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8/11/2009
  Researchers create cell-like nanowires for neural implants Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have sealed silicon-nanowire transistors in a membrane similar to those that surround biological cells. These hybrid devices, which operate similarly to nerve cells, might be used to make better interfaces for prosthetic limbs and cochlear implants. They might also work well as biosensors for medical diagnostics. Labels: Neuro
8/10/2009
There is only one way to survive all the new challenges we face -- get a lot smarter A super volcano eruption 74,000 years ago plunged the world into a period of glaciation and very nearly wiped out human kind. Human mating pairs declined to only a few thousand. What saved our ancestors was getting smarter. Now we face challenges that come at us far faster than ever before. There is only one way out of the mess, making ourselves a lot smarter. Labels: Neuro
8/07/2009
Neural mod blocks annoying, useless itch response without loss of pain sensing ability Historically, many scientists have regarded itching as just a less intense version of pain. They have spent decades searching for itch-specific nerve cells to explain how the brain perceives itch differently from pain, but none have previously been found. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that those itch-specific neurons do exist in mice, and their studies suggest that itch and pain signals are transmitted along different pathways in the spinal cord. Moreover, the researchers say they can knock out an animal's itch response without affecting its ability to sense and attempt to avoid pain. Labels: Neuro
8/07/2009
Synapse Project to Make a Artificial Human Brain Gets $16 million more from DARPA Things must be going well, since IBM just got an additional $16.1 million from DARPA for its Synapse project to make a computer hardware version of a human brain. SyNAPSE stands for Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics. The stated purpose is to "investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in neuromorphic electronic devices that are scalable to biological levels."
8/05/2009
Psychopaths found to have clear structural deficits in their brains  Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The research investigated the brain biology of psychopaths with convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape with strangulation and false imprisonment. Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) the researchers have highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of behavior and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy. Dr Michael Craig said: "If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system." Labels: Neuro
8/04/2009
High Cholesterol in midlife raises risk of late-life dementia The four-decade study of 9,844 men and women by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland found that having high cholesterol in midlife (240 or higher milligrams per deciliter of blood) increases, by 66 percent, the risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life. Even borderline cholesterol levels (200 - 239 mg/dL) in midlife raised risk for late-life vascular dementia by nearly the same amount: 52 percent. Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, is a group of dementia syndromes caused by conditions affecting the blood supply to the brain. Labels: Neuro
8/03/2009
Making DNA computers more user friendly Biomolecular computers, made of DNA and other biological molecules, only exist today in a few specialized labs, but researchers at the Weizmann Institute are already working on making them 'user friendly' enough for regular computer users. Researchers in the lab of Prof. Ehud Shapiro have devised an advanced program for biomolecular computers that enables them to 'think' logically. The device is able to correctly answer logic questions like: 'All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.' Labels: Neuro
8/02/2009
The long awaited spinal cord injury regeneration breakthrough has arrived  Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that axons can be regenerated and guided to their correct targets and caused to re-form synapse connections after spinal cord injury. The image shows a target cell in the brain (green) contacted by an axon (red) regenerating into the brain from the spinal cord. In the last few years, researchers have shown that the severed wires of the spinal cord, called axons, can be induced to regenerate, but guiding the regenerating axons to the correct cell target when faced with millions of potential targets and causing them to form connections called synapses, remained beyond reach. Now, UC San Diego scientists have been able to both regenerate sensory axons and guide them to the appropriate target causing synaptic formation by utilized a nervous system growth factor called neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Spinal connection regeneration required two other treatments at the same time: placing a cell bridge in the spinal cord injury site to support axon growth, and a "conditioning" stimulus to the injured neuron that turned on regeneration genes for new growth. When the growth factor was placed in the correct target as a guidance cue, axons regenerated into it and formed synapses, but when as a test, the growth factor was placed in the wrong target, axons still followed the growth factor and grew into the wrong region. Labels: Neuro
7/31/2009
The first artificial nerve cell capable of communicating with human nerve cells Researchers in Sweden are creating the first artificial nerve cell capable of communicating with human nerve cells. 'We demonstrate an organic electronic device capable of precisely delivering neurotransmitters in vitro and in vivo. In converting electronic addressing into delivery of neurotransmitters, the device mimics the nerve synapse,' the authors wrote. Labels: Neuro
7/31/2009
Neuroscientists say that "you learn more from your failures than successes" is wrong Brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail. Prof. Earl K. Miller and MIT colleagues Mark Histed and Anitha Pasupathy have created for the first time a unique snapshot of the learning process that shows how single cells change their responses in real time as a result of information about what is the right action and what is the wrong one. "We have shown that brain cells keep track of whether recent behaviors were successful or not," Miller said. Furthermore, when a behavior was successful, cells became more finely tuned to what the animal was learning. After a failure, there was little or no change in the brain - nor was there any improvement in behavior. Labels: Neuro
7/30/2009
Did an ice age boost human brain size? Some 2.5 million years ago, our ancestors' brains expanded from a mere 600 cubic centimetres to about a litre. Two new studies suggest it is no fluke that the increase in human brain size coincided with the onset of an ice age. Cooler heads allowed the brains of our ansestors dissipate heat better, allowing them to grow larger. So will global warming cause our brains to shrink back to hot Earth sizes? Not if we use our bigger brains to insure we always have heat dissipation technologies available, say the researchers. Labels: Neuro
7/29/2009
Your neurotransmitters need a little Tweek A large protein called Tweek plays a critical role in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine. To get data from one neuron to another, tiny bubbles called vesicles transport chemicals called neurotransmitters to the neuron's tip called the synapse. Once there, they fuse to the cell's membrane in a process called exocytosis. The extra membrane is then captured in a process called endocytosis and recycled to form a new vesicle to enable the next cycle of release. Without Tweek, these processes fail. Labels: Neuro
7/28/2009
The carrot approach facilitates learning, now neuroscientists know why People who are rewarded for making correct decisions learn more quickly, but little has been understood about how rewards facilitate the brain's learning process. Now, a team headed by Dr. Burkhard Pleger of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, and the University College London have demonstrated that the "reward effect" not only supports the improvement of higher cognitive abilities, but also how brain function in the cortex can be enhanced. Intriguingly, they see that the reward effect can be strengthened using dopaminergic compounds. Targeted manipulation of dopamine levels, thereby enhancing the "teaching signal" in the brain, could open up new possibilities in the treatment of patients, for example, after a stroke. Labels: Neuro
7/27/2009
Discovery enables decoding of large-scale structure of the brain Scientists at Rutgers University in Newark and the University of California, Los Angeles have developed a highly accurate way to peer into the brain to uncover a person's mental state and what sort of information is being processed before it reaches awareness. This new window into the brain gives scientists the means of developing a more accurate model of the brain's inner functions. Previously, neuroimaging has focused on pinpointing areas of the brain that are uniquely responsible for specific mental functions. But researchers' analysis of global brain activity found that different processing tasks have their own distinct pattern of neural connections stretching across the brain, similar to the fingerprints that distinctively identify each of us. "By examining the pattern of neural connections, you can predict with a high degree of accuracy what mental processing task a person is doing," said Prof Stephen Hanson. Labels: Neuro
7/23/2009
Visual and auditory cues for the same abstract concept converge into the firing of exactly the same few neurons For the first time, scientists studying the brain have worked out how words paint concepts in our minds. "Different pictures of Marilyn Monroe can evoke the same mental image, even if greatly modified as in Warhol's famous portraits," explains Professor Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, head of Bioengineering at the University of Leicester. "This process relates to one of the most fascinating questions in neuroscience: how do neurons in the brain manage to abstract and disregard irrelevant details to recognize highly variable pictures as the same person?" Our study found that although processing of visual and auditory information occur along completely separate pathways, the visual and auditory processing routes converge to end up firing exactly the same neurons. "These results demonstrate that single neurons can encode concepts in a very abstract way, even if evoked by different sensory modalities," said Prof. Quiroga. Labels: Neuro
7/23/2009
Short term stress can boost memory, but chronic stress impairs it  While chronic stress has a detrimental effect on learning and health, a short stressful incident can actually enhance learning and memory. Researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown, in trials using rodents as an animal model, that acute stress can produce a beneficial effect on learning and memory, through the effect of the stress hormone corticosterone (cortisol in humans) on the brain's prefrontal cortex, a key region that controls learning and emotion. "Stress hormones have both protective and damaging effects on the body," said Zhen Yan, professor of physiology and biophysics at UB and senior author on the study. Labels: Neuro
7/23/2009
Can new developments in neuroscience allow people's minds to be read?  Some researchers claim that a brain imaging technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to reveal hidden thoughts, such as lies, truths or deep desires. New research by neuroscientists at UCLA and Rutgers University provides evidence that while fMRI can be used in certain circumstances to determine what a person is thinking, highly accurate fMRI "mind reading" is still far from reality. Labels: Neuro
7/23/2009
An artificial human brain within 10 years -- we don't need no stinking singularity For the last 30 years, researchers have been coming out of their labs and claiming that they will be able to build a human-equivalent artificial intelligence within ten years. Typically, whenever this claim is made, that project falls apart a short while later. The latest 10-year claimant is Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain Project, who says that he will be able to model the human brain artificially within ten years. Professor Markram and his team have picked apart the structure of the neocortical column and they are now using IBM's Blue Gene Machine supercomputer with 10,000 processors to model a human brain. While all those reaching for the brass ring have fallen off their horses in the past, other more practical researchers have been busy learning how to effectively use and extend the capabilities of limited function smart bots. The results of these efforts have been powerful and profitable cognition-extending engines like Google. While some await the emergence of an AI God from a mythical singularity. Other are building and utilizing limited-function smart bots to do the research necessary to greatly extend our own minds and lifespans and develop the technologies necessary to spread our kind across the Cosmos. The handful of practical, functional smart bots running on my netbook are worth far more to me than all the mythological AIs out in some nebulous singularity. We don't need an AI singularity. Just continuing to incrementally improve the capabilities of the smart bots we are all using now, will eventually take us to the stars.
7/21/2009
How children's brain signaling differs from adults The first-ever comparison of synchronization of brain signals in children and young adults helps explain why children are less adept at multitasking, emotion regulation and other behaviors that come with maturity, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Labels: Neuro
7/21/2009
Using neural stem cells to cure dementia  Frank LaFerla, Mathew Blurton-Jones and colleagues at UC Irvine have found that neural stem cells could be a potential treatment for advanced Alzheimer's disease. The UC Irvine scientists have shown for the first time that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice with advanced Alzheimer's disease, raising hopes of a treatment for the leading cause of elderly dementia that afflicts 5.3 million people in the U.S. Labels: Neuro
7/21/2009
Reducing levels of a key enzyme in the brain decreased appetites and increased energy levels In a major advance in obesity and diabetes research, Yale School of Medicine scientists have found that reducing levels of a key enzyme in the brain decreased appetites and increased energy levels. Reductions in the levels of the enzyme prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP) led to weight loss and a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in mice. The team found that PRCP is located in the hypothalamus and regulates levels of the alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), which is a peptide known for inhibiting food intake and stimulating energy expenditure. Researchers found that blocking the PRCP enzyme keeps the alpha-MSH peptides from being degraded, resulting in higher levels of alpha-MSH and decreased appetite. Labels: Neuro
7/18/2009
The fancier your cortex, the smarter your are Why are some people smarter than others? Eduardo Mercado III of the University at Buffalo says cognitive plasticity, the capacity to learn and improve cognitive skills such as solving problems and remembering events, is determined by the extent of your brain's cortex. Cortical modules are vertical columns of interconnected neuronal cells. Across different areas of the cerebral cortex, these columns vary in the number and diversity of neurons they contain. Studies examining a number of different species have shown that, on average, a larger cortex predicts greater intellectual capacity. Labels: Neuro
7/15/2009
Vitamin D plus a turmeric spice called curcumin clears brain plaque deposits UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the amyloid beta responsible for dementia-causing brain plaque deposits. Labels: Neuro
7/14/2009
Your brain can adapt to changing demands within seconds The human brain can adapt to changing demands even in adulthood, but MIT neuroscientists have now found evidence of it changing with unsuspected speed. Their findings suggest that the brain has a network of silent connections that underlie its plasticity. "When we temporarily deprived part of the visual cortex from receiving input, subjects reported seeing squares distorted as rectangles," said senior author Nancy Kanwisher of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. "We were surprised to find these referred visual sensations happening as fast as we could measure, within two seconds." Many scientists think that this kind of reorganized response to sensory information reflects a rewiring in the brain, or a growth of new connections. "But these distortions happened too quickly to result from structural changes in the cortex," Kanwisher explained. "So we think the connections were already there but were silent, and that the brain is constantly recalibrating the connections through short-term plasticity mechanisms." Labels: Neuro
7/14/2009
3-D brain map using 4 different image types said to revolutionize brain surgery  A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient's brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized tumor from the brain of an Indiana woman. The surgery was performed at University Hospital by an eight-member team from the Brain Tumor Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute. "This marks the culmination of one of the most important developments in brain tumor surgery in the last 100 years," says John Tew, MD, a neurosurgeon with the Mayfield Clinic, UC professor of neurosurgery and clinical director of the UC Neuroscience Institute. Labels: Neuro
7/13/2009
Employers could soon have a way to easily spot and eliminate all dishonest workers from the work force Using neuroimaging, Harvard psychologists looked at the brain activity of people given the chance to gain money honestly or dishonestly by lying and found that honest people showed no additional neural activity when telling the truth, implying that extra cognitive processes were not necessary to choose honesty. However, those individuals with a dishonest tendency, even when telling the truth, showed additional activity in brain regions that involve control and attention. It would certainly be interesting to give this test to all the members of Congress. The research was designed to test two theories about the nature of honesty. The "Will" theory, in which honesty results from the active resistance of temptation, and the "Grace" theory in which honesty is a product of lack of temptation. The results of this study suggest that the "Grace" theory is true, because the honest participants did not show any additional neural activity when telling the truth. Labels: Neuro
7/13/2009
Regular moderate alcohol intake has cognitive benefits as you age New research by Wake Forest University School of Medicine suggests that moderate alcohol intake offers long-term cognitive protection and reduces the risk of dementia as you age. Researchers examined and interviewed 3,069 older individuals every six months for six years to determine changes in their memory or thinking abilities and to monitor who developed dementia. Researchers found that individuals who had no cognitive impairment at the start of the study and drank eight to 14 alcoholic beverages per week, or one to two per day, experienced an average 37 percent reduction in risk of developing dementia compared to individuals who did not drink at all and were classified as abstainers. The type of alcohol consumed did not matter. Labels: Neuro
7/13/2009
Researchers find the dynamic molecular mechanism that keeps your brain activity stable In the brain, many types of synaptic proteins are spatio-temporally regulated to maintain synaptic activity at a constant level. A Japanese research group at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences has now found that two types of palmitoylating enzymes finely-tune the location and function of a major synaptic protein, PSD-95, in different ways. They also found that this mechanism contributes to keeping synaptic activity stable when synaptic activity dynamically changes. Labels: Neuro
7/12/2009
Seeding your life with positive emotional moments builds your resilience against adversity People who have developed an ability to seed their lives with frequent positive emotional moments, demonstrate increased resilience when adversity strikes. "Focusing daily on the small moments and cultivating positive emotions is the way to go," said study author Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., Kenan Professor of Psychology University of North Carolina. Finding those positive emotional moments appears to "build resources that can help us rebound better from adversity and stress, ward off depression and continue to grow." Labels: Neuro
7/12/2009
Omega 3 appears NOT to help with human cognitive impairment DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is naturally found in the body in small amounts, and is the most abundant omega 3 fatty acid in the brain. DHA oil is abundant in some marine microalgae, which provide the DHA that makes fatty fish a good source of DHA. Dietary DHA is also available in foods enriched with algal DHA or fish oils, and dietary supplements. Some animal studies and epidemiology in humans suggested that DHA may be beneficial in people with dementia. But although treatment with DHA increased blood levels and brain levels of DHA and has been previously shown to have other positive health effects. Two long term studies have now shown that DHA does NOT appear to improve the condition of those suffering from age-related cognitive impairment. Labels: Neuro
7/08/2009
Blood doping hormone erythropoietin also boosts brainpower Healthy young mice treated with erythropoietin show lasting improved performance in learning and other higher brain functions. Researchers testing the cognitive effects of the growth factor, found that it improved the sequential learning and memory components of a complex long-term cognitive task. "Erythropoietin has been in clinical use for over 20 years to treat patients with anemic conditions, ranging from renal failure to cancer," said Hannelore Ehrenreich. "It has recently received attention for its apparent ability to improve cognitive function in people with schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis." See also: Athletic doping drug erythropoietin proven to enhance memory Labels: Neuro
7/07/2009
Scientists develop breakthrough artificial nerve cells Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and Linkoping University have created the first artificial nerve cell that communicates using the body's own neurotransmitters. Existing brain interfaces implant electrodes that tend to activate all cells in the vicinity, causing undesired effects, while the new artificial nerve cells use an electrically conducting plastic to create a new type of "delivery electrode" to trigger neurotransmitter release. Only neighboring cells that have receptors for the specific neurotransmitter are activated. Guinea pig brain function have been controlled with the device and scientists are working on a unit for human implants. "The ability to deliver exact doses of neurotransmitters opens completely new possibilities for correcting the signaling systems that are faulty in a number of neurological disease conditions", says Professor Agneta Richter-Dahlfors. Labels: Neuro
7/07/2009
Neuroscientists locate where fear is stored in your brain Neuroscientists have for the first time located the neurons responsible for fear conditioning in the mammalian brain. Using an imaging technique that enabled them to trace the process of neural activation in the brains of rats, University of Washington researchers have pinpointed the basolateral nucleus in the region of the brain called the of amygdala as the place where fear conditioning is encoded. Labels: Neuro
7/07/2009
Magnetic brain stimulation improves skill learning The use of magnetic pulses to stimulate the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) region of the brain results in an improved ability to learn a skilled motor task. Researchers writing Lara Boyd and Meghan Linsdell, from the University of British Columbia, studied the effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation of the PMd on the ability of 30 volunteers to track a target on a computer screen using a joystick. Those participants who had received the excitatory stimulation were significantly better than the other groups at tracking the target during the repeated section of the test. Labels: Neuro
7/05/2009
DNA variations linked to brain tumors Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have found a connection between DNA alterations on human chromosome 9 and aggressive brain cancer. Researchers found that persons with the specific alterations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are at much higher risk for brain tumors. Labels: Neuro
7/03/2009
Gene's novel role may provide key to treating neurodegenerative diseases Scientists at Singapore's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have discovered that the gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule" (FAIM) triggers a mechanism that ultimately impedes an important pathway to apoptosis (programmed cell death), which is mediated by a key protein called Fas. According to Drs. Huo and Xu, there is also significant evidence that FAIM prevents neuron death and promotes neural outgrowth, making it a potential therapeutic target for reversing the effects of neurodegenerative diseases. Labels: Neuro
7/01/2009
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) improves cognition  GCSF, a human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in bone marrow, reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found. GCSF significantly reduces levels of the brain-clogging protein beta amyloid deposited in the brain. In the image, microglia (shown in green) attack the beta amyloid deposits (shown in red) in GCSF-treated brain tissue. Labels: Neuro
7/01/2009
Signaling pathway mod could boost brain repair capability Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway (called Wnt) may be a critical key to developing therapies to enable the restoration of damaged brain tissues. The Wnt pathway plays an active role in the maintenance and proliferation of stem cells, as a crucial determinant of whether oligodendrocytes can efficiently make myelin. The new study demonstrates that if the Wnt pathway is abnormally active, then the process is inhibited. This opens up the exciting possibility that brain repair can be enhanced by blocking the Wnt pathway. The team found that the expression of a gene called Tcf4 was strong in damaged areas where repair attempts were under way. Tcf4 is involved in the cascade of biochemical events known as the Wnt (pronounced wint) pathway, whose importance has been well recognized in normal development of many tissues, including the brain. Until now, however, Wnt had not been linked to myelin production or repair. Labels: Neuro
6/30/2009
Brain mechanism discovery could switch-off alcohol dependency Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin's actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol's effects on the reward system are reduced. It is an important discovery that could lead to new therapies for addictions such as alcohol dependence.
6/30/2009
Brain section multitasks to handle both phonetics and decision-making  A front portion of the brain that handles tasks like decision-making also helps decipher different phonetic sounds, according to new Brown University research. This section of the brain - the left inferior frontal sulcus - treats different pronunciations of the same speech sound the same way. This solves the mystery of how the brain is able to equate sounds that can sound radically different when spoken by different people. Labels: Neuro
6/30/2009
Process by which your brain repairs itself discovered Neural stem cells are your brain's repair system. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes have supportive functions in the environment of neurons, while oligodendrocytes form the myelin layer around axons in order to accelerate neuronal signal transmission. But how does a neural stem cell know which type of brain cell it is supposed to develop into? "It has been well defined that Notch signaling drives the formation of astrocytes from neural stem cells while it suppresses the formation of neurons and the maturation of oligodendrocytes" explains Mirko Schmidt at the Institute of Neurology at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Inhibition of Notch signaling reverses the situation and more neural stem cells differentiate into neurons. This is exactly what happened upon the addition of the secreted protein EGFL7 (Epidermal Growth Factor-like domain 7). Labels: Neuro
6/30/2009
Toyota develops mind-controlled wheelchair Toyota researchers in Japan have built a brain/machine interface (BMI) that has been demonstrated to control a wheelchair using a person's thoughts. The system enables a person to make a wheelchair turn left or right to move forward simply by thinking the commands. The response time is in 125 milliseconds. One millisecond is equal to 1/1000 of a second.
6/29/2009
Accurate brain-interface possible without penetrating electrodes  Experimental devices that read brain signals have helped paralyzed people use computers and may let amputees control bionic limbs. But existing devices use tiny electrodes that poke into the brain. Now, a University of Utah study shows that brain signals controlling arm movements can be detected accurately using new microelectrodes that sit on the brain but don't penetrate it. "The unique thing about this technology is that it provides lots of information out of the brain without having to put the electrodes into the brain," says Bradley Greger, an assistant professor of bioengineering and coauthor of the study. "That lets neurosurgeons put this device under the skull but over brain areas where it would be risky to place penetrating electrodes: areas that control speech, memory and other cognitive functions." Labels: Neuro
6/28/2009
Nanoparticles that can combat fatal brain infections Major brain infections such as meningitis and encephalitis are a leading cause of death, hearing loss, learning disability and brain damage in patients. Now scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Singapore have developed peptide nanoparticles containing a membrane-penetrating component that enables them to pass through the blood brain barrier to the infected areas of the brain that require treatment. This offers a superior alternative to conventional antibiotics because the molecular structure of most are too big to cross the blood brain barrier membrane.
6/28/2009
How alcohol alters the way your brain cells work discovered  Alcohol's inebriating effects are familiar to everyone, but the molecular details of how alcohol impacts brain activity has been a mystery. Now a new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain cells work. The image shows a detailed view of the alcohol binding pocket with the ethanol molecule shown in yellow and red.
6/27/2009
'Neurologgers' reading bird brains in flight Using a "neurologger" specially designed to record the brain activity of pigeons in flight, researchers have gained new insight into what goes through a birds' brain as it flies. "We've successfully applied electrophysiological methods, previously used for the investigation of brain functions in the lab, to a freely flying bird in nature," said Alexei Vyssotski of the University of Zurich. Research into neuro loggers and controllers is getting more sophisticated by the day. If we let it happen, agents of Big Brother will probably one day be routinely scanning everyone's mandatory "neurologgers" to make sure we aren't thinking any disloyal thoughts about the state.
6/25/2009
Good sleep necessary for good long-term memory formation Experts have long suspected that part of the process of turning fleeting short-term memories into lasting long-term memories occurs during sleep. Now, researchers at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics of MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown that mice prevented from replaying their waking experiences while asleep do not remember them as well as mice who are able to perform this function. Their work, researchers say, has profound implications in the century-old search for the purpose of sleep. Labels: Neuro
6/25/2009
Modding your PER3 gene could greatly improve your respond to fatigue Previous research showed that the PERIOD3 (PER3) gene predicts how people will respond to sleep deprivation. People carry either long or short variants of the gene. Those with the short PER3 variant are resilient to sleep loss, performing well on cognitive tasks after sleep deprivation. However, those with the long PER3 variant are vulnerable, showing deficits in cognitive performance after sleep deprivation. Now new brain imaging studies explains why. The resilient, short gene variant group overcomes the effects of sleep loss by recruiting extra brain structures to compensate. In addition to brain structures normally activated by the cognitive task, these participants showed increased activity in other frontal, temporal, and subcortical brain structures after a sleepless night. Labels: Neuro
6/24/2009
Your brain can adapt well to cyborg enhancements When you brush your teeth, the toothbrush may actually become part of your arm - at least as far as your brain is concerned. That's the conclusion of a study showing perceptions of arm length change after people handle a mechanical tool. The brain maintains a physical map of the body, with different areas in charge of different body parts. Researchers have suggested that when we use tools, our brains incorporate them into this map.
6/23/2009
Morning people and night owls brains work differently  Scientists at the University of Alberta have found that there are significant differences in the way the brains of early risers and night owls function. Using magnetic resonance imaging-guided brain stimulation, scientists tested muscle torque and the excitability of pathways through the spinal cord and brain. They found that morning people's brains were most excitable at 9 a.m. This slowly decreased through the day. It was the polar opposite for evening people, whose brains were most excitable at 9 p.m. Labels: Neuro
6/19/2009
Breakthrough in interfacing biological and electronic systems A network of artificial cells that work together to act as an AC/DC converter has been built. Demonstrating that synthetic cells can team up to achieve such feats is a step towards building synthetic tissues to interface biology with electronics, says the team of chemists behind the work. Labels: Neuro
6/18/2009
A protein called neuroligin is the Velcro for connecting new synapses  A protein called neuroligin is critical to the construction of a working synapse, locking neurons together like molecular Velcro, a study lead by a team of UC Davis researchers has found. "We are the first to observe that neuroligin zips around dendrites (the branched projections of neurons) before synapses form and can accumulate very soon after contact between cells," said UC Davis postdoctoral fellow Stephanie Barrow. Labels: Neuro
6/18/2009
Patients test DARPA's nerve signal driven cyborg-arm  A new surgical technique, developed by scientists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, allows patients who have lost arms to use residual nerve signals to control a prosthetic limb. This video shows three patients testing a prototype limb being developed by DARPA. The patients can perform complex tasks, including picking up a cup, grasping a cracker without breaking it, and putting a spoon in a cup.
6/15/2009
Breakthrough could super-size your personal cognitive computation capabilities  When Physicists Yulin Chen, Zhi-Xun Shen and their colleagues tested the behavior of electrons in the compound bismuth telluride they discovered a breakthrough that could revolutionize cognitive computation with dramatically faster, smaller and far more power efficient computational electronics. The results show a clear signature of what is called a topological insulator, a material that enables the free flow of electrons across its surface with no loss of energy. This is another step towards the powerful RES - Reality Enhancement Systems - that will eventually make each of us dramatically more intellectual capable, but giving us our own awesomely capable personal bot assistant.
6/11/2009
Cloud-based therapy as effective in treating depression as office visits University of New South Wales have shown that internet-based therapy programs are as effective as face-to-face therapies in combating the illness. Patients in a clinician-assisted internet-based treatment program experienced rates of recovery similar to those achieved by face-to-face therapy, the research found. Labels: Neuro
6/11/2009
BrainGate brain-computer interface goes into clinical trials The BrainGate2 pilot clinical trial is taking place at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), in close collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from MGH and Brown University. The trial will determine the safety and feasibility of the BrainGate Neural Interface System, which consists of an implanted baby aspirin-size brain sensor that reads brain signals and computer technology that interprets these signals. The BrainGate Neural System may allow people with paralysis to control assistive devices. Labels: Neuro
6/11/2009
How your brain keeps you alive in an uncertain world A new study uncovers a pivotal role for the human frontal lobe in the promotion of behavioral flexibility during voluntary choice. The researchers observed that the FPC kept track of evidence in favor of switching to the alternative course of action. Further, immediately prior to a switch in behavior, the FPC (frontopolar cortex) exhibited a distinct pattern of connectivity with the parietal cortex, an area of the brain that is known to be active during cued behavior switching. "This suggests that when the FPC has recruited sufficient evidence to support a behavioral switch, it engages the parietal cortex to implement the switch," offers Dr. Boorman. Labels: Neuro
6/11/2009
Speeding up your brain network would probably boost your IQ After analysing the brain as an incredibly dense network of interconnected points, a team of Dutch scientists has found that the most efficiently wired brains tend to belong to the most intelligent people. Labels: Neuro
6/02/2009
The protein that controls the maturation and plasticity of the synapses in your brain  A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has demonstrated the mechanism by which a signaling protein found throughout the brain controls the maturation and strength of excitatory synapses, the tiny gaps across which the majority of neurons communicate. The protein called Oligophrenin-1 (OPHN1) is a Rho-GTPase-activating protein and deficits of this signaling protein have been previously linked with mental retardation. This discovery offers a path towards regenerative therapies for aging or damaged brains. Labels: Neuro
5/29/2009
Mice engineered with human language gene aren't talking yet, but do squeak differently  Researchers have genetically engineered a strain of mice to carry the human version of a gene called FOXP2, which has previously been linked to speech. In a region of the brain called the basal ganglia, known in people to be involved in language, the humanized mice grew nerve cells that had a more complex structure. Baby mice utter ultrasonic whistles when removed from their mothers. The humanized baby mice, when isolated, made whistles that had a slightly lower pitch, among other differences, says [Wolfgang Enard, a scientists at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, who led the work.
5/29/2009
Flipping on your brain's addiction switch without drugs  When someone becomes dependent on drugs or alcohol, the brain's pleasure center gets hijacked, disrupting the normal functioning of its reward circuitry. Researchers investigating this addiction switch have now implicated a naturally occurring protein, a dose of which allowed them to get rats hooked with no drugs at all. "If we can understand how the brain's circuitry changes in association with drug abuse, it could potentially suggest ways to medically counteract the effects of dependency," said Scott Steffensen, a neuroscientist at Brigham Young University who co-authored the study.
5/28/2009
How your brain is able to focus its attention Just as our world buzzes with distractions -- from phone calls to e-mails to tweets -- the neurons in our brain are bombarded with messages. Research has shown that when we pay attention, some of these neurons begin firing in unison, like a chorus rising above the noise. Now, a study by MIT neuroscientists found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the brain's planning center, fire in unison and send signals to the visual cortex to do the same, generating high-frequency waves that oscillate between these distant brain regions like a vibrating spring. These waves, also known as gamma oscillations, have long been associated with cognitive states like attention, learning, and consciousness. Labels: Neuro
5/28/2009
Brain activation can predict the strategies people use to make risky decisions When faced with a difficult decision, the human brain calls upon multiple neural systems that code for different sorts of behaviors and strategies. The research provides intriguing insight into the mechanisms that help the human brain rise to the formidable challenge of adaptive decision making in the real world. Watching people's brains in real time as they handle a set of decision-making problems can reveal how different each person's strategy can be, according to neuroscientists at the Duke University Medical Center. "What sort of strategy people tended to use could be predicted, surprisingly, by how their brain responded to rewards: if there were large responses to monetary reward in a brain area called the ventral striatum, that person tended to simplify decision problems to only consider winning or losing." "Using studies like this to build a better understanding of how our brains represent our decision strategies may someday allow researchers to use someone's personal traits -- say, an adolescent with high impulsivity, but ongoing depression -- to predict the decisions that he or she will make," Huettel said. Labels: Neuro
5/27/2009
Capturing the birth of a synapse - receptor neuron membranes like 'molecular velcro'  "We've caught two neuronal cells in the act of forming a synapse," said principle investigator Philip Washbourne, professor of biology at the University of Oregon. He describes the cell-adhesion neuroligin proteins on the membranes of receptor neurons as "molecular Velcro."  As shown in the image, receptors are needed for synapses to become functional. Neuroligin (red) on the surface of the cell is tethered to neurotransmitter receptors (mauve) that reside in intracellular vesicles. This enables both synaptic components to move together to a site of synapse formation. Labels: Neuro
5/24/2009
'Blue brain' project to build a functional model of the brain About thirty Spanish researchers are participating in the international Blue Brain project. The project's aim is to build a functional model of the mammalian brain through computer simulations. Spain's project leaders are Javier de Felipe and UPM School of Computing professor Jose Maria Pena. A nanotechnology microscope to be set up at the Centre of Biomedical Technology based at the UPM's Montegancedo Campus will be used for brain studies for the first time. The use of this microscope signifies a major technological advance. The nanotech microscope outputs samples of brain tissue in just two hours, something that using other technologies, it would take two technicians a year to do. Labels: Neuro
5/21/2009
'Happy hour' gene discovery suggests cancer drugs might treat alcoholism  A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol. Animals with a mutant version of the gene grow increasingly resistant to alcohol's sedative effects, the research shows. The researchers report further evidence that the gene normally does its work by blocking the so-called Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) pathway. That EGF pathway is best known for its role in cancer, and drugs designed to inhibit the EGF receptor, including erlotinib (trade name Tarceva) and gefitinib (trade name Iressa), are FDA-approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Now, the researchers have shown that flies and mice treated with erlotinib also grow more sensitive to alcohol and rats given the cancer-fighting drug spontaneously consumed less alcohol when it was freely available to them. Their taste for another rewarding beverage -- sugar water -- was unaffected. Labels: Neuro
5/21/2009
Harnessing genetics to create super-soldiers?  Battalions of super-soldiers could be selected for specific duties on the basis of their genetic make-up and then constantly monitored for signs of weakness. So says a report by the US National Academies of Science. "A growing understanding of neuroscience offers huge scope for improving soldiers' performance and effectiveness on the battlefield," says the report. Genetic testing might also enable recruitment officers to determine which soldiers are best for specialist jobs. See also: Will war in 2030 be anything like the generals think?
5/21/2009
Nanoparticles can deliver gene cure for most neurodegenerative disorders  University at Buffalo researchers, lead by Michal Stachowiak, Ph.D., director of the Molecular and Structural Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, have identified a new mechanism that plays a central role in adult brain stem cell development and prompts brain stem cells to differentiate into neurons. Their discovery, known as Integrative FGFR1 Signaling (INFS), is considered capable of repopulating degenerated brain areas, raising possibilities for new treatments for most neurodegenerative disorders. It may also be a promising anti-cancer therapy. The approach uses gene engineering and nanoparticles for gene delivery to activate the INFS mechanism directly and promote neuronal development. The INFS-targeting gene can prompt these stem cells to differentiate into neurons. The research team set out to see if it is possible to generate a wave of new neurons from stem cells and direct them to the affected areas using a mouse model. "In this way, targeting the INFS potentially could be used to cure certain brain diseases, particularly in the case of a stroke or injuries that happen as a single episode and are not continuously attacking the brain," said Dr. Stachowiak. "This study provides proof of concept for a novel approach to the treatment of neuronal loss by means of therapeutic gene transfer. This is a particularly attractive alternative to viral-mediated gene transfer"
5/20/2009
Computer models of bank runs are identical to those of contagious diseases  An analysis of social networks and minute-by-minute customer transactions during a run on an Indian bank has found that computer models of bank runs spreading through a community are identical to those showing the spread of contagious diseases.  Duke University finance professor Manju Puri and co-author Rajkamal Iyer of the University of Amsterdam assembled a unique data set on the bank run and then employed epidemiological techniques to determine connections between bank depositors The researchers used Google Earth to map the locations of depositor's home addresses. Following the failure of a larger, neighboring bank, the customers of the bank studied, which was fundamentally sound, were withdrawing funds out of a fear that they might not be able to access their money in the future.
