Neuroscience posts
- September 4, 2016
- 03:25 PM
- 35 views
Parents' math skills 'rub off' on their children
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Parents who excel at math produce children who excel at math. This is according to a recently released study, which shows a distinct transfer of math skills from parent to child. The study specifically explored intergenerational transmission--the concept of parental influence on an offspring's behavior or psychology--in mathematical capabilities.
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Braham, E., & Libertus, M. (2016) Intergenerational associations in numerical approximation and mathematical abilities. Developmental Science. DOI: 10.1111/desc.12436
- September 2, 2016
- 02:21 PM
- 65 views
Babies chew on subtle social, cultural cues at mealtime
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
At the dinner table, babies do a lot more than play with their sippy cups, new research suggests. Babies pay close attention to what food is being eaten around them - and especially who is eating it. The study adds evidence to a growing body of research suggesting even very young children think in sophisticated ways about subtle social cues.
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Liberman, Z., Woodward, A., Sullivan, K., & Kinzler, K. (2016) Early emerging system for reasoning about the social nature of food. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(34), 9480-9485. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605456113
- September 2, 2016
- 11:53 AM
- 64 views
Obesity Surgery: VA Outcome Study
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Weight loss (bariatric) surgery is likely to become increasingly important to address the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and other nations.There are several types of surgical techniques used for bariatric surgery.One of the most invasive is the Rous-en-Y gastric bypass (RYG) operation. This operation involves bisection of the small intestine and reattachment of the upper section to a position lower down the small intestine. This provides for a shorter distance for food to be absorbed.Less invasive........ Read more »
Maciejewski ML, Arterburn DE, Van Scoyoc L, Smith VA, Yancy WS Jr, Weidenbacher HJ, Livingston EH, & Olsen MK. (2016) Bariatric Surgery and Long-term Durability of Weight Loss. JAMA surgery. PMID: 27579793
- September 1, 2016
- 01:36 PM
- 97 views
Trauma's epigenetic fingerprint observed in children of Holocaust survivors
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The children of traumatized people have long been known to be at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and mood and anxiety disorders. However, there are very few opportunities to examine biologic alterations in the context of a watershed trauma in exposed people and their adult children born after the event.
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Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N., Bierer, L., Bader, H., Klengel, T., Holsboer, F., & Binder, E. (2016) Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372-380. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.005
- September 1, 2016
- 04:22 AM
- 90 views
Music from Your Brain
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
The journal Brain has a new review on the history of converting the electroencephalogram (EEG) into sound (Lutters & Koehler, 2016). The translation of data into sound, known as sonification, has been applied to brain waves since the 1930s. In addition to early scientific and medical applications, sonification of the EEG has been used in the field of experimental music.In 1965, physicist Edmond Dewan and composer Alvin Lucier collaborated on Music for the Solo Performer:Sitting on a cha........ Read more »
Lutters, B., & Koehler, P. (2016) Brainwaves in concert: the 20th century sonification of the electroencephalogram. Brain. DOI: 10.1093/brain/aww207
- August 31, 2016
- 02:55 PM
- 104 views
Scientists show that a 'Superman' disguise could actually work
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Ever think it's silly that people don't recognize Clark Kent is actually Superman? Well as it turns out, glasses are actually a fairly good way to disguise yourself. In fact, researchers have shown that small alterations to a person's appearance, such as wearing glasses, can significantly hinder positive facial identification.
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Kramer, R., & Ritchie, K. (2016) Disguising Superman: How Glasses Affect Unfamiliar Face Matching. Applied Cognitive Psychology. DOI: 10.1002/acp.3261
- August 30, 2016
- 04:18 PM
- 77 views
Caffeine reverts memory deficits by normalizing stress responses in the brain
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A new study describes the mechanism by which caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals. The international teams showed that the abnormal expression of a particular receptor - the adenosine A2A, target for caffeine - in the brain of rats induces an aging-like profile namely memory impairments linked to the loss of stress controlling mechanisms.
