A major European project, led by the University of Sheffield, will develop sophisticated image-based biophysical models of the human brain to enable early diagnosis of dementia and help doctors predict the progression of the disease. The model will be the first to combine a wide range of...
Teenagers are risk-takers - they're more likely than children or adults to experiment with illicit substances, have unprotected sex, and drive recklessly. But research shows that teenagers have the knowledge and ability to make competent decisions about risk, just like adults. So what explains...
Smokers looking to quit cigarettes face an expanding choice of therapies to help them give up the habit, ranging from nicotine replacement medications and behavioral therapy, to hypnosis and even acupuncture. Now a new study from the US suggests another option: a treatment called high...
For the first time, scientists have been able to predict how much pain people are feeling by looking at images of their brains, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, may lead to the development of...
Deep inside your brain, a legion of stem cells lies ready to turn into new brain and nerve cells whenever and wherever you need them most. While they wait, they keep themselves in a state of perpetual readiness - poised to become any type of nerve cell you might need as your cells age or get...
Imagine you found out that you had a large mass on your brain and therefore needed surgery, one of the most frightening and risky types of operations, and thus requiring you to shave your head. Now imagine your work doesn't care about the medical aspect of that, and only wants you to maintain...
Using fMRI scans of the brain, US scientists have for the first time developed a method of "seeing" pain and suggest it may lead to reliable ways for doctors to quantify objectively how much pain patients are feeling. They also propose their study may open the route to using brain scans to...
Women who abruptly and prematurely lose estrogen from surgical menopause have a two-fold increase in cognitive decline and dementia. "This is what the clinical studies indicate and our animal studies looking at the underlying mechanisms back this up," said Brann, corresponding author of the...
Being exposed to arguments between parents is associated with the way babies' brains process emotional tone of voice, according to a new study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study, conducted by graduate student Alice Graham...
Maybe you need to hear some uplifting news this morning. I know I do. Well, check out the story of Iram Leon, the single dad with brain cancer who recently won a marathon in Beaumont, Texas, while pushing his daughter in a stroller. More »
Single Dad With Brain Cancer Wins Marathon With...
The brain's prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with a task at hand. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that inhibiting this filter can...
The transistors and wires that power our electronic devices need to be mounted on a base material known as a "motherboard." Our human brain is not so different - neurons, the cells that transmit electrical and chemical signals, are connected to one another through synapses, similar to...
Since the mid-1800s, doctors have used drugs to induce general anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery. Despite their widespread use, little is known about how these drugs create such a profound loss of consciousness. In a new study that tracked brain activity in human volunteers over a...
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered how the most common genetic mutations in familial Parkinson's disease damage brain cells. The study, which published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could also open up treatment possibilities for...
Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andy Thomas from Bielefeld University's...
Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine. The researchers published their...
In less than two years, Brian Malarkey has created five wildly successful restaurant concepts in San Diego that together form the Fabric of Social Dining. Searsucker, Burlap, Gabrdine, Gingham and Herringbone each opened to rave reviews, including Time Magazine naming Searsucker the country's #2...
When faced with a difficult decision, it is often suggested to "sleep on it" or take a break from thinking about the decision in order to gain clarity. But new brain imaging research from Carnegie Mellon University, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, finds that...
For many patients with difficult-to-treat neuropathic pain, deep brain stimulation (DBS) can lead to long-term improvement in pain scores and other outcomes, according to a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is...