Neuroscience posts
- May 9, 2013
- 09:59 AM
- 43 views
Study Finds Brain System for Emotional Self-Control
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
Different brain areas are activated when we choose to suppress an emotion, compared to when we are instructed to inhibit an emotion, according a new study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Ghent University. In this study, published in Brain Structure and Function (citation below), the researchers scanned the brains of healthy participants and … Read More →... Read more »
Kühn, S., Haggard, P., & Brass, M. (2013) Differences between endogenous and exogenous emotion inhibition in the human brain. Brain Structure and Function. DOI: 10.1007/s00429-013-0556-0
- May 9, 2013
- 09:28 AM
- 35 views
The wasp and the cockroach: a zombie story
by sedeer in Inspiring Science
The world of parasites is full of incredible tales of manipulation and mind-control as these creatures twist their hosts to …Continue reading »... Read more »
Libersat, F., & Gal, R. (2012) What can parasitoid wasps teach us about decision-making in insects?. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(1), 47-55. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.073999
Herzner, G., Schlecht, A., Dollhofer, V., Parzefall, C., Harrar, K., Kreuzer, A., Pilsl, L., & Ruther, J. (2013) Larvae of the parasitoid wasp Ampulex compressa sanitize their host, the American cockroach, with a blend of antimicrobials. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(4), 1369-1374. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213384110
- May 7, 2013
- 08:59 PM
- 11 views
Orexin and Insomnia
by Dirk Hanson in Addiction Inbox
If Valium makes you groggy, and Ambien makes you sleepwalk…
A compound that blocks a brain receptor you probably have never heard of may hold the key to the next generation of sleeping pills—and there is always a next generation of sleeping pills.
A new class of hypnotic compounds that serve as antagonists for the neurotransmitter orexin may combat insomnia without the “confusional arousals” that have come to plague some users of zolpidem, otherwise known as Ambien. Sleepwalking, s........ Read more »
Uslaner J. M., Tye S. J., Eddins D. M., Wang X., Fox S. V., Savitz A. T., Binns J., Cannon C. E., Garson S. L., & Yao L. (2013) Orexin Receptor Antagonists Differ from Standard Sleep Drugs by Promoting Sleep at Doses That Do Not Disrupt Cognition. Science Translational Medicine, 5(179), 179-179. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005213
- May 7, 2013
- 06:16 PM
- 41 views
Shot for shot: a vaccine against heroin relapse?
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
A particularly sinister aspect of drug addiction is relapse. To the ex-addict, environmental cues, life stressors and even the drug itself serve as the sirens’ call, beckoning them back into the deadly realm of abuse. Currently, doctors battle heroin temptations with psychotherapy and replacement opioid drugs, such as methadone. While effective, these treatments rely heavily [...]... Read more »
Schlosburg, J., Vendruscolo, L., Bremer, P., Lockner, J., Wade, C., Nunes, A., Stowe, G., Edwards, S., Janda, K., & Koob, G. (2013) Dynamic vaccine blocks relapse to compulsive intake of heroin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219159110
- May 7, 2013
- 12:19 PM
- 40 views
"Insight" in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
by Vivek Misra in Beautiful Mind
photo: jagaro.netLack of awareness of illness, poor insight or ‘denial’ are regarded as fundamental problems in neurology and psychiatry. The ‘object’ of the awareness differs in different conditions. For example a stroke patient may deny their hemiplegia (anosognosia) – a deficit which is visible and objective; a person with Alzheimer’s disease may be unaware of memory problems – which though measurable, are not readily apparent to the observer. Finally, a schizophrenic........ Read more »
Pijnenborg GH, van Donkersgoed RJ, David AS, & Aleman A. (2013) Changes in insight during treatment for psychotic disorders: a meta-analysis. Schizophrenia research, 144(1-3), 109-17. PMID: 23305612
- May 7, 2013
- 09:54 AM
- 32 views
“Dynamic” Heroin Vaccine worked effectively in preclinical studies
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point:
Scientists have successfully tested the “dynamic” vaccine against heroin in rats that prevents the heroin and its metabolic products in the body from reaching the brain. This vaccine is ready to be tested in human beings.
Published in:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Study Further:
Heroin addiction affects more than 10 million people globally and the development of such vaccine is really a part of success against such addition.
“The effe........ Read more »
Schlosburg, J., Vendruscolo, L., Bremer, P., Lockner, J., Wade, C., Nunes, A., Stowe, G., Edwards, S., Janda, K., & Koob, G. (2013) Dynamic vaccine blocks relapse to compulsive intake of heroin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219159110
- May 6, 2013
- 09:44 AM
- 50 views
The young and the restless
by neuroecology in Neuroecology
It struck me recently that one of the key differences between economists and neuroscientists studying decision-making is their interest in dynamics. Economists seem more interested in explaining how behavior operates (or should operate) on average whereas neuroscientists would like to explain trial-to-trial variability. Decisions are rarely made just once in a lifetime, but are instead made repeatedly. [...]... Read more »
Hampton, A., Bossaerts, P., & O'Doherty, J. (2008) Neural correlates of mentalizing-related computations during strategic interactions in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(18), 6741-6746. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0711099105
Zhu, L., Walsh, D., & Hsu, M. (2012) Neuroeconomic Measures of Social Decision-Making Across the Lifespan. Frontiers in Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00128
- May 3, 2013
- 05:41 PM
- 18 views
Brain Voodoo Goes Electric
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Four years ago, neuroscientists became aware of an ominous-sounding manuscript entitled “Voodoo Correlations In Social Neuroscience”. This piece was eventually published under a more prosaic name but it still hit home, with nearly 500 citations so far. To me, this paper marked the start of a new era of ‘critical’ (in the proper sense of [...]... Read more »
Kilner, J. (2013) Bias in a common EEG and MEG statistical analysis and how to avoid it. Clinical Neurophysiology. DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2013.03.024
- May 3, 2013
- 02:03 PM
- 53 views
Tone-Deaf Birds Disrupt Society, Are Easier to Get into Bed
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
While male birds are singing elaborate arias and flashing their feathers, it's easy to imagine their female counterparts are unimportant actors. Duller and quieter, all a lady bird has to do is hold still and let one of these frantic performers mate with her. Yet in brown-headed cowbirds, at least, the quiet female keeps the whole society in order. Scientists discovered this by targeting a tiny portion of the female brain and frying it.
Males of the species Molothrus ater use the........ Read more »
Maguire, S., Schmidt, M., & White, D. (2013) Social Brains in Context: Lesions Targeted to the Song Control System in Female Cowbirds Affect Their Social Network. PLoS ONE, 8(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063239
- May 2, 2013
- 12:51 PM
- 62 views
a STORM inside a cell
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
We've been talking about some of the most cutting edge intracellular visualization techniques lately. Array tomography and Serial block-face electron microscopy have been featured. Today we'll talk about STORM imaging. STORM imaging (Xu et al., 2013)STORM stands for Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy. While Array tomography and Serial block-face EM are both revolutionary in that they can combine very high resolution imaging with relatively large volumes of tissue, STORM is an advanceme........ Read more »
Xu K, Zhong G, & Zhuang X. (2013) Actin, spectrin, and associated proteins form a periodic cytoskeletal structure in axons. Science (New York, N.Y.), 339(6118), 452-6. PMID: 23239625
- May 2, 2013
- 10:38 AM
- 76 views
Redefining Mental Disorders as Brain Disorders: TED Talk of Thomas Insel
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Components of Brain Limbic SystemAdvances in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism are a public health priority.Dr. Thomas Insel, director at NIMH recently presented a TED talk that emphasized the need to rethink how we conceptualize and study these types of disorders. He argues for a need to redefine mental disorders as brain disorders. Advances in brain research tools are likely to provide improvements in early diagnosis and ........ Read more »
Collins, P., Insel, T., Chockalingam, A., Daar, A., & Maddox, Y. (2013) Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health: Integration in Research, Policy, and Practice. PLoS Medicine, 10(4). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001434
Insel, T. (2011) A bridge to somewhere. Translational Psychiatry, 1(4). DOI: 10.1038/tp.2011.4
- May 2, 2013
- 07:51 AM
- 23 views
M'eye New Workout Reset: eye work as active recovery
by mc in begin to dig (b2d)
hypothesis: Use of recovery periods between weight sets can be used for vision work as form of active recovery to improve strength, vision and recovery technique. ... Read more »
Andersson H, Raastad T, Nilsson J, Paulsen G, Garthe I, & Kadi F. (2008) Neuromuscular fatigue and recovery in elite female soccer: effects of active recovery. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 40(2), 372-80. PMID: 18202563
Davis WJ, Wood DT, Andrews RG, Elkind LM, & Davis WB. (2008) Elimination of delayed-onset muscle soreness by pre-resistance cardioacceleration before each set. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength , 22(1), 212-25. PMID: 18296978
Micklewright, D., Beneke, R., Gladwell, V., & Sellens, M. (2003) BLOOD LACTATE REMOVAL USING COMBINED MASSAGE AND ACTIVE RECOVERY. Medicine , 35(Supplement 1). DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200305001-01755
Suzuki M, Umeda T, Nakaji S, Shimoyama T, Mashiko T, & Sugawara K. (2004) Effect of incorporating low intensity exercise into the recovery period after a rugby match. British journal of sports medicine, 38(4), 436-40. PMID: 15273179
- May 1, 2013
- 11:54 AM
- 44 views
Advances In Parkinson's Disease Treatment: Part II
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Globus Pallidus Region of Brain Targeted in DBS in YellowIn a previous post, I summarized some of the highlights of a recent review of Parkinson's disease management by the German neurologists Pedrosa and Timmerman.The first post can be located here and was limited to the drug treatment of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.In part II, I want to focus on deep brain stimulation and the treatment of non-motor symptoms.The authors of the review note the following key points regarding deep br........ Read more »
Pedrosa, D., & Timmermann, . (2013) Review: management of Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 321. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S32302
- May 1, 2013
- 11:22 AM
- 71 views
Inhale and feel it with your heart
by Aurametrix team in Olfactics and Diagnostics
All you need is love. Or failing that chocolate.And not only because dark chocolate could lower the risk of heart disease, blood pressure and sugar levels. As Dr. Schieberle's team recently discovered that heart could sense and enjoy the sweet smell of chocolate too. When they put small odor-emitting molecules from chocolate on one side of a dish, cells actually moved towards the aroma.The heart, the lungs, the blood, the sperm and testis all have the abilities to recognize chemicals responsible........ Read more »
Feldmesser E, Olender T, Khen M, Yanai I, Ophir R, & Lancet D. (2006) Widespread ectopic expression of olfactory receptor genes. BMC genomics, 121. PMID: 16716209
Schieberle P, & Molyneux RJ. (2012) Quantitation of sensory-active and bioactive constituents of food: A Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry perspective. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 60(10), 2404-8. PMID: 22369090
- May 1, 2013
- 08:54 AM
- 59 views
Four APS Fellows Elected to NAS
by ebender in Daily Observations
Five psychological scientists, including four APS Fellows, are among the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of their contributions and The post Four APS Fellows Elected to NAS appeared first on Association for Psychological Science.... Read more »
Aslin, R.N. (2012) Questioning the questions that have been asked about the infant brain using near-infrared spectroscopy. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 29(1-2), 7-33. PMID: 22329690
- May 1, 2013
- 01:35 AM
- 49 views
A “switch” for the winter blues
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
We’ve all been there. Mid-winter morning, you crawl out of bed, slouch towards work, and pass the day in a hazy daze. There seems to be no concept of time, just never-ending darkness and cold. You’re not depressed, just…bleh. Well, rats have that feeling too. Being nocturnal though, they prefer long nights to long days [...]... Read more »
Dulcis D, Jamshidi P, Leutgeb S, & Spitzer NC. (2013) Neurotransmitter switching in the adult brain regulates behavior. Science (New York, N.Y.), 340(6131), 449-53. PMID: 23620046
- April 30, 2013
- 01:18 PM
- 57 views
Whale Turns Down Its Hearing When Expecting Loud Sounds
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
We can knit sweaters for oiled penguins, but it's harder to protect whales and dolphins from the harm of having us as neighbors. Loud underwater sounds from activities like sonar and drilling may damage these animals' hearing and even lead to mass strandings. Though we can't chase cetaceans around with homemade earmuffs, we might be able to teach them to tune us out.
Like squinting or letting one's pupil shrink in bright light, some animals can adjust how sensitive their ears are. When we're........ Read more »
Nachtigall, P., & Supin, A. (2013) A false killer whale reduces its hearing sensitivity when a loud sound is preceded by a warning. Journal of Experimental Biology. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.085068
- April 30, 2013
- 11:31 AM
- 127 views
Treatment Advances in Parkinson's Disease: Part I
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
3D Molecular Model of L-DopaDrug treatment of Parkinson's disease is a complex clinical problem. This complexity relates to several factors including incomplete response, multiple symptom domains and adverse effects of commonly used drugs.David Pedrosa and Lars Timmerman from the Department of Neurology at University Hospital Cologne in Germany have recently published an excellent review of Parkinson's disease management.The review is packed with comprehensive tables with specific drug inf........ Read more »
Pedrosa, D., & Timmermann, . (2013) Review: management of Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 321. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S32302
- April 29, 2013
- 11:04 AM
- 72 views
Early Childhood Education: the Importance of Phonological Awareness
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
There are many factors that go into how a child learns to read, write, and spell. Phonological awareness in early childhood is a proven predictor of how well a child will progress in their literary performance. Today’s post explains the basics of phonological awareness and how to better develop it in young children. What is … Read More →... Read more »
Lonigan CJ, Farver JM, Nakamoto J, & Eppe S. (2013) Developmental Trajectories of Preschool Early Literacy Skills: A Comparison of Language-Minority and Monolingual-English Children. Developmental psychology. PMID: 23316767
Carson KL, Gillon GT, & Boustead TM. (2012) Classroom Phonological Awareness Instruction and Literacy Outcomes In the First Year of School. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools. PMID: 23275432
Chipere, N. (2013) Sex differences in phonological awareness and reading ability. Language Awareness, 1-15. DOI: 10.1080/09658416.2013.774007
Wagensveld B, van Alphen P, Segers E, Hagoort P, & Verhoeven L. (2013) The neural correlates of rhyme awareness in preliterate and literate children. Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. PMID: 23523114
- April 29, 2013
- 10:37 AM
- 64 views
Essential Tremor as a Risk Factor for Parkinson's Disease
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The number people suffereing from Parkison's disease in the United States is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.The key symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremor and slowed movement or bradykinesia.Known risk factors for Parkinson's disease include advanced age, male gender, family history of Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides.Of note, smokers appear to have a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease although the mechanism for this protective effect is unknown.Romero and c........ Read more »
Romero JP, Benito-León J, & Bermejo-Pareja F. (2012) The NEDICES Study: Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Epidemiology of Essential Tremor. Tremor and other hyperkinetic movements (New York, N.Y.). PMID: 23439396
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
