Imaging internal brain activity under anesthesia has provided researchers with revealing insights into what happens when the subjective phenomenon of consciousness first vanishes and then re-emerges. Identifying which brain mechanisms are involved in the emergence of the conscious state will contribute to the ongoing quest to explain human consciousness. The work, detailed in The Journal […]
Putting a twist in a run-of-the-mill medication-versus-placebo trial has revealed that prior treatment with antidepressants appears to prime the brain to exhibit a much stronger response to a placebo. The new study, by UCLA researchers, suggests that how the brain responds to antidepressant medication may be influenced by its remembering of past antidepressant exposure. Aimee […]
By exerting control over specific neurons in the brain, Scripps Research Institute scientists have successfully generated synthetic memory traces in mice, leading the rodents to believe they were somewhere they weren’t. The new work is detailed in the journal Science. Other experiments in the past have shown that stimulating various regions of the brain can […]
Recognized since ancient times for its medicinal properties, scientists at Northumbria University (UK) are now uncovering how rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) oil improves cognitive performance through its effect on mood. Reporting their findings in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, researchers Mark Moss and Lorraine Oliver detail how blood levels of a rosemary oil component correlate with improved […]
Pathological gambling and hypersexuality are two of the better documented side-effects of Parkinson’s disease medications, but researchers say that dopamine therapy can also trigger the relentless pursuit of artistic endeavors. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. It also helps to regulate movement and emotional responses and enables people […]
A linguistic analysis carried out by US communications experts has revealed a list of tell-tale language traits that liars use in their online dating profiles. “Generally, people don’t want to admit they’ve lied,” said Catalina Toma, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But we don’t have to rely on the liars to tell us about their […]
Two new studies published this week look into how psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – affects brain activity in users. The new work adds to a growing body of scientific inquiry into the workings of psychoactive substances. In the first study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 30 volunteers […]
For the first time, scientists at Oregon State University have shown that disrupting the biological clocks found in many animals can cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death. Previously, it wasn’t clear whether the disruption of biological clock mechanisms was the cause or the result of the observed neurodegeneration. “There’s a great […]
Older people may benefit from the regular use of nicotine patches, according to a study that showed improvements in memory and brain function in a group of senior non-smokers who were suffering memory and thinking impairments. Published in the journal Neurology, the study examined the effects of nicotine in seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) […]
A US-Japanese team of researchers have demonstrated a system that uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) feedback to attune a person’s visual cortex to match the brain patterns needed to perform various high-performance tasks with little or no conscious effort. The researchers, from Boston University (BU) and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories (Kyoto), acknowledge their system’s […]
