 2021·5 min read

Poverty Associated With Smaller, Slower Growing Subcortical Regions in Children

A study spanning 17 years has found children born and raised in poverty had smaller subcortical brain regions, including the hippocampus, caudate, putamen, and thalamus. These brain areas also showed less growth over time.

This shows a loop diagram of the learning types in the brain

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 20, 2020·5 min read

When Learning on Your Own Is Not Enough

Neuroimaging study reveals social learning is represented in the anterior cingulate cortex, while direct learning is represented in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. The two areas both interact with the striatum, which helps compute both reward prediction error and social prediction error.

This is a diagram of the multitasking network in the brain

Featured Neuroscience

·August 17, 2020·2 min read

The Missing Piece of the Brain’s Multitasking Network

Study reports the putamen, not just the cortex, contributes to the brain's ability to multitask.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 14, 2020·5 min read

How chronic stress changes the brain, and what you can do to reverse the damage

Chronic stress can affect a person's health and mental well being. Due to the COVID-19 virus, chronic stress is on the rise worldwide. Researchers examine the general and psychological health implications of chronic stress and suggest some methods we can adopt to keep our stress levels in check.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 23, 2020·4 min read

Iron in brain shows cognitive decline in people with Parkinson’s

The measure of iron in the brain may help doctors predict which patients with Parkinson's disease are most likely to develop dementia.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 27, 2020·3 min read

The brain may need iron for healthy cognitive development

Iron levels in the basal ganglia steadily increase throughout development and, in two sub-regions, continue to increase into adulthood. Decreased levels of iron in the putamen was correlated with impaired cognitive performance involving reasoning and spatial processing. Findings suggest the brain requires iron for healthy cognitive development.

This shows a lonely man on a crowded street

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 24, 2020·3 min read

Imbalance between serotonin and dopamine in social anxiety disorder

Study reports the balance between serotonin and dopamine may be a risk factor for a person developing social anxiety disorder.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·December 5, 2019·4 min read

Brain differences detected in children with depressed parents

The right putamen, a brain area linked to reward, motivation, and feelings of pleasure, is smaller in children with a genetic risk factor for depression. Previous studies implicated reduced putamen volume with anhedonia, which is often associated with depression, suicidal behaviors, and psychosis.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·October 23, 2019·3 min read

Study identifies brain injury as a cause of dementia in some older adults

MRI neuroimaging can distinguish between memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. Using new image analysis software, researchers discovered TBI causes the most amount of damage to the ventral diencephalon, a brain area associated with memory and learning, and the least amount of atrophy to the hippocampus, a brain region most impacted by Alzheimer's.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·October 21, 2019·4 min read

Gene variants influence size of brain stem and other structures

Researchers identified 48 common genetic variants that appear to play a role in the size of the brainstem and other subcortical structures. Forty of the variants were novel. The findings also revealed 199 genes related to the variants which regulate brain development and susceptibility to neurological disorders.