Weekly Neuroscience Update

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016Leave a comment

A new study presented in the journal Nature could change the view of the role of motor neurons. Motor neurons, which extend from the spinal cord to muscles and other organs, have always been considered passive recipients of signals from interneuronal circuits. Now, however, researchers from Sweden´s Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated a new, direct signalling pathway through which motor neurons influence the locomotor circuits that generate rhythmic movements.

Neuroimaging studies suggest that frontolimbic regions of the brain, structures that regulate emotions, play an important role in the biology of aggressive behaviour.

A team of researchers has discovered that differences in the types of memories we have influence the nature of our future encounters. Their findings show how distinct parts of the brain, underlying different kinds of memories, also influence our attention in new situations.

A gene involved in the regulation of emotions and behaviour could influence the long-term impact of violence experienced in childhood on antisocial behaviour.

Nerve cells have to react extremely quickly, but depending on the task they are supposed to perform they often need to work more slowly. Berlin scientists have now shown that a receptor in the synapse can adapt to follow both regimes. It’s another example of the amazing flexibility of the brain, manifested at the molecular level.

A new treatment aimed at clearing abnormal clumps of protein called tau tangles from the brain in Alzheimer’s disease is entering an early-stage clinical trial in the UK.

Scientists have identified a cerebral marker specific to autism that can be detected by MRI and is present as from the age of two years. The abnormality thus detected consists in a less deep fold in Broca’s area, a region of the brain specialized in language and communication, functions that are impaired in autistic patients. This discovery may assist in the earlier diagnosis and management of these patients.

A research initiative exploring the utility of genetic information in the clinical setting has published a study and identified six noteworthy genes that affect human sleep duration.

Individuals addicted to cocaine may have difficulty in controlling their addiction because of a previously-unknown ‘back door’ into the brain, circumventing their self-control, suggests a new study led by the University of Cambridge.

A simple, computer-training task can change the brain’s wiring to regulate emotional reactions, according to a recent study published in NeuroImage.

The workings of neural circuits associated with creativity are significantly altered when artists are actively attempting to express emotions, according to a new brain-scanning study of jazz pianists.

Finally this week, a new study has found that blocking a receptor in the brain responsible for regulating immune cells could protect against the memory and behaviour changes seen in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

What Made David Bowie So Creative?

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016Leave a comment

David Bowie died this week from liver cancer. He was sixty-nine years old.

Creative genius

David was a singer, songwriter, record producer, painter and actor. He was a key figure in popular music for over five decades, and was considered by critics and other musicians as a ground-breaking innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. During his career, he sold an estimated 140 million records worldwide and was awarded platinum, gold and silver album certifications. Although he stopped concert touring after 2004 he remained musically active until his death. If there were a phrase to encapsulate David’s creative genius it would be the following: dare greatly, keep learning and don’t conform.

Memories full of sound. Beautiful sound.

One only needed to watch David perform on stage to see his brain effortlessly convert his concepts and ideas into the mesmerizingly creative instrumental, vocal and visual performances that transfixed a generation. His impact was enormous; he changed the nature of rock music, and changed his own approach repeatedly while staying true to his creative roots.

What makes us creative?

This question can be answered in the context that every single human being is unique because we each poses a uniquely complex brain, so complex that in all of human history no two human brains can be identical. This is because the unique combination of about 100 trillion tiny brain connections that grow and change throughout life is an ongoing work in progress from conception to death. In this way we each one of us ‘evolve’ as true individuals as we each make our journey through life.

Neurodiversity is the key to our success

The term neurodiversity has been coined to extend the finding that every single human being is neurologically unique due to infinite variations in human brain wiring. These differences in brain wiring are authentic forms of communication, self- expression and being. The ongoing gender revolution is simply recognition of the fact that human beings cannot be defined by sexual orientation alone. We are each one us, too unique to be pigeon-holed by ideology be it cultural, political or religious.David Bowie epitomized this view in this life and music.

Unique solutions, innovations and insights

What we actually need are the support-systems to allow each one of us to live our lives as we are, rather than insisting that we all conform to some clinical ideal. This is important because it is this very diversity that provides unique solutions, innovations and insights by viewing the world in a different way. Part of our fascination with David Bowie was that we were watching his unique creativity grow, develop and change in real-time over his life time.

Keep learning and don’t conform

David led a rich and varied life which epitomised the principle; keep learning and don’t conform. In this regard, he was interested in the unusual and unexplored and his music brought an enlightened understanding to many. His musical legacy including twenty six albums provides some consolation following his death and it will be cherished for many years to come.

