A new study shows how neurochemicals affect fMRI readings
The brain is an incredibly complex and active organ that uses electricity and chemicals to transmit and receive signals between its sub-regions.
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The brain is an incredibly complex and active organ that uses electricity and chemicals to transmit and receive signals between its sub-regions.
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Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) have discovered that brain correlates of age-related memory decline are more complicated than previously believed, a finding that could affect ...
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In the first clinical trial of a targeted pharmacologic therapeutic for mild traumatic brain injury in pediatric patients, scientists from the Minds Matter Concussion Frontier Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ...
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There are basic resources every baby needs for the best possible chance to develop as healthy well-functioning human.
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A new study appearing in MedComm has been led by Dr. Qian Liu and Dr. Yan Wang (Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences). The team presents the ...
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Elon Musk's company called Neuralink, launched in 2016, aims to implant a piece of technology in people's brains that would allow them to control a computer or phone by thought alone. This is otherwise known as a brain-computer ...
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We have all found ourselves in a place we would rather not be, a school reunion, the never-ending work meeting or a distant relative's wedding reception. In such situations, it is often a good option to make the best of it. ...
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Sleep takes up almost one third of our life, yet many of its secrets remain unexplained. To penetrate the mystery, neuroscientists are trying to decipher some of the mechanisms of this basic biological function, so key to ...
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A unique multicenter study, including about 3,500 youth between 10 and 25 years old from across the globe, shows that artificial intelligence—specifically machine learning—is able to identify individuals with anxiety ...
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A test that shows how good or bad we are at perceiving the rhythm of language can predict the ability to acquire language. The test results may also help us understand individual differences in brain biology.
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The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all. In vertebrates, the brain is located in the head, protected by the skull and close to the primary sensory apparatus of vision, hearing, balance, taste, and smell.
Brains can be extremely complex. The cerebral cortex of the human brain contains roughly 15-33 billion neurons depending on gender and age, linked with up to 10,000 synaptic connections each. Each cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly one billion synapses. These neurons communicate with one another by means of long protoplasmic fibers called axons, which carry trains of signal pulses called action potentials to distant parts of the brain or body and target them to specific recipient cells.
The most important biological function of the brain is to generate behaviors that promote the welfare of an animal. Brains control behavior either by activating muscles, or by causing secretion of chemicals such as hormones. Even single-celled organisms may be capable of extracting information from the environment and acting in response to it. Sponges, which lack a central nervous system, are capable of coordinated body contractions and even locomotion. In vertebrates, the spinal cord by itself contains neural circuitry capable of generating reflex responses as well as simple motor patterns such as swimming or walking. However, sophisticated control of behavior on the basis of complex sensory input requires the information-integrating capabilities of a centralized brain.
Despite rapid scientific progress, much about how brains work remains a mystery. The operations of individual neurons and synapses are now understood in considerable detail, but the way they cooperate in ensembles of thousands or millions has been very difficult to decipher. Methods of observation such as EEG recording and functional brain imaging tell us that brain operations are highly organized, but these methods do not have the resolution to reveal the activity of individual neurons.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA