*Yaaawwwwwn* Did just reading the word make you feel like yawning yourself? Known as contagious yawning, the reasons behind this phenomenon have been attributed to both the physiological and psychological. It’s been observed in children as young as four and even in dogs! Claudia Aguirre visits the many intriguing theories that might explain contagious yawning.
Brain imaging at multiple size scales
MIT researchers have developed a new technique for imaging brain tissue at multiple scales, allowing them to peer at molecules within cells or take a wider view of the long-range connections between neurons. This technique, known as magnified analysis of proteome (MAP), should help scientists in their ongoing efforts to chart the connectivity and functions of neurons in the human brain.
Learn more at http://news.mit.edu/2016/imaging-brain-multiple-size-scales-0725
Weekly Neuroscience Update
A new study has identified a novel signaling system controlling neuronal plasticity.
A lack of shrinkage in the area of the brain responsible for memory may be a sign that people with thinking and memory problems may go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies rather than Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in the November 2, 2016, online issue of Neurology.
A new paper offers an overview as to how neurons ‘communicate’ with one another.
Researchers have confirmed a genetic link between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is passed on from the mother, and some forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A new study looks at how the digestive tract communicates with the brain and could help find new treatment options for obesity.
Scientists can now map what happens neurologically when new information influences a person to change his or her mind, a finding that offers more insight into the mechanics of learning.
New studies may help to explain the path from stem cells to dopamine neurons.
Increased muscle strength leads to improved brain function in adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), new results from a recent trial led by the University of Sydney has revealed.
Researchers have identified a previously unknown stage of human brain development.
Finally, this week a new study finds that subtle, unconscious increases in arousal – indicated by a faster heartbeat and dilated pupils – shape our confidence for visual experiences.
Weekly Neuroscience Update
Heading a football can significantly affect a player’s brain function and memory for 24 hours, a study has found.
Researchers have successfully transplanted embryonic neurons into damaged neural networks, a new study reports.
Scientists have identified for the first time the region in the brain responsible for the “placebo effect” in pain relief.
Results from a new clinical study conducted suggest that curtailing sleep alters the abundance of bacterial gut species that have previously been linked to compromised human metabolic health.
A new imaging technique that creates 3-D video of serotonin transport could aid antidepressant development.
Researchers have identified the cause of chronic, and currently untreatable, pain in those with amputations and severe nerve damage, as well as a potential treatment which relies on engineering instead of drugs.
A new study could explain why the ‘one size fits all’ approach to treating depression has been ineffective.
Using optogenetics to activate dopamine receptors in the ventral tegmental area could help people regain consciousness following general anesthesia, researchers report.
We all know that as we age, our skin loses its firmness and elasticity. However, researchers have now discovered our brains may also lose its elasticity as we age.
Researchers have identified a common culprit that may cause damage in stoke, brain injury and neurodegenerative disease.
Finally this week, A new study provides the first empirical evidence that self-serving lies gradually escalate and reveals how this happens in our brains.
Weekly Neuroscience Update
A new study reports researchers were able to predict with 80 percent accuracy whether antidepressants would help patients by analyzing their brain function and personal history.
A neuroscientist studying how the brain uses perception of the environment to guide action has a new understanding of the neural circuits responsible for transforming sensation into movement.
Exercise may be associated with a small benefit for elderly people who already have memory and thinking problems, according to new research published in Neurology.
Researchers have developed a new machine learning tool capable of detecting certain speech-related diagnostic criteria in patients being evaluated for depression. Known as SimSensei, the tool listens to patient’s voices during diagnostic interviews for reductions in vowel expression characteristic of psychological and neurological disorders that may not be sufficiently clear to human interviewers.
Most people remember where they were when the twin towers collapsed in New York – now new research reveals why that may be the case.
Communication between different areas of our brain increases when we are faced with a difficult task. Understanding these fluctuating patterns could reveal why some people learn new tasks more quickly.
Researchers have discovered a neural circuit that processes evaluations and have identified its sources.
Stimulating the brain via electricity or other means may help to ease the symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, with the method already being used to treat conditions from epilepsy to depression.
A new paper looks at why some of us are extreme thrill seekers, and others don’t even enjoy a gentle roller coaster ride.
Engineers are leading a research team that is developing a new type of nanodevice for computer microprocessors that can mimic the functioning of a biological synapse—the place where a signal passes from one nerve cell to another in the body. The work is featured in the advance online publication of Nature Materials.
Researchers report proteins produced by gut bacteria may cause protein misfolding in the brain and cerebral inflammation.
Taking a pill that prevents the accumulation of toxic molecules in the brain might someday help prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
A new tool is allowing researchers to interactively explore the hierarchical processes that happen in the brain when it is resting or performing tasks.
Finally this week, researchers have identified genetics mutations involved in a rare and unnamed neurological disorder.
Weekly Neuroscience Update
Researchers explore how memory consolidation occurs during sleep.
Fetal brains use a special amplifier in order to transmit signals, according to research published in the journal eLife.
Scanning ultrasound appears to slow down ageing in healthy brains, a new study reports.
Two interconnected brain areas – the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex – help us to know where we are and to remember it later. By studying these brain areas, researchers have uncovered new information about how dysfunction of this circuit may contribute to memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. Their results appear in Cell Reports.
A new tool is allowing researchers to interactively explore the hierarchical processes that happen in the brain when it is resting or performing tasks.
Researchers have identified a set of heat sensing neurons that prompt both nervous system and behavioral changes that help cool the body.
As estrogen levels rise in women, the volume of the hippocampus increases, a new study reports.
A new study reports on how the perceptual mechanisms in a person’s brain adapt in response to images of one’s own or other people’s bodies that have been manipulated to look thinner or fatter than they really are
Researchers have found evidence that challenges the intuitive division between a ‘deciding’ and a ‘responding’ stage in decision making.
Finally this week, a new method for inducing, modelling and measuring visual hallucinations in healthy individuals suggests these complex experiences share a common underlying mechanism with normal visual perception.
Weekly Neuroscience Update
A new study reports the oral perception of coldness and carbonation can help to reduce thirst.
Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of cardio metabolic conditions, may be a biological mechanism linking post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to structural brain abnormalities, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry.
How do we decide if something is worth the effort? A team of researchers has been finding out.
According to a new study, our ability to track and understand speech in both noisy and quite environments deteriorates due to speech processing declines in the midbrain of older adults.
Researchers have discovered a neural circuit that processes processes evaluations, with implications for understanding depression.
A new mathematical model that describes the molecular events associated with the beginning stage of learning and memory formation in the human brain has been developed.
Understanding fluctuations in brain networks may reveal how some people are able to learn new tasks more quickly.
Finally this week, researchers have developed an ‘epigenetic clock’ that calculates the biological age of a person from a blood sample and can estimate the person’s life span.
Why Are Teenagers so Susceptible to Addiction?
In this short video excerpt from “Arrested Development: The Teenage Brain and Substance Abuse,” Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. National Institutes of Health, speaks about addiction and the teenage brain.
Weekly Neuroscience Update
A new mathematical model helps neurosurgeons map the impact of surgery on the brain.
Researchers have discovered a potential treatment that may help delay motor neuron loss in ALS.
A new paper offers an overview as to how neurons ‘communicate’ with one another.
The brain’s biological clock stimulates thirst in the hours before sleep, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam report the brain is more robust than previously thought.
Habitual short sleepers might be more efficient sleepers, but also more tired than they realize, a new study reports.
Data from the world’s largest brain and body scanning study has been released.
Researchers have identified gene expression signatures common to sensory processing that facilitates the brain’s interpretation of sensory input.
A new study reports continued heavy drinking in older people is associated with poor global cognitive and motor functions.
There’s growing evidence that a physical injury to the brain can make people susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Researchers report an ancient area of the midbrain in all vertebrates can independently control and reorientate the eyes.
Finally this week, meditation can help people to take their negative emotions, a new study reports.
What Causes Mass Panic in Emergency Situations?
Study investigates crowd behaviour under stress in a virtual environment.
In emergency situations such as terrorist attacks, natural catastrophes, and fires, there is always a risk of mass panic leading to deadly crowd disasters. But what causes mass panic and where are the danger zones? An international researcher team examined these questions in a virtual environment and their results have been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Because these questions are difficult to study in the real world, the international research team exposed 36 participants to an emergency in a three-dimensional virtual environment. Each participant simultaneously navigated an avatar through virtual space on a computer screen. The researchers studied the participants‘ behaviours in several experiments, setting them various tasks under high-stress conditions.
To find out how the participants reacted in an emergency situation, the researchers simulated an evacuation from a complex building with four exits, only one of which was usable. Although most of the group did not know which was the correct exit, some participants were directed to it by an arrow at the top of their computer screen. Participants knew that some group members were aware of the correct exit, but they did not know who those people were. In addition, the researchers increased the stress level by putting participants under time pressure and monetary pressure: Participants had to escape the building within 50 seconds to avoid a substantial loss of points. At the end of the session, the points won were converted into monetary bonuses. Further stress-inducing elements were poor lighting, red blinking lights, and fires at the blocked exits.
The experiments showed that collisions and pushing increased quickly under stress. The most dangerous zones were places where decisions had to be made, areas where bottlenecks occurred and caused congestion, and dead ends where participants were forced to turn around and walk back against the flow of the crowd.
The researchers also looked at group dynamics during the stressful evacuation situation. Their analyses revealed that individuals were exposed to much stronger social signals under high stress and high density levels than in less stressful situations. In other words, they were more aware of where the group was going, what it was doing, and how it was feeling, and were thus more strongly influenced by the group. The study’s findings indicate that individuals are more likely to follow a group under the influence of these strong social signals. This can quickly lead to mass herding and dangerous overcrowding.
Source: Mehdi Moussaïd – Max Planck Institute
inside-the-brain.com 