Dare greatly. There is no other option

The evolution of the human race is not going to proceed by trying to transcend it, rather we will move forward as a race by making room for each and every individual to express their personalities to the full. In this way the evolution of the human race has everything to do with our own personal development.

In short, personality equals evolution

I look forward to developing this theme in greater detail in future posts. In the meantime, my deepest sympathy goes to the David’s loved ones at this difficult time.

Brain Networking Among Musicians

January 13, 2016Leave a comment

When musicians play, what is happening inside their brains? Scientists at Berlin’s Max Planck Institute for Human Development have discovered that while performing together, their neurological activity goes into a kind of synchronization mode – almost as though they were connected by a wireless network.

The Nature of Depression

January 7, 20161 Comment

This short video examines the symptoms and treatments of depression, and gives some tips for how you might help a friend who is suffering.

Your Brain At A Glance

January 6, 2016Leave a comment

Source: www.factslides.com/s-Your-Body

Weekly Neuroscience Update

January 3, 2016Leave a comment

Missing out on a night’s sleep causes “robust alterations” in the functional connectivity of the brain, according to a new paper in Neuroimage.

Two genetic variants previously linked to Alzheimer’s disease have been more specifically tied to brain atrophy that is characteristic of the disease.

Researchers have identified the specific brain circuit that wakes us from sleep, and it could have great implications for the future of sleep disorder therapies.

Researchers have measured intriguing differences in the brain connectivity of individuals with internet gaming disorder.

New findings show that the brain devotes more processing resources to social situations that signal threat than those that are benign.

Researchers have discovered how to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with more than 82 per cent accuracy by evaluating the interplay between four linguistic factors; and developing automated technology to detect these impairments.

Cumulative exposure to stress hormones affects the regulation of genes associated with aging and age-related diseases.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

December 26, 2015Leave a comment

The researchers conducted an experiment using a brain-machine interface, a device that allows the brain to control a computer cursor using thought alone. By studying the brain’s activity, the researchers could see how the brain thinks an action should be performed. Image is adapted from the Carnegie Mellon University press release.

A study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University investigated the brain’s neural activity during learned behavior and found that the brain makes mistakes because it applies incorrect inner beliefs, or internal models, about how the world works.

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to have an imbalance between two of the brain’s signaling systems, a new study suggests.

A study, by researchers from the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, has found that our inability to hold onto new memories is essential to the brain’s learning process.

Researchers have identified a Christmas spirit network in the brain – an area that they believe may play a role in the feelings of joy and nostalgia many of us feel during the holiday season.

Scientists have identified a key mechanism in the brain which might be associated with the onset and development of psychosis.

The decision to be generous or not arises from a specific process in the amygdala, a tiny structure deep in the brain long associated with emotions such as fear, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Yale and Duke universities.

Scientists have shed new light on the molecular basis of memory. Their study confirms that the formation of memories is accompanied by an altered activity of specific genes.

Finally this week, a pioneering study has found that the human brain has a dedicated set of nerve cells that respond only to the sound of music, which contradicts the widely accepted view that musical appreciation is merely “piggybacking” on the ability to hear other everyday sounds such as speech.

Scientist Scans His Brain Twice A Week For 18 Months And This Is What He Found

December 20, 2015Leave a comment

For 18 months, Stanford psychologist Russell Poldrack scanned his brain activity twice a week to understand how functional areas of his brain communicate.

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, for 18 months, Poldrack scanned his brain, and monitored how his neurological activity changed over time using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a device that can track the flow of blood in the body. The main aim of this study was to determine how different parts of the brain speak to each other and modify themselves, from the visual centres to those that control movement. It’s well known that the brain possesses the remarkable ability to reorganize itself. This trait, known as “plasticity,” means that if one section of the brain is damaged or altered in some way, it can call on other sections of the brain to pick up the slack.

These various brain sections “correspond” with each other using a network called the connectome. Researchers have previously mapped this network using MRI scanners, essentially making them neural cartographers. An engineer might refer to this map as the brain’s “wiring diagram.”

The MRI in this case looked at the connectome of Poldrack’s brain. The data set is so huge that there is an ongoing effort to establish what exactly happened during the experiment, but the initial results have been released. Although his overall connectivity did not change much over the 18 months, changes in his behavior caused rapid changes in his neurological activity.

In the most notable example, he fasted and cut out his regular morning coffee before his Tuesday scan. The scans showed that the connections between the systems in the brain responsible for vision and those associated with the sense of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement, and vibration – the somatosensory system – became far tighter when he reduced his caffeine and food intake.

