Articles tagged with Brain
Comprehensive exploration of living organisms, biological systems, and life processes across all scales from molecules to ecosystems. Encompasses cutting-edge research in biology, genetics, molecular biology, ecology, biochemistry, microbiology, botany, zoology, evolutionary biology, genomics, and biotechnology. Investigates cellular mechanisms, organism development, genetic inheritance, biodiversity conservation, metabolic processes, protein synthesis, DNA sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, stem cell research, and the fundamental principles governing all forms of life on Earth.
Comprehensive medical research, clinical studies, and healthcare sciences focused on disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Encompasses clinical medicine, public health, pharmacology, epidemiology, medical specialties, disease mechanisms, therapeutic interventions, healthcare innovation, precision medicine, telemedicine, medical devices, drug development, clinical trials, patient care, mental health, nutrition science, health policy, and the application of medical science to improve human health, wellbeing, and quality of life across diverse populations.
Comprehensive investigation of human society, behavior, relationships, and social structures through systematic research and analysis. Encompasses psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, linguistics, education, demography, communications, and social research methodologies. Examines human cognition, social interactions, cultural phenomena, economic systems, political institutions, language and communication, educational processes, population dynamics, and the complex social, cultural, economic, and political forces shaping human societies, communities, and civilizations throughout history and across the contemporary world.
Fundamental study of the non-living natural world, matter, energy, and physical phenomena governing the universe. Encompasses physics, chemistry, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, materials science, and the investigation of physical laws, chemical reactions, geological processes, climate systems, and planetary dynamics. Explores everything from subatomic particles and quantum mechanics to planetary systems and cosmic phenomena, including energy transformations, molecular interactions, elemental properties, weather patterns, tectonic activity, and the fundamental forces and principles underlying the physical nature of reality.
Practical application of scientific knowledge and engineering principles to solve real-world problems and develop innovative technologies. Encompasses all engineering disciplines, technology development, computer science, artificial intelligence, environmental sciences, agriculture, materials applications, energy systems, and industrial innovation. Bridges theoretical research with tangible solutions for infrastructure, manufacturing, computing, communications, transportation, construction, sustainable development, and emerging technologies that advance human capabilities, improve quality of life, and address societal challenges through scientific innovation and technological progress.
Study of the practice, culture, infrastructure, and social dimensions of science itself. Addresses how science is conducted, organized, communicated, and integrated into society. Encompasses research funding mechanisms, scientific publishing systems, peer review processes, academic ethics, science policy, research institutions, scientific collaboration networks, science education, career development, research programs, scientific methods, science communication, and the sociology of scientific discovery. Examines the human, institutional, and cultural aspects of scientific enterprise, knowledge production, and the translation of research into societal benefit.
Comprehensive study of the universe beyond Earth, encompassing celestial objects, cosmic phenomena, and space exploration. Includes astronomy, astrophysics, planetary science, cosmology, space physics, astrobiology, and space technology. Investigates stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, black holes, nebulae, exoplanets, dark matter, dark energy, cosmic microwave background, stellar evolution, planetary formation, space weather, solar system dynamics, the search for extraterrestrial life, and humanity's efforts to explore, understand, and unlock the mysteries of the cosmos through observation, theory, and space missions.
Comprehensive examination of tools, techniques, methodologies, and approaches used across scientific disciplines to conduct research, collect data, and analyze results. Encompasses experimental procedures, analytical methods, measurement techniques, instrumentation, imaging technologies, spectroscopic methods, laboratory protocols, observational studies, statistical analysis, computational methods, data visualization, quality control, and methodological innovations. Addresses the practical techniques and theoretical frameworks enabling scientists to investigate phenomena, test hypotheses, gather evidence, ensure reproducibility, and generate reliable knowledge through systematic, rigorous investigation across all areas of scientific inquiry.
Study of abstract structures, patterns, quantities, relationships, and logical reasoning through pure and applied mathematical disciplines. Encompasses algebra, calculus, geometry, topology, number theory, analysis, discrete mathematics, mathematical logic, set theory, probability, statistics, and computational mathematics. Investigates mathematical structures, theorems, proofs, algorithms, functions, equations, and the rigorous logical frameworks underlying quantitative reasoning. Provides the foundational language and tools for all scientific fields, enabling precise description of natural phenomena, modeling of complex systems, and the development of technologies across physics, engineering, computer science, economics, and all quantitative sciences.
