News tagged with prefrontal cortex

Related topics: brain , brain regions , functional magnetic resonance imaging , brain cells , neurons




Addiction as a disorder of decision-making

New research shows that craving drugs such as nicotine can be visualized in specific regions of the brain that are implicated in determining the value of actions, in planning actions and in motivation. Dr. Alain Dagher, from ...

Neuroscience created May 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Waiting for a sign? Researchers find potential brain 'switch' for new behavior

You're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when ...

Neuroscience created May 21, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Clouds in the head

Many brain researchers cannot see the forest for the trees. When they use electrodes to record the activity patterns of individual neurons, the patterns often appear chaotic and difficult to interpret.

Neuroscience created May 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Neurons that can multitask greatly enhance the brain's computational power, study finds

Over the past few decades, neuroscientists have made much progress in mapping the brain by deciphering the functions of individual neurons that perform very specific tasks, such as recognizing the location ...

Neuroscience created May 20, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (12) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Turning Alzheimer's fuzzy signals into high definition

Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have discovered how the predominant class of Alzheimer's pharmaceuticals might sharpen the brain's performance.

Neuroscience created May 07, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Theta brainwaves reflect ability to beat built-in bias

Vertebrates are predisposed to act to gain rewards, and to lay low to avoid punishment. Try to teach chickens to back away from food in order to obtain it, and you'll fail, as researchers did in 1986. But ...

Neuroscience created May 07, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

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

Professor finds neuroscience provides insights into brains of complex and adaptive leaders

(Medical Xpress)—Wake Forest University's Sean Hannah and a team of researchers have found measuring activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain can help assess that person's potential for leadership –which could have ...

Neuroscience created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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

Babies show visual consciousness at five months

(Medical Xpress)—A new study by scientists in France and Denmark has identified a neurological marker in the brain of babies as young as five months that is associated with visual consciousness, or the ...

Neuroscience created Apr 19, 2013 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 6 | with audio podcast report

Stimulating the brain blunts cigarette craving

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths globally. Unfortunately smoking cessation is difficult, with more than 90% of attempts to quit resulting in relapse.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Avoid impulsive acts by imagining future benefits: Waiting more pleasurable if focus is on good things ahead

(Medical Xpress)—Why is it so hard for some people to resist the least little temptation, while others seem to possess incredible patience, passing up immediate gratification for a greater long-term good?

Neuroscience created Apr 04, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Resetting addicted brain: Laser light zaps away cocaine addiction

By stimulating one part of the brain with laser light, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have shown that they ...

Neuroscience created Apr 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Are there cerebral abnormalities in eating disorders?

A report from the University of Freiburg that is published in one of the last issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics address the presence of cerebral abnormalities in eating disorders.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 03, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Altered brain activity responsible for cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia

Cognitive problems with memory and behavior experienced by individuals with schizophrenia are linked with changes in brain activity; however, it is difficult to test whether these changes are the underlying cause or consequence ...

Neuroscience created Mar 20, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast