From before birth through childhood, connections form between neurons in the brain, ultimately making us who we are. So far, scientists have gained a relatively good understanding of how neural circuits become established, but they know less about the genetic control at play during this crucial developmental process. Now, a team led by researchers at…
Author: D.C.Demetre
Can Brain Activity Represent Your Preconceptions?
Researchers can now reconstruct what we see in our minds when we navigate, and explain how we get directions wrong. The brain helps us navigate by continually generating, rationalizing, and analyzing great amounts of information. For example, this innate GPS-like function helps us find our way in cities, follow directions to a specific destination, or…
Circadian Rhythm Of Genes In Brain Changes With Aging
Examination of thousands of genes from nearly 150 human brains shows the circadian rhythm of gene activity changes with aging, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings also suggest that a novel biological clock begins ticking only in the older brain. A 24-hour circadian…
How Learning Shapes The Empathic Brain
We can learn to empathize with strangers. Surprisingly positive experiences with people from another group trigger a learning effect in the brain, which increases empathy. As researchers from the University of Zurich reveal, only a handful of positive learning experiences already suffice for a person to become more empathic. Conflicts between people from different nationalities…
Inflammation Fans The Flames Of Depression
Chronic inflammation in the bloodstream can “fan the flames” of depression, much like throwing gasoline on a fire, according to researchers. A new study, which appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry, reviews 200 existing papers on depression and inflammation. Says coauthor Christopher Fagundes, an assistant professor of psychology at Rice University: “One thing that…
New Multidisciplinary Approach To Classify Brain Cell Types
Despite its importance, scientists still do not understand all of the different cell types that make up the brain. A group of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine (Drs. Andreas and Kimberley Tolias’ laboratories), the Karolinska Institutet (Dr. Rickard Sandberg’s laboratory), and the University of Tübingen (Dr. Matthias Bethge’s laboratory) have developed a novel technique…
Risk Factors, Not Chance, May Cause Most Cancers
Researchers report quantitative evidence proving that extrinsic risk factors, such as environmental exposures and behaviors, weigh heavily on the development of approximately 70 to 90 percent of cancers. The finding may be important for strategizing cancer prevention, research, and public health. Inspired by a January 2015 research paper in Science, which concluded that the majority…
Forgetting Is Integral To Learning, Study Finds
Do you often feel overwhelmed with the amount of information coming at you? Forgotten your shopping list as soon as you’ve heard the sports results? Don’t worry, it’s all completely normal – and necessary – according to new research which shows that such forgetting is a key part of learning. The study, by researchers from…
Anxiety Significantly Raises Risk For Dementia
People who experienced high anxiety at any time in their lives had a 48 percent higher risk of developing dementia compared to those who had not, according to a new study led by USC researchers. The findings were based on an examination of 28 years of data from the Swedish Adoption Twin Study of Aging,…