Researchers found that people over 80 years old take over 10 hours to clear amyloid beta 42 from the brain, leading to rising levels and increased Alzheimer's disease risk. The study suggests age-related changes in brain clearance may drive the disease.
A new study suggests that dietary carbohydrate, particularly in the form of starch, was critical for the accelerated expansion of the human brain over the last million years. The research, led by Dr. Karen Hardy, highlights the importance of cooked starchy foods and higher salivary amylase genes in fueling brain growth.
A new study published in Neurology suggests that people with low scores on a test of executive function may be at higher risk for heart attacks or strokes. The research found that those with lower scores were 85% more likely to experience a heart attack, and had a 51% higher risk of stroke.
Researchers at Rockefeller University have identified a similar process in flies that ignores visual input caused by their own flight turns. This finding can help understand how ongoing behavior influences visual perception and may provide insights into sensory processing disorders such as schizophrenia.
Researchers at the University of Montreal found that how fast and how often drugs are taken contribute to addiction risk. Injection and smoking increase brain levels rapidly, leading to high cravings and compulsive behavior.
Researchers find daily changes in specific brain neurons help regulate biological clocks and aid transitions to different seasons. The study identifies a protein driving these rhythms, Rho1, and highlights its connection to spinocerebellar ataxia.
Researchers developed a non-invasive strategy to deliver electrical stimulation to the spinal cord, enabling paralyzed individuals to move their legs voluntarily. The study shows significant progress towards developing a therapy for wide range of individuals with spinal cord injury.
Scientists discovered that the brain chemical GABA acts as a 'brake' to regulate wakefulness and sleep, leading to hyperactivity in mice without GABA. The study has implications for developing new drugs to promote better sleep and treat conditions like mania and bipolar disorder.
Researchers found that gaze shifting in 10-month-old babies is linked to improved brain responses to new language sounds. The study suggests that social engagement plays a crucial role in early language learning.
Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy, a Northwestern University scientist, has been named a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar to research how fast-acting antidepressants impact the brain's neural circuitry. Her goal is to improve treatment effectiveness for major depressive disorders.
Researchers found that during high suspense moments, the brain narrows visual attention to focus on the story, while less suspenseful moments broaden attention to surroundings. The study discovered an ebb and flow of brain activity in the calcarine sulcus, increasing processing of critical information.
A new Rutgers University study found that a hormone deficiency in the brain can lead to overeating and a preference for high-fat food. Researchers discovered that reducing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the central nervous system caused mice to consume more calories and show an increased preference for high-fat foods.
A recent study published in The Journal of Experimental Biology found that boa constrictors rapidly shut down the circulation of their victims. The snakes cut off the blood supply to vital organs, causing cardiac arrest and death within seconds. This discovery sheds new light on the mechanisms of snake constriction.
Researchers at the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) found that newborn brains process language using cognitive mechanisms similar to those of adults. They demonstrated that babies are sensitive to the edges of words and can differentiate between sequences with or without edge changes.
A new Dartmouth study reveals that the brain encodes conceptual information in a way that combines object category-specific information with non-specific visual features. The research provides valuable insights into the mind-brain relationship, offering a deeper understanding of how we perceive and organize visual stimuli.
A Northwestern University study found that music training during high school can enhance the teenage brain's responses to sound and sharpen hearing and language skills. The research suggests that music instruction helps improve critical skills for academic success, potentially offsetting negative influences of poverty on sound processing.
Researchers at Duke University discovered that tapeworms in babies' guts can shield their brains from long-term learning and memory problems caused by newborn infections. Expectant mothers who had tapeworms passed on protection to their worm-free offspring, suggesting the benefits began early in life.
Researchers at Duke University found that attention problems are a key factor in civilian shooting casualties. Training in response inhibition can improve shooting abilities and reduce errors.
Researchers found that subtle visual distractions caused significant deviations from the intended path, contrary to intuition. The study's findings suggest a new phenomenon where the brain employs a suppression mechanism to tune out bigger distractions, but struggles with less apparent ones.
Researchers identify a specific variation in brain waves of individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), which may indicate an early dysfunction related to Alzheimer's disease. The test uses electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, offering a more affordable and non-invasive alternative to other methods.