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Batalha, V., Ferreira, D., Coelho, J., Valadas, J., Gomes, R., Temido-Ferreira, M., Shmidt, T., Baqi, Y., Buée, L., Müller, C.... (2016) The caffeine-binding adenosine A2A receptor induces age-like HPA-axis dysfunction by targeting glucocorticoid receptor function. Scientific Reports, 31493. DOI: 10.1038/srep31493
- August 30, 2016
- 11:59 AM
- 73 views
Dyslexia Improvement in Medication Trial
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Dyslexia or developmental reading disorder is a common learning disorder affecting about 5% of the school age population.Treatment of dyslexia is difficult and typically is focused on special education classes and reading exercises.Medication treatment for dyslexia is nearly unheard of as no FDA-approved drug is available for the condition.However, a recent randomized clinical drug trial found evidence to support the potential use of atomoxetine for dyslexia.Atomoxetine is a drug approved for at........ Read more »
Shaywitz S, Shaywitz B, Wietecha L, Wigal S, McBurnett K, Williams D, Kronenberger WG, & Hooper SR. (2016) Effect of Atomoxetine Treatment on Reading and Phonological Skills in Children with Dyslexia or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Comorbid Dyslexia in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology. PMID: 27410907
- August 29, 2016
- 02:49 PM
- 83 views
Use it or lose it: Stopping exercise decreases brain blood flow
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
We all know that we can quickly lose cardiovascular endurance if we stop exercising for a few weeks, but what impact does the cessation of exercise have on our brains? New research examined cerebral blood flow in healthy, physically fit older adults (ages 50-80 years) before and after a 10-day period during which they stopped all exercise.
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Alfini, A., Weiss, L., Leitner, B., Smith, T., Hagberg, J., & Smith, J. (2016) Hippocampal and Cerebral Blood Flow after Exercise Cessation in Master Athletes. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00184
- August 29, 2016
- 12:08 PM
- 72 views
Mediterranean Diet and Cognition
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The evidence for a beneficial effect of a Mediterranean style diet (MedDiet) on brain health grows on a regular basis.For those interested in a good summary of the effects of the MedDiet on cognition, I recommend reading the free full text review recently published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.In this review, Roy Hardman and colleagues searched for research studies on cognition and the Mediterranean diet published between 2000 and 2015.A figure in the review proposed several mechanisms where com........ Read more »
Hardman RJ, Kennedy G, Macpherson H, Scholey AB, & Pipingas A. (2016) Adherence to a Mediterranean-Style Diet and Effects on Cognition in Adults: A Qualitative Evaluation and Systematic Review of Longitudinal and Prospective Trials. Frontiers in nutrition, 22. PMID: 27500135
- August 28, 2016
- 06:29 PM
- 99 views
Healing Prayer and the Brain: Not a Match Made in Heaven
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Activity of the medial prefrontal cortex after psycho-spiritual healing (Baldwin et al., 2016).Everything we do and feel and experience changes the brain. Psychotherapy, juggling, taxi driving, poverty, reading, drugs, art, music, anger, love. If it didn't we'd be dead. Why should prayer be any different? The trick is to accurately determine the structural or physiological changes that are unique to a specific activity. And when assessing the effectiveness of clinical interventions, how the chan........ Read more »
Baldwin, P., Velasquez, K., Koenig, H., Salas, R., & Boelens, P. (2016) Neural correlates of healing prayers, depression and traumatic memories: A preliminary study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 123-129. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.07.002
- August 28, 2016
- 02:29 PM
- 90 views
A visual nudge can disrupt recall of what things look like
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Interfering with your vision makes it harder to describe what you know about the appearance of even common objects, according to researchers. This connection between visual knowledge and visual perception challenges widely held theories that visual information about the world -- that alligators are green and have long tails, for example -- is stored abstractly, as a list of facts, divorced from the visual experience of seeing an alligator.... Read more »
Edmiston, P., & Lupyan, G. (2015) Visual interference disrupts visual and only visual knowledge. Journal of Vision, 15(12), 10. DOI: 10.1167/15.12.10
- August 27, 2016
- 01:27 PM
- 108 views
Researchers report new Zika complication
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
If zika didn't seem scary enough in the media, there is new data showing that there could be a new neurological complication of infection with the Zika virus.
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Medina, M., England, J., Lorenzana, I., Medina-Montoya, M., Alvarado, D., De Bastos, M., Fontiveros, S., Sierra, M., & Contreras, F. (2016) Zika virus associated with sensory polyneuropathy. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2016.08.044
- August 26, 2016
- 02:20 PM
- 123 views
Next steps in understanding brain function
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The most complex piece of matter in the known universe is the brain. Neuroscientists have recently taken on the challenge to understand brain function from its intricate anatomy and structure. There is no sure way to go about it, and researchers in Madrid proposed a solution to the problem.
