Recent media reports have raised questions over the therapy undergone by several people making allegations of historical sexual abuse against prominent public figures. In particular, it has been suggested that certain forms of therapy run a high risk of unintentionally generating false memories of sexual abuse. But why are there such fears around these kind…
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center say they have added to evidence that a shell-shaped region in the center of the mammalian brain, known as the thalamic reticular nucleus or TRN, is likely responsible for the ability to routinely and seamlessly multitask. The process, they suggest, is done by individual TRN neurons that act like…
Memories of the same events co-exist at different resolutions in the brain, neuroscientists from Radboud University’s Donders Institute have shown. Coarse and fine memory scales are distributed across different parts of the hippocampus, a brain area that plays an important part in memory. Our memories exist in different resolutions. For example, last Friday you might…
Males have an X and a Y chromosome inside each cell, and females have two X’s. This small difference explains why males are more at risk for a range of disorders— from autism to hemophilia— linked to genetic defects on their lone X chromosome. Meanwhile, most females who carry the same defect on one X…
Scientists have identified the structure of a key protein in the brain that is involved with hydration and may help control body temperature. The findings suggest the protein could be used as a target to develop treatments and diagnostic tests for health problems associated with the imbalance of bodily fluids, a condition commonly seen in…
For many years scientists have been trying to find a way to measure the pressure in a patient’s brain without having to drill a hole in the person’s skull. Although this remains the most reliable way to measure pressure in the brain, it is invasive, expensive and comes with the risk of infection and bleeding.…
Researchers have reconstructed part of a juvenile rat cortex with the help of a supercomputer. To learn how something works, one strategy is to take it apart and put it back together again. For 10 years, a global initiative called the Blue Brain Project — hosted at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) —…
A new study from the University of Geneva suggests that receiving rewards as you learn can help cement new facts and skills in your memory, particularly when combined with a daytime nap. The findings reveal that memories associated with a reward are preferentially reinforced by sleep. Even a short nap after a period of learning…
University of Melbourne biomedical scientists have joined the latest revolution in treating human diseases by growing tiny, immature organs, known as organoids. These lentil-sized balls of cells, which scientists can grow in a dish, resemble the features of our brains, livers, guts, kidneys, prostates and pancreas, with the list rapidly expanding. Organoids are creating huge…