If you have a hard time shaking your phobias--whether they be of spiders or confined spaces--you may have a genetic quirk that alters your brain's fear circuitry. New research that links a small DNA substitution with abnormal brain activity and fear responses represents a small but encouraging step, experts say, toward understanding how genes may contribute to anxiety disorders.
ScienceNOW Daily News; Jan 14 2010
A Frightful Genetic Twist By Greg Miller
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
'Noisiest' Neurons Persist in the Adult Brain
It's The Survival of the Most Energetic.
MIT neuroscientists have discovered that when it comes to new neurons in the adult brain, the squeakiest wheels get the grease.
"Before, scientists believed the cells with the most accurate performance were selected and the others were rejected," said Picower Institute for Learning and Memory researcher Carlos Lois. "Our study shows that it doesn't matter what the cells are doing, as long as they are doing something, even if it is wrong. It's like musicians being chosen in an audition based not on how well they play, but how loudly."
Jan 17, 2010, via ScienceDaily
MIT neuroscientists have discovered that when it comes to new neurons in the adult brain, the squeakiest wheels get the grease.
"Before, scientists believed the cells with the most accurate performance were selected and the others were rejected," said Picower Institute for Learning and Memory researcher Carlos Lois. "Our study shows that it doesn't matter what the cells are doing, as long as they are doing something, even if it is wrong. It's like musicians being chosen in an audition based not on how well they play, but how loudly."
Jan 17, 2010, via ScienceDaily
Nutritional Inroads into Alzheimer's
Recently, scientists at MIT tested a specially-designed nutritional drink to see whether it could improve cognitive function in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
The drink includes three key nutrients: uridine, choline (part of the vitamin B family) and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid). This approach has the benefit of having few negative side effects, unlike many pharmaceuticals.
Posted Jan 26, 2010. Via positscience.
The drink includes three key nutrients: uridine, choline (part of the vitamin B family) and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid). This approach has the benefit of having few negative side effects, unlike many pharmaceuticals.
Posted Jan 26, 2010. Via positscience.
New Approaches Could Bring Better Depression Treatments
Research suggests current meds aren't always reaching correct targets in the brain.
On Monday, a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that just one in five depressed adults get guideline-recommended treatment, and on Tuesday a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that conventional antidepressants may only really be useful for the severely depressed
Jan 5, 2010. By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
On Monday, a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that just one in five depressed adults get guideline-recommended treatment, and on Tuesday a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that conventional antidepressants may only really be useful for the severely depressed
Jan 5, 2010. By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Willpower And The 'Slacker' Brain
This time, you say to yourself, this time I will do 50 chin-ups every day or skip dessert or call my mother every Friday. It's time to do those things that I know, I really, really know I should do.
And then you don't.
According to British psychologist Richard Wiseman, 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure. Those are his findings from a 2007 University of Hertfordshire study of more than 3,000 people.
How come so many attempts at willpower lose both their will and their power?
Willpower And The 'Slacker' Brain
by Robert Krulwich on NPR January 26, 2010
And then you don't.
According to British psychologist Richard Wiseman, 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure. Those are his findings from a 2007 University of Hertfordshire study of more than 3,000 people.
How come so many attempts at willpower lose both their will and their power?
Willpower And The 'Slacker' Brain
by Robert Krulwich on NPR January 26, 2010
How 'The Hidden Brain' Does The Thinking For Us
After making a silly mistake, it's not uncommon for a person to say, "Oops — I was on autopilot." In his new book, The Hidden Brain, science writer Shankar Vedantam explains how there's actually a lot of truth to that.
Our brains have two modes, he tells NPR's Steve Inkseep — conscious and unconscious, pilot and autopilot — and we are constantly switching back and forth between the two.
"The problem arises when we [switch] without our awareness," Vedantam says, "and the autopilot ends up flying the plane, when we should be flying the plane."
The autopilot mode can be useful when we're multitasking, but it can also lead us to make unsupported snap judgments about people in the world around us. Vedantam says that when we interact with people from different backgrounds in high-pressure situations, it's easy to rely — unconsciously — on heuristics.
NPR January 25, 2010 on Morning Edition.
Our brains have two modes, he tells NPR's Steve Inkseep — conscious and unconscious, pilot and autopilot — and we are constantly switching back and forth between the two.
"The problem arises when we [switch] without our awareness," Vedantam says, "and the autopilot ends up flying the plane, when we should be flying the plane."
The autopilot mode can be useful when we're multitasking, but it can also lead us to make unsupported snap judgments about people in the world around us. Vedantam says that when we interact with people from different backgrounds in high-pressure situations, it's easy to rely — unconsciously — on heuristics.
NPR January 25, 2010 on Morning Edition.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Teen Drinking May Cause Irreversible Brain Damage
For teenagers, the effects of a drunken night out may linger long after the hangover wears off.
A recent study led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego compared the brain scans of teens who drink heavily with the scans of teens who don't.
Tapert's team found damaged nerve tissue in the brains of the teens who drank. The researchers believe this damage negatively affects attention span in boys, and girls' ability to comprehend and interpret visual information.
Morning Edition, NPR, January 25, 2010 by Michelle Trudeau
A recent study led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego compared the brain scans of teens who drink heavily with the scans of teens who don't.
Tapert's team found damaged nerve tissue in the brains of the teens who drank. The researchers believe this damage negatively affects attention span in boys, and girls' ability to comprehend and interpret visual information.
Morning Edition, NPR, January 25, 2010 by Michelle Trudeau
Friday, January 22, 2010
'How We Decide' And The Paralysis Of Analysis
Jonah Lehrer is pathologically indecisive.
"I found myself spending literally a half an hour, 30 minutes, in the cereal aisle of the supermarket, trying to choose between boxes of Cheerios," he says. "That's when I realized I had a problem."
The struggle over cereal led Lehrer to contemplate much bigger questions — like what was actually happening in his head as he stood in the cereal aisle, and how much of that was rational versus emotional.
On Fresh Air, Jan 22, 2010.
"I found myself spending literally a half an hour, 30 minutes, in the cereal aisle of the supermarket, trying to choose between boxes of Cheerios," he says. "That's when I realized I had a problem."
The struggle over cereal led Lehrer to contemplate much bigger questions — like what was actually happening in his head as he stood in the cereal aisle, and how much of that was rational versus emotional.
On Fresh Air, Jan 22, 2010.
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