Scientists have clarified the genetic basis of dyslexia by demonstrating how it interacts with that of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Under the direction of the University of Edinburgh researchers, this study1 is the first to investigate the genetic links to dyslexia — thought to affect 10 percent of the population — in the framework…
What is Ganser Syndrome
Ganser syndrome is a rare dissociative disorder characterized by a set of distinctive psychological symptoms. It typically manifests as giving nonsensical or incorrect answers to simple questions, a behavior known as “nonsense syndrome” or the “syndrome of approximate answers.” Patients with Ganser syndrome often display confusion, memory loss, and impaired consciousness. They may appear to…
Choking Under Pressure May Come From Neural Signals
Every professional who performs at a high level understands the importance of remaining relaxed throughout stressful tasks. Choking under pressure, or failing to perform to one’s fullest potential when it counts the most, can happen to anyone. Although athletes are frequently connected with this phenomenon, people choke under pressure in a variety of situations, including…
Flicker-induced Hallucinations – Standing Waves That Alter Perception
Based on fresh research from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience1, flickering light generates “standing waves” of brain activity that lead to hallucinations in our brain. Picture yourself sitting on the bus or train and closing your eyes. Sunlight flickering through the trees suddenly fills your mind with kaleidoscopic hallucinatory patterns. Brion Gysin, co-inventor of the…
Subiculum-hypothalamic Threat Detection Brain Circuit Mapped
Researchers have mapped a brain circuit responsible for instantly detecting threats and forming memories of fear. “We were interested in locating a brain region associated with fear signaling and finding out how it could identify environments previously related to physical or predatory threats, such as a place where the individual underwent an aversive physical stimulus,”…
Neurons Responsible for Item Memory Discovered
University of California, Irvine researchers have identified the neurons involved in “item memory,” expanding on our knowledge of how the brain stores and recalls the specifics of “what” happened and providing a novel therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s patients. Memories include three types of details: spatial, temporal and item, the “where, when and what” of an…
Microglial Phagosomes Contain Presynaptic, Not Postsynaptic Proteins
Microglia are the immune system’s primary enforcers in the brain. They are cells that patrol the brain and eliminate anything hazardous they come across, from invading bacteria to cellular waste. They also eliminate plaques and prune damaged connections between neurons. Microglia remove their target by consuming them: they encase the material in bubble-like organelles known…
Obedience to Authority May Depend on Physical Proximity
Scientists at SWPS University – formerly known as the Warsaw School of Social Psychology- recently investigated the causes of obedience in the famous Milgram study. They found that the experimenter’s physical proximity increases subjects’ compliance, whereas the learner’s physical proximity diminishes it. In the early 1960s, American social psychologist Stanley Milgram developed an experiment that…
The Freeze Response – Beyond Fight or Flight
The freeze response, also known as freezing behavior, or tonic immobility, is a survival mechanism triggered by the brain in response to perceived threat, involving a sophisticated interplay between psychological and physiological factors. It stands alongside the well-documented fight or flight responses as a fundamental mode of stress reaction, although the phenomenon, while well-researched in…