Potentially beneficial brain changes (an increase in the volume of an area known as the hippocampus) occur in response to exercise both in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, according to a report. The findings suggest that the brain retains some plasticity, or ability to adapt, even in those with psychotic disorders.
13 Vote(s)
February 2, 2010
January 12, 2010
Disconnect between brain regions in ADHD
Two brain areas fail to connect when children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder attempt a task that measures attention, according to researchers.
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December 22, 2009
Depression saps endurance of the brain’s reward circuitry
Depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion, a new study suggests.
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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September 18, 2009
A history of the brain frame
Neurosurgical Focus has an excellent article on the development of the stereotactic neurosurgery where an external frame is usually screwed into the skull and fixes the head in place to allow surgeons to precisely locate brain areas in a standard 3D space.In modern stereotactic surgery, the system is usually used with an electronic tracking system that maps the surgeon's instruments onto a previo
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13 Vote(s)
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September 11, 2009
Empathic people remember your smell
If you're an empathic person, able to tune into other people's feelings, then the chances are you've also got a keen sense of what other people smell like! We've known for some time that the brain areas involved in empathy and recognising facial emotions partially overlap with the brain areas associated with smell. Wen Zhou's and Denise Chen's new finding shows that this overlap extends to behav
17 Vote(s)
17 Vote(s)
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July 19, 2009
Speaking without Broca’s area
Psychology is moving away from a view of the brain that ties functions to specific brain areas. Instead, researchers recognise that the brain is made up of dynamic, flexible networks, in which diverse regions are recruited according to task demands. Complementing this account is a growing recognition of the brain's ability to adapt to damage, even in adulthood - a characteristic known as plastici
12 Vote(s)
12 Vote(s)
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May 21, 2009
Developmental “foreign accent syndrome” - cases documented for the first time
You may have seen cases of foreign accent syndrome (FAS) covered in the news. In 2007, for example, a ten-year-old boy acquired a new accent after undergoing brain surgery. "He went in with a York accent and came out all posh" his mother told the Guardian newspaper. It's generally been thought that FAS arises after damage to brain areas involved in controlling speech, and to date all reported gen
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10 Vote(s)
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May 13, 2009
When We Daydream Our Brain’s Problem-Solving Function Is At Work
A new University of British Columbia study finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving - previously thought to go dormant when w
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May 12, 2009
Brain’s Problem-solving Function At Work When We Daydream
Our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. Activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander, according to new research. Psychologists found that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving -- previously thought to go dormant when we daydream -- are in fact highly active during these episodes.
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14 Vote(s)
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April 24, 2009
How Cigarettes Calm You Down
The calming neurological effects of nicotine have been demonstrated in a group of non-smokers during anger provocation. Researchers suggest that nicotine may alter the activity of brain areas that are involved in the inhibition of negative emotions such as anger.
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8 Vote(s)
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