“We don’t really know if [this is] better or worse, but it’s interesting that these are relatively low-level areas,” Poldrack said in a statement. “It may well be that I’m more fatigued on those days, and that drives the brain into this state that’s focused on integrating those basic processes more.”

Of course, there is still much more to look at in this enormous data set. “The one big thing we are looking at now is now connectivity changes in the very short term, over the course of seconds,” Poldrack told IFLScience. “Our previous analyses all assumed that connectivity was constant across each 10 minute scan, but we know that’s not the case, so now we are trying to unpack more precisely the way that it varies over time.”

It is worth noting that although this is an unprecedentedly detailed study, it was only conducted on one subject. Regardless, by analyzing his own brain for this length of time, Poldrack has one of the most studied brains in the world.

Source IFL Science.com

Mind Your Head: Concussion Is Dangerous

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015Leave a comment

Concussion from the Latin concutere, which means “to shake violently, is a temporary unconsciousness or confusion and other symptoms caused by a blow to the head. It is the most common type of traumatic brain injury but it can be tricky to diagnose. Though you may have a visible cut or bruise on your head, you can’t actually see a concussion. It is believed to result from internal shearing leading to the tearing of axon tracts (nerve pathways) within the brain.

Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia (loss of memory) and loss of balance.

In the event of a suspected concussion a doctor may test coordination and reflexes to check the functions of the central nervous system and may order a brain to rule out bleeding or swelling within the brain. If a concussion is sustained during athletic activity the match referee/ sports coach may ask you simple questions to check memory and concentration skills such as “Where do you live?,” or “What is your name?” and insist that you stop play and sit it out. This is because the brain needs time to properly heal, so rest is key. Recovery is good for patients with less than 24hrs post-traumatic amnesia.

Even a minor concussion is dangerous because repeat concussions have cumulative effects on the brain, resulting in brain swelling, permanent brain injury, long-term disability, personality change, epilepsy or even death.

By its very nature a concussion is unexpected, so it is difficult to prevent. Here are three common-sense precautions you can take to lessen the possibility of traumatic brain injury.

Wear protective head gear.Participation in high-contact, high-risk sports such as all types of football, hurling, hockey and boxing can increase the likelihood of a concussion. Skateboarding, snowboarding, horseback riding, cycling and roller blading are also a threat to your brain’s health. Wearing headgear, padding, and mouth and eye guards can help safeguard against traumatic head injuries. Wearing a bike helmet can lower the risk of traumatic head injury by 85%. Ensure that the equipment is properly fitted, well maintained, and worn consistently.
Drive smart. Always wear a seat belt (even as a passenger in a back seat), obey posted speed limits, and don’t use drugs or alcohol when driving, because they can impair reaction time.
Don’t fight. Concussions are often sustained during a punch-up, and more males than females report traumatic head injuries.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

December 12, 2015Leave a comment

The research revealed that sounds that came from the left were processed in the right inferior colliculus and thalamus and vice versa. Image is for illustrative purposes only. Credit: AxelBoldt.

Some parts of our brain that process sound have a subsequent spot for each pitch, just like the keyboard on a piano. One part – the auditory part of the thalamus – even processes each sound on two ‘keyboards’ next to each other. That is one of the discoveries brain researcher Michelle Moerel of Maastricht University made while carrying out measurements into human sound processing at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) in Minneapolis (USA) with Rubicon funding from NWO Social Sciences.

A new scientific model that incorporates the myriad drivers of depression could lead to more precise treatment for an illness that affects 350 million worldwide.

Targeted magnetic pulses to the brain were shown to reduce craving and substance use in cocaine-addicted patients, report scientists. The results of this pilot study suggest that this may become an effective medical treatment for patients with cocaine addiction, although a larger trial is needed to confirm the initial findings.

A gene which slows the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by 17 years has been discovered by scientists leading to hopes that its effects could be mimicked with drugs to delay the devastating condition.

A new study finds that a component of aspirin binds to an enzyme called GAPDH, which is believed to play a major role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Learning, memory, and brain repair depend on the ability of our neurons to change with experience. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 7 have evidence from a small study in people that exercise may enhance this essential plasticity of the adult brain.

Concentrating attention on a visual task can render you momentarily ‘deaf’ to sounds at normal levels, reports a new UCL study funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Finally, this week young people with behavioural problems, such as antisocial and aggressive behaviour, show reduced grey matter volume in a number of areas of the brain, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.