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DeFelipe, J., Douglas, R., Hill, S., Lein, E., Martin, K., Rockland, K., Segev, I., Shepherd, G., & Tamás, G. (2016) Comments and General Discussion on “The Anatomical Problem Posed by Brain Complexity and Size: A Potential Solution”. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2016.00060
- August 26, 2016
- 06:49 AM
- 128 views
From :-D to =8-0 - Effects of Emoticons on the Brain
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
An unusual study reports the effects of emoticons on human brain activity: Neural correlates of text-based emoticons
South Korean neuroscientists Ko Woon Kim et al. used fMRI to record brain activation in 18 volunteers who were shown various expressive text symbols, in both the Asian 'vertical' and Western 'horizontal' styles:
However, it turned out that the brain doesn't really respond to emoticons at all: there was no significant difference in the brain response to the real emoticons... Read more »
Kim KW, Lee SW, Choi J, Kim TM, & Jeong B. (2016) Neural correlates of text-based emoticons: a preliminary fMRI study. Brain and behavior, 6(8). PMID: 27547502
- August 23, 2016
- 03:58 PM
- 124 views
Making Music From Brainwaves: A History
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
A new paper in Brain tells the story of attempts to turn brain waves into music. The authors are Bart Lutters and Peter J. Koehler: Brainwaves in concert: the 20th century sonification of the electroencephalogram
Electroencephalography (EEG), a technique for measuring brain electrical activity, was invented by German psychiatrist Hans Berger in 1929. Berger's EEG displayed the recorded activity in the form of graphs, using a mobile pen and a rotating drum of graph paper, but within 5 years,... Read more »
Lutters B, & Koehler PJ. (2016) Brainwaves in concert: the 20th century sonification of the electroencephalogram. Brain. PMID: 27543971
- August 23, 2016
- 02:31 PM
- 161 views
Too much activity in certain areas of the brain is bad for memory and attention
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Neurons in the brain interact by sending each other chemical messages, so-called neurotransmitters. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter, which is important to restrain neural activity, preventing neurons from getting too trigger-happy and from firing too much or responding to irrelevant stimuli.
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McGarrity, S., Mason, R., Fone, K., Pezze, M., & Bast, T. (2016) Hippocampal Neural Disinhibition Causes Attentional and Memory Deficits. Cerebral Cortex. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw247
- August 23, 2016
- 10:36 AM
- 140 views
The Brain: Red Meat and Mediterranean Diet
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Entorhinal Cortex Highlighted in BluePrevious posts in this blog have highlighted some the research related to links between brain health and elements of the Mediterranean diet.I want to inform readers of a new important research study from the Mayo Clinic.In this study, researchers completed brain cortical thickness analyses on 672 cognitively normal adults. It is generally accepted that greater cortical thickness relates to improved cognitive performance.The participants completed an extensive........ Read more »
Staubo SC, Aakre JA, Vemuri P, Syrjanen JA, Mielke MM, Geda YE, Kremers WK, Machulda MM, Knopman DS, Petersen RC.... (2016) Mediterranean diet, micronutrients and macronutrients, and MRI measures of cortical thickness. Alzheimer's . PMID: 27461490
- August 22, 2016
- 03:00 PM
- 123 views
Stroke-like brain damage is reduced in mice injected with omega-3s
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A stroke can happen at any age, and as with anything that involves the brain, a few seconds can be life altering. Usually the rule is time lost is brain lost, but there might be some good news regarding that, researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced brain damage in a neonatal mouse model of stroke.
... Read more »
Mayurasakorn, K., Niatsetskaya, Z., Sosunov, S., Williams, J., Zirpoli, H., Vlasakov, I., Deckelbaum, R., & Ten, V. (2016) DHA but Not EPA Emulsions Preserve Neurological and Mitochondrial Function after Brain Hypoxia-Ischemia in Neonatal Mice. PLOS ONE, 11(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160870
- August 21, 2016
- 05:49 AM
- 144 views
What To Do About Software Errors in fMRI?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Last month we learned that a problem in commonly used fMRI analysis tools was giving rise to elevated rates of false positives. Now, another issue has been discovered in an fMRI tool. The affected software is called GingerALE and the 'implementation errors' are revealed in a new paper by Simon B. Eickhoff et al., the developers of the package.
GingerALE is a meta-analysis tool, that offers the ability to combine the results of multiple fMRI studies to assess the overall level of evide... Read more »
Eickhoff SB, Laird AR, Fox PM, Lancaster JL, & Fox PT. (2016) Implementation errors in the GingerALE Software: Description and recommendations. Human brain mapping. PMID: 27511454
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