News tagged with neural functions


Getting a grip on sleep

All mammals sleep, as do birds and some insects. However, how this basic function is regulated by the brain remains unclear. According to a new study by researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, ...

Neuroscience created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

Laughter perception networks in brain different for mocking, joyful or ticklish laughter

A laugh may signal mockery, humor, joy or simply be a response to tickling, but each kind of laughter conveys a wealth of auditory and social information. These different kinds of laughter also spark different connections ...

Neuroscience created May 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research determines how the brain computes tool use

(Medical Xpress)—With a goal of helping patients with spinal cord injuries, Jason Gallivan and a team of researchers at Queen's University's Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience Studies are probing deep ...

Neuroscience created May 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brain patterns may help predict relapse risk for alcoholism

(Medical Xpress)—Distinct patterns of brain activity are linked to greater rates of relapse among alcohol dependent patients in early recovery, a study has found. The research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 02, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

After brain injury, new astrocytes play unexpected role in healing

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at ...

Medical research created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain biology tied to social reorientation during entry to adolescence

A specific region of the brain is in play when children consider their identity and social status as they transition into adolescence—that often-turbulent time of reaching puberty and entering middle school, ...

Neuroscience created Apr 23, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Increased brain activity predicts future onset of substance use

Do people get caught in the cycle of overeating and drug addiction because their brain reward centers are over-active causing them to experience greater cravings for food or drugs? In a unique prospective study Oregon Research ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 18, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists probe the source of a pulsing signal in the sleeping brain

New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed ...

Neuroscience created Apr 18, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Doctoral dissertation studies the use of light in measuring cerebral circulation

Tiina Näsi, a researcher of biomedical engineering at Aalto University, studied in her doctoral thesis the use of light in measuring the brain's blood circulation. This optical measurement may in the future help discover ...

Medical research created Apr 12, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Getting a grip on hand function: Researchers discover spinal cord circuit that controls our ability to grasp

Dalhousie neurosurgeon and scientist Dr. Rob Brownstone and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Tuan Bui have identified the spinal cord circuit that controls the hand's ability to grasp. This breakthrough finding opens ...

Neuroscience created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New research shows how our bodies interact with our minds in response to fear and other emotions

New research has shown that the way our minds react to and process emotions such as fear can vary according to what is happening in other parts of our bodies.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Improving the search for new schizophrenia treatments

(Medical Xpress)—Controlling the symptoms of schizophrenia is the job of antipsychotic drugs which block a set of specific neural signals. But the way these drugs work can lead to a host of severe and debilitating ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Alternative fuel for your brain

Tight control of blood glucose levels is critical to mitigating the long-term complications of diabetes; however, the intensive insulin therapy required for this control is frequently accompanied by recurrent episodes of ...

Medical research created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists identify brain's 'molecular memory switch'

Scientists have identified a key molecule responsible for triggering the chemical processes in our brain linked to our formation of memories. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits, reveal ...

Neuroscience created Mar 28, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Pinning down the pain: Schwann cell protein plays major role in neuropathic pain

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in ...

Neuroscience created Mar 27, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast