http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—The ability to short-circuit debilitating tremors in disease states with implantable stimulators is nothing short of remarkable. The same can be said for cochlear prosthetics which restore hearing, and more recently, retinal implants which give some rudimentary light-sensing capability to the blind. The logical extension of these sensorimotor restorative devices converges upon something a bit more extravagant—a purely cognitive implant—namely, the memory prosthetic. At the present time, there is only one researcher that has consistently demonstrated command of the technologies which would make such a device possible. Ted Berger, and his group from the University of Southern California, have recently extended their initial efforts to develop hippocampal memory devices in mice, to create full frontal cortex implants for primates. Berger published the initial results of these studies last September, in the Journal of Neural Engineering. This June, he will be a featured speaker at the Global Futures 2045 International Congress in New York, which will spot several visionaries in neuroscience and AI. Before he runs away with the show, it important to take a closer look at the exact methods he is using, and also the assumptions about possible neural codes upon which they are built. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-neural-codes-memory-implants.html Neuroscience Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:38:48 EST news286022299 While the wooly musk ox may like it cold, fruit flies definitely do not. They like it hot, or at least warm. In fact, their preferred optimum temperature is very similar to that of humans—76 degrees F. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-cells-temperature.html Neuroscience Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:00:05 EST news278700122 (Medical Xpress) -- Scientists have unraveled how our brain cells encode the pronunciation of individual vowels in speech. The discovery could lead to new technology that verbalizes the unspoken words of people paralyzed by injury or disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uncovers-brain-code-pronouncing-vowels.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:14:52 EST news264773667 Herpes and other viruses that attack the nervous system may thrive by disrupting cell function in order to hijack a neuron's internal transportation network and spread to other cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-nervous-viruses-sabotage-cell-hijack.html Medical research Wed, 30 May 2012 13:12:53 EST news257602340 No matter what novel objects we come to behold, our brains effortlessly take us from an initial "What's that?" to "Oh, that old thing" after a few casual encounters. In research that helps shed light on the malleability of this recognition process, Brown University neuroscientists have teased apart the potentially different roles that two distinct cell types may play. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-distinct-brain-cells-sights.html Neuroscience Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:07 EST news253363963 Impaired social function is a cardinal symptom of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). One of the brain circuits that enable us to relate to other people is the "mirror neuron" system. This brain circuit is activated when we watch other people, and allows our brains to represent the actions of others, influencing our ability to learn new tasks and to understand the intentions and experiences of other people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-mirror-brain-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:06:37 EST news249912274 Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-memory-key-site-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:24:37 EST news247944267 Research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain. This research is published in the August issue of the journal Anesthesiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-imaging-technique-captures-brain-patients.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:07:51 EST news230976439 University of Pittsburgh researchers have reproduced the brain's complex electrical impulses onto models made of living brain cells that provide an unprecedented view of the neuron activity behind memory formation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-brain-cell-networks-recreated-view.html Medical research Wed, 25 May 2011 14:14:18 EST news225551633