A study published by the American Academy of Neurology found that Alzheimer's disease causes different changes in the brain, or pathologies, in African-Americans compared to white Americans of European descent. African-Americans were more likely to have mixed pathologies and blood vessel disease in their brains.
A recent study published in Nature Communications reveals that a specific brain mutation can impair a biochemical process in the brain, leading to impaired synaptic function and contributing to neurological diseases. The researchers found that a mutation called A548T in synapsin 1a reduces its ability to regulate chemical transmission.
Researchers have discovered a key mechanism behind brain growth abnormalities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, revealing how PTEN gene mutations alter the trajectory of early brain development. Excess glia cells and changes in β-Catenin signaling contribute to the observed brain overgrowth.
A six-month trial conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center found that older adults can improve their visual-spatial processing and attention levels by exercising for 75-225 minutes per week. The study's results suggest that intensity, rather than duration, is more important for benefits to brain function.
Researchers have developed a new non-invasive brain stimulation technique that increases brain excitability, potentially improving physical performance and treating neurological disorders. The technique, called transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS), produces larger changes in the brain than conventional methods.
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to award three grants totaling $500,000 to study the role of inflammation on characteristic plaques and tangles of devastating brain disease. Researchers aim to better understand the interactions between the immune system and Alzheimer's pathologies.
University of Adelaide researchers found a significant correlation between brain volume and blood flow rate in primates, indicating faster cognitive ability. The study suggests that brain metabolic rate increased with brain size, leading to higher intelligence.
Neurophysiologists David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel won the Golden Goose Award for their work on cat vision, leading to breakthroughs in brain research, childhood cataract treatment, and computer image processing. Their lab accident resulted in new discoveries about neuroplasticity and its impact on human health.
A UC Berkeley study found that mice who received cognitive training showed reduced preference for cocaine chambers, implying a protective effect on the brain's reward system. The results suggest that brief cognitive interventions may promote long-term resilience against drug-seeking behaviors.
Researchers discovered a biological test that can identify children with literacy challenges or learning disabilities long before they learn to read. The study found that pre-readers' brains inefficiently process speech against background noise, predicting future reading skills and language development.
A new study published in PLOS Biology has discovered a way to assess future literacy challenges in children. The research centers on the child's ability to decipher speech in a chaotic, noisy environment, and found that preliterate children with brain inefficiencies are more likely to struggle with reading and language development.
High-fat feeding, especially saturated fats, can cause impairments in critical motivation brain pathways, according to a new study published in Neuropsychopharmacology. The research found that rats fed with palm oil had blunted dopamine function, leading the brain to compensate by heightening reward-seeking behavior.
Researchers have discovered that two antioxidant supplements, N-acetylcysteine and glutathione, are effective in treating skin-picking disorder in mice. The study suggests that people with the condition may benefit from this therapy, which could potentially lead to fewer side effects compared to existing treatments.
The Group Health-University of Washington Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study has been awarded nearly $13 million to continue tracking the aging process, particularly in the brain. The study aims to identify risk factors for conditions like dementia and promote healthy aging through data-driven insights.
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation have developed Brain Polyphony, a device that produces sounds from brain signals, allowing people with cerebral palsy to communicate their emotions. The system uses real-time analysis of brain waves to translate into code words, providing an alternative communication method.
A crowdsourcing experiment with over 500 adults yielded new evidence that neurofeedback learning can affect the brain almost immediately. The study demonstrated the scientific viability of collective neurofeedback as a potential new avenue in neuroscience research.
A 15-million-year-old Old World monkey's tiny but complex brain supports the idea that brain complexity can evolve before brain size. The olfactory bulb was three times larger in Victoriapithecus than in present-day monkeys, suggesting a better sense of smell.
A new study found that people with type 2 diabetes experienced negative changes in brain blood flow regulation after just two years, leading to lower scores on tests of memory and thinking skills. Higher levels of inflammation were associated with greater declines in cognitive skills.
Researchers discovered that chameleons' eyes do not move completely independently, but instead have cross-talk between the eyes, similar to binocular vision. The study showed that chameleons can track objects moving in opposite directions before deciding which object to target.
