Neuroscience News

Neuron Memory Key to Taming Chronic Pain
http://www.sciencedaily.com/ 2012/02/12
Study suggests erasing neuronal memories may help control persistent pain


Wiring the brain, literally, to treat stubborn disorder
Wall Street Journal – Health Journal January 17,2012
Researchers are now using deep brain stimulation (DBS) for psychiatric conditions. After two years of DBS, 92% reported significant relief from their major depression or bipolar disorder and more than half were in remission, with no manic side effects.


Study shows map of brain connectivity changes during development
Physorg January 26, 2011
New research conducted at The Scripps Research Institute shows that this road atlas undergoes constant revisions as the brain of a young animal develops, with new routes forming and others dropping away in a matter of hours. “We have shown that the connectome is dynamic during development, but we expect it will also change according to an individual’s experience…


Experience shapes the brain’s circuitry throughout adulthood
Physorg – June 15, 2010
The adult brain, long considered to be fixed in its wiring, is in fact remarkably dynamic. Neuroscientists once thought that the brain’s wiring was fixed early in life, during a critical period beyond which changes were impossible. Recent discoveries have challenged that view, and now, research by scientists at Rockefeller University suggests that circuits in the adult brain are continually modified by experience.


How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect
New York Times – Health October 5, 2009
Brain-imaging studies of people evaluating anomalies, or working out unsettling dilemmas, show that activity in an area called the anterior cingulate cortex spikes significantly. The more activation is recorded, the greater the motivation or ability to seek and correct errors in the real world, a recent study suggests.


Noninvasive Technique to Rewrite Fear Memories Developed
Science Daily, December 9, 2009
Researchers at New York University have developed a non-invasive technique to block the return of fear memories in humans. The technique, reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature, may change how we view the storage processes of memory and could lead to new ways to treat anxiety disorders.


The Brain Scan That Can Read People’s Intentions
The Guardian, February 8, 2007
A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person’s brain and read their intentions before they act.


How Thinking Can Change the Brain
The Wall Street Journal Online January 19, 2007
The discovery that neuroplasticity cannot occur without attention has important implications. If a skill becomes so routine you can do it on autopilot, practicing it will no longer change the brain. And if you take up mental exercises to keep your brain young, they will not be as effective if you become able to do them without paying much attention.


In Memory-Bank ‘Dialogue,’ the Brain Is Talking to Itself
New York Times – Science December 18, 2006
New recordings of electrical activity in the brain may explain a major part of its function, including how it consolidates daily memories, why it needs to dream and how it constructs models of the world to guide behavior.


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