5/20/2009
Scientists discover area of brain that makes a 'people person'  Cambridge University researchers have discovered that whether someone is a people-person may depend on the structure of their brain. The greater the concentration of brain tissue in certain parts of the brain, the more likely they are to be a warm, sentimental person. Researchers found that the more tissue in the orbitofrontal cortex (the outer strip of the brain just above the eyes), and in the ventral striatum (a deep structure in the centre of the brain), the higher people tended to score on the social reward dependence measure. Labels: Neuro
5/19/2009
Learning a second language makes your brain more plastic People who can speak two languages are more adept at learning a new foreign language than their monolingual counterparts, according to research conducted at Northwestern University. And their bilingual advantage persists even when the new language they study is completely different from the languages they already know. "It's often assumed that individuals who've learned multiple languages simply have a natural aptitude for learning languages," said Viorica Marian, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at Northwestern. "While that is true in some cases, our research shows that the experience of becoming bilingual itself makes learning a new language easier." Labels: Neuro
5/19/2009
Are you really in control of your decisions?  Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, gives a funny and fascinating talk about his research findings at TED. We think we are rational say Ariely, but the image above is a better clinical representation of what behavioral economists are discovering. Labels: Neuro
5/19/2009
Bird brains can recognize a human face in a crowd  University of Florida biologists are reporting that mockingbirds recognize and remember people whom the birds perceive as threatening their nests. If the white-and-gray songbirds common in cities and towns throughout the Southeast spot their unwelcome guests, they screech, dive bomb and even sometimes graze the visitors' heads -- while ignoring other passers-by or nearby strangers. Long dismissed as a non-scientific artist - Hitchcock was right. Labels: Neuro
5/19/2009
Protein synaptotagmin-IV (Syt-IV) helps maintain an efficient brain  The instruction manual for maintaining an efficient brain may soon include a section on synaptotagmin-IV (Syt-IV), a protein known to influence learning and memory. A study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers showed that Syt-IV keeps the strength of synapses - connections between nerve cells where communication occurs - within a useful range of neither too strong nor too weak. Synapses' ability to adjust over time by becoming bigger and stronger or smaller and weaker - their plasticity - is at the heart of remembering, forgetting and learning. A delicate balance is required for this optimal brain plasticity and many neurodegenerative disorders are thought to stem from synaptic deficits. Labels: Neuro
5/19/2009
Research shows fish oil protects against neural diseases New research findings show that omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's. The defective Ataxin-1 gene induces the misfolding of the protein causing misshapened proteins that cannot be properly processed by the cell machinery. The result is tangled clumps of toxic protein that eventually kill the cell, causing many different disorders. The research team led by Dr. Nicolas Bazan found that the omega three fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protects cells from this defect. Dr. Bazan's laboratory previously discovered that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), also promotes brain cell survival. Labels: Neuro
5/17/2009
Could tweaking the 'marshmallow gene' be the key to your child's future success?  The marshmallow experiment is a famous test of the deferred gratification concept conducted by Walter Mischel at Stanford University. In the 1960s, a group of four-year olds were given a marshmallow and promised another, only if they could wait 20 minutes before eating the first one. Some children could wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence, and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable (determined via surveys of their parents and teachers), and scored an average of 210 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. When someone identifies the deferred gratification marshmallow gene parents will have the option of modding it to make their kids 210 SAT points smarter. How might adding so many more smart young people change the world?
5/15/2009
Mechanism for guiding neuronal circuit formation discovered  The brain is composed of billions of interconnected neurons. To correctly form neuronal circuits, the developing axons (a long extension of a neuron) require attractive and repulsive molecules to lead them to their appropriate targets. One such molecule with the interesting name Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) has been found to act as an axonal attractant for brain and spinal cord neurons. "How exactly Shh elicited this effect has remained unknown," pointed out Dr. Frederic Charron, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal, until now. Their group's research shows that Shh exerts its attractive effect through a group of molecules called Src family kinases (SFKs). "Knowing the effectors of axon guidance molecules," adds Dr. Charron. "Paves the way to new therapies to treat spinal cord injuries, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases." Labels: Neuro
5/12/2009
Brain's problem-solving function at work when we daydream  A new University of British Columbia study finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. "Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like laziness or inattentiveness," says lead author, Prof. Kalina Christoff, UBC Dept. of Psychology. "But this study shows our brains are very active when we daydream -- much more active than when we focus on routine tasks." Labels: Neuro
5/12/2009
How to increase your Dopamine D2 receptor levels for better brain health Low Dopamine receptor 2 (D2) levels are associated with pathological gambling, addiction, and obesity. These levels also play a significant roll in insuring your ability to learn from your mistakes. Studies show that becoming the leader of any, or multiple, social hierarchies increases levels as does exercise. Labels: Neuro
5/10/2009
DARPA wants to know how human intelligence actual works The idea behind DARPA's latest venture, called Physical Intelligence (PI) is to prove, mathematically, that the human mind is nothing more than parts and energy. In other words, all brain activities -- reasoning, emoting, processing sights and smells -- derive from physical mechanisms at work, acting according to the principles of thermodynamics in open systems. And to develop a new equation that explains the human mind as a thermodynamic thinking system. Labels: Neuro
5/09/2009
Parietal cortex is home of "free will" in your brain Free will, or at least the place where we decide to act, is sited in a part of the brain called the parietal cortex, new research suggests.... READ Labels: Neuro
5/06/2009
Gene able to reverse dementia and restore brain's plasticity identified A team led by researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has now pinpointed the exact gene, called HDAC2, that is responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. "This gene and its protein are promising targets for treating memory impairment," Tsai said. "HDAC2 regulates the expression of a plethora of genes implicated in plasticity -- the brain's ability to change in response to experience -- and memory formation.... READ Labels: Neuro
5/06/2009
A single neuron can alter the brain's behavioral state Different global patterns of brain activity are associated with distinct arousal and behavioral states, but how your brain rapidly switches between different states remains unclear. Now researchers have discovered that repetitive high-frequency burst spiking of a single cortical neuron can trigger a switch from the cortical state of slow-wave sleep to rapid-eye-movement sleep. These results point to the power of single cortical neurons in modulating the brain's behavioral state....READ Labels: Neuro
5/01/2009
Researchers pinpoint the mechanisms of self-control in the brain  While everyone uses the same single area of the brain to make value-laden decisions, a second brain region modulates the activity of the first region in people with good self-control, allowing them to weigh more abstract factors--healthiness, for example--in addition to basic desires such as taste to make a better overall choice. Activity in the vmPFC (ventral medial prefrontal cortex) reflects the value assigned to foods during decision-making. When self-control is exercised, DLPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) activity increases and appears to interact with the activity in the vmPFC to increase the influence of health considerations.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/29/2009
It's Oxytocin for a happy, successful and stress-free marriage Swiss researchers that have investigated the effects of oxytocin, the "love hormone," on human couple interactions. They recruited adult couples who received oxytocin or placebo intranasally before engaging in a conflict discussion in the laboratory. Oxytocin increased positive communication behavior in relation to negative behavior and reduced salivary cortisol, i.e., their stress levels, compared to placebo.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/29/2009
Old short term memories never fade, they die suddenly People who viewed colored squares for a tenth of a second could usually accurately match the color they had seen to a point on a color wheel after 1 and 4 second intervals. At 10 seconds, only a few still made accurate matches. Your short term memories, researchers found, don't fade. Instead, they remain quite accurately retrievable for a period of time typically between 4 and 10 seconds. Then, they winked out suddenly, like a streetlight at daybreak.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/28/2009
Tweeking a brain protein can treat depression A University of Iowa research team has found that disrupting ASIC1a -- an ion channel protein found in the brain -- produces an antidepressant-like effect in mice. The effect was similar to that produced by some antidepressant drugs, but the team also showed that ASIC1a's effect arose through a unique biological mechanism.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/27/2009
The case for using neuro-enhancers "If you're a fifty-five-year-old in Boston, you have to compete with a twenty-six-year-old from Mumbai now, and those kinds of pressures are only going to grow."... READ Labels: Neuro
4/27/2009
Researchers use lasers to induce gamma brain waves in mice Scientists have studied high-frequency brain waves, known as gamma oscillations, for more than 50 years, believing them crucial to consciousness, attention, learning and memory. Now, for the first time, MIT researchers and colleagues have found a way to induce these waves by shining laser light directly onto the brains of mice. The work takes advantage of a newly developed technology known as optogenetics, which combines genetic engineering with light to manipulate the activity of individual nerve cells.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/24/2009
Direct brain wave device control hits the toy stores  You slip the NeuroSky wireless headset on. It looks like something a telemarketer would wear, except the earpieces are actually sensors, and what looks like a microphone is a brain wave detector. You place its tip against your forehead, above your left eyebrow.... READ .... WATCH Labels: Neuro
4/22/2009
"Using EEG to send tweet" "USUsing EEG to send tweet"," Adam Wilson posted to Twitter recently using a direct mind-twitter connection.... WATCH .... READ
4/20/2009
How should we deal with cognitive-enhancing drugs? I'm not only teaching my students facts that are important to them, but ways of manipulating those facts, ways of dealing with them. That's cognitive enhancement. And it only works if I actually change their brains. If you remember tomorrow anything I've said today, it will be because I've made physical or electro-chemical changes in the cells of your brain. It's kind of a weird thought, but true. So why is it that we do enhancement by so many other ways, but if you start talking about doing it through drugs, suddenly it becomes evil? ... READ Labels: Neuro
4/15/2009
Why it takes a supercomputer to equal an insect's brain Kwabena Boahen is using the human brain as the blueprint for designing radically more powerful and energy-efficient computers. In this short demo, Boahen describes how his Brains in Silicon lab at Stanford University has created computer chips with "synapses" and "neurons" -- and how these chips might revolutionize computing.... WATCH Labels: Neuro
4/04/2009
Neuroscientists demonstrate link between brainwave acticity and visual perception According research by Dr. Tony Ro, a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at The City College of New York (CCNY) and colleagues from the University of Illinois, the brain cannot detect images when brainwave activity is in a trough. "We may have our eyes open, but we sometimes miss seeing things," Professor Ro said. "When the brain is in a state of readiness, you see; when it is not, you don't see." Brainwave activity has peaks and troughs that can occur around 10 times a second and the phase of the brainwave or alpha wave can reliably predict visual detection.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/02/2009
Researchers reveal how the brain processes important information  Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have shed light on how the neurotransmitter dopamine helps brain cells process important information. Researchers found in a study of mouse cells that this neurotransmitter, one of the molecules used by nerve cells to communicate with one another, causes certain brain cells to become more flexible and changes brain-cell circuitry to process important information differently than mundane information. "This can help one remember a new, important episode as distinct from any other episode, such as remembering where you parked your car today versus yesterday," said Dr. Robert Greene, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study published.... READ Labels: Neuro
4/02/2009
Cops who multitask well less likely to shoot you In the midst of life-threatening situations requiring split-second decisions, police officers with a higher ability to multitask are less likely to shoot unarmed persons when feeling threatened during video simulations, a new Georgia State University study suggests.... READ
3/31/2009
Sony's brain machine interface  Honda, ATR, and Shimazu team up to make it possible for you to control any bot containing remote device with just your thoughts.... WATCH
3/28/2009
A prototype brain with 200k neurons, 50meg synaptic connections on a chip  How does the human brain run itself without any software? Find that out, say European researchers, and a whole new field of neural computing will open up. A prototype brain on a chip is already working. An international team of scientists in Europe has created a silicon chip designed to function like a human brain. With 200,000 neurons linked up by 50 million synaptic connections, the chip is able to mimic the brain's ability to learn more closely than any other machine.... READ .... READ
3/26/2009
More evidence that your brain size matters  A collaborative study led by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University has demonstrated a positive link between cognitive ability and cortical thickness in the brains of healthy 6 to 18 year olds. Image shows areas in the brain where there is an association between general cognitive ability and cortical thickness.... MORE Labels: Neuro
3/25/2009
Brain Images Reveal the Secret to Higher IQ New research suggests that the layer of insulation coating neural wiring in the brain plays a critical role in determining intelligence. The neural wires that transmit electrical messages from cell to cell are coated with a fatty layer called myelin that stops current from leaking out of the wire and boosts the speed with which messages travel through the brain--the higher quality the myelin, the faster the messages travel and this insulation appears to be largely genetically determined, showing IQ is inherited.... MORE Labels: Neuro Send comments to: humods [at] gmail [dot] com |