A new study shows that stroke survivors experience accelerated and persistent declines in thinking ability over the years after their stroke, even after accounting for normal brain aging. The study suggests a need for better long-term follow-up care for stroke survivors to manage their cognitive problems.
Researchers have visualized the oldest known Old World monkey skull, revealing a tiny but remarkably wrinkled brain. The ancient creature's brain supports the idea that brain complexity can evolve before brain size in primates, contradicting conventional wisdom.
A new study from Washington State University suggests that REM sleep plays a crucial role in converting waking experiences into lasting memories and abilities in young brains. The study found that brain circuits change in the visual cortex during exploration, but REM sleep is required to make those changes "stick".
Research by Eric Kandel's lab shows prion-like proteins, like those causing mad cow disease, are critical for maintaining long-term memories in mice. These proteins work by creating aggregated structures that turn on protein synthesis necessary to maintain the memory.
Researchers from Université de Genève found that activated neurons swell due to massive entry of water, providing a new insight into brain functioning. This discovery enables the detection of cellular mechanisms behind brain activity, allowing for more accurate localization and pathologies diagnosis.
Researchers discovered a new epigenetic mechanism in brain cells that enables genetic adaptation to the environment through histone turnover. Histone replacement, or turnover, allows genes to be switched on and off in response to external stimuli.
Researcher Richard Born's team at Harvard Medical School has discovered key principles about how the brain makes sense of visual information. They found that individual neurons are tuned to detect specific motions and relative depth, with a direct bottom-up contribution to these signals.
Researchers developed a computer model to simulate the biological processes of neural network development in the visual cortex. The results show that newborns possess specialized nerve cells but lack systematic connections, which are refined through experience, leading to improved perception.
Researchers at Kessler Foundation received grants to investigate treatments for emotional processing deficits, balance dysfunction, and memory impairments in TBI patients. These studies aim to improve quality of life, independence, and community involvement for individuals affected by brain injury.
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute create a complex mathematical formula to determine individual olfactory fingerprints, which are unique patterns based on personal scent preferences. This breakthrough could lead to early disease detection, non-invasive organ matching, and personalized medical treatments.
A new study from Indiana University found that female mice exposed to male pheromones gave birth to infants with greater mental ability. The research suggests that male pheromones may influence the nutritional environment following birth, resulting in changes to the brain that could extend to future generations.
A new study published in the Journal of Family Psychology found that children from high conflict homes have altered brain activity when processing emotional stimuli, indicating a heightened state of vigilance. This trait may lead to challenges in social relationships later in life.
A special protein called FoxF2 found in brain's tiny blood vessels affects the development of the blood-brain barrier, a vital protective function that controls substances reaching the brain's nerve cells. Variations in the FoxF2 gene have been linked to an increased risk of stroke in humans.
Researchers have discovered a crucial role for Cav3.1 calcium channels in healthy sleep patterns, which helps regulate slow-wave sleep and overall brain activity. The absence of this channel leads to abnormal brain function, including difficulties with falling asleep and staying asleep.
Researchers question the brain's sparse coding mechanism, instead finding a large network of connections activated when we process impressions.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that the primary visual cortex controls fast responses to animal images, contradicting previous theories. The brain categorizes scenes based on small areas of shape and texture before using complex processing to identify objects.
A new study suggests that virtual reality therapy may help people with alcohol dependence reduce their craving for alcohol. The therapy involves exposing patients to situations that trigger fear and anxiety, then teaching them to manage those situations in real life.
Research at the University of Rochester shows that our brains apply an algorithm to track objects, including baseballs, even when they move outside our visual field. This understanding can help hitters better anticipate a curveball's trajectory.
A study by University of Pennsylvania researchers found that maternal stress during pregnancy can 'reprogram' the developing brains of her children through changes in the vaginal microbiome. This initial exposure affects gut microbiota, metabolism, and brain development.
Corina Logan's research using CT scans to measure endocranial volume found that external skull measurements are not accurate for predicting brain size in the great-tailed grackle. The study highlights the importance of validating and quantifying predictive accuracy of brain size proxies for each species and sex.
A new article highlights key action areas for healthcare professionals to improve the quality of life of older adults by maintaining brain health. Action areas include formal cognitive assessments, screening for risk factors, and promoting physical exercise and social engagement.