Articles tagged with Cerebral Cortex
A new study from Northwestern Medicine found that the brain uses predictive coding to generate templates of specific smells, setting up a mental expectation before sensing them. This ability provides humans with a behavioral advantage in reacting quickly and accurately to stimuli in their environment.
Researchers identified a brain-circuit defect that triggers absence seizures, the most common form of childhood epilepsy. The study showed defective signaling between the cerebral cortex and thalamus can produce absence seizures in experimental mice.
Research shows people with PTSD struggle to identify specific emotions, such as fear and sadness, from facial cues. The study found that war veterans with PTSD were less able to recognize these emotions compared to healthy subjects.
A case study published in Cortex reveals that severe damage to the hippocampus resulting from lack of oxygen in infancy can hinder episodic memory recall. In contrast, semantic memory remains intact, supporting the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for distinct types of memory.
Researchers found that age-related changes in attention and Gestalt perception hinder older adults' ability to focus on global patterns. The study provides evidence of correlations between healthy aging and declines in visual perception, offering insights into cognitive domains interacting during aging.
A study published in Cortex demonstrates that the unconscious brain continues to process information even when the conscious brain is incapacitated. The researchers found that a patient with prosopagnosia, or face blindness, showed brain activity responding to familiar faces despite not being able to recognize them.
Researchers examined the brain of a person with object agnosia, revealing that damage to a specific area can affect distant cortical regions. The study suggests that neural plasticity is possible even when the brain is damaged in adulthood.
Researchers discovered that damage to a small area of the right hemisphere can lead to widespread impact on remote parts of the cortex, challenging traditional assumptions about visual neuroscience. The study found that multiple areas of the brain underlie object recognition, and neural plasticity is possible even in adulthood.
A new study has linked out-of-body experiences to neural instabilities in the brain's temporal lobes and errors in the body's sense of itself. Healthy individuals who experience OBEs showed signs of neuroelectrical anomalies and biases in body representation.
Researchers found that the medial orbito-frontal cortex is activated when people experience beauty, supporting the idea that beauty lies in the beholder. The study also found that this region was active for both visual and auditory beauty, suggesting an abstract concept of beauty within the brain.
Research shows that men excel in both visuo-spatial and auditory-spatial tasks, such as detecting a single sound source in a noisy environment. Women struggled with the same task, indicating a 'high attentional mechanism' in the brain involved in extracting spatial information.
Researchers found that children with dyslexia struggle to perceive metrical structure in music, which is critical for phonology in language. Early musical games may provide benefits for learning to read and improve reading skills.
A new study reveals a link between physiological responses to anger and emotional empathy deficits after traumatic brain injury. Researchers found that individuals with severe TBI were less responsive to angry faces and had lower emotional empathy abilities, which was associated with reduced physiological responses.
Researchers have developed a minimally invasive brain implant that wirelessly transmits brain signals to control computers and reactivate paralyzed limbs. The BioBolt implant uses the skin as a conductor to reduce power consumption and enable potential applications in controlling epilepsy and diagnosing diseases like Parkinson's.
A USC study has identified the brain region responsible for rapid scene comprehension, which enables humans to quickly grasp unfamiliar scenes. The lateral occipital cortex is found to play a key role in this process, with no significant contribution from the intraparietal sulcus.
Researchers at Yale University discovered a link between a genetic variation and the formation of brain convolutions, a hallmark of human intelligence. The study found that a deletion of two genetic letters in the LAMC3 gene was responsible for abnormal brain development in Turkish patients.
Biologists at UC San Diego discovered that electrical oscillations are critical for the brain to store spatial memories. Grid cells in the entorhinal cortex require precise timing of electrical oscillations to function properly, suggesting a key component in memory processing.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics reveals that mutations in a single gene, centrosomal NDE1, may have played a key role in shaping the human cerebral cortex. The research found that these genetic variations were responsible for microcephaly, a condition characterized by abnormally small brains.
Adolescent binge drinking may lead to subtle yet persistent alterations in the frontal cortex, impacting decision-making and related behaviors. Reduces neurotransmitter activity and forebrain volume, increasing risk of impulsive actions and poor adaptation to life situations as adults.
Scientists have discovered that smells are processed by the olfactory bulb and cortex through a dialogue of rapidly firing nerve cells. This new understanding expands our knowledge of the complex process of smell detection and how it filters and categorizes odors.
A recent brain imaging study has identified the neural patterns that enable some individuals to perceive two colors at once while reading. The research, published in Cortex, suggests that the same areas of the brain responsible for processing color also support synesthetic experiences.
A multidisciplinary team found that patients with tumors in the right parietal cortex struggled to process categorical spatial information, leading to errors in mental rotation tasks. The left prefrontal cortex was also affected, causing difficulties in setting up specific programs within the brain for task organization.
A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School has developed a technique to unravel the complex neural circuits in the brain. By crawling through individual connections, they created a partial wiring diagram that revealed interesting insights into how the brain functions.
A new study has revealed the brain networks involved in person recognition using both face and voice information. The research found that specific regions of the left angular gyrus and right hippocampus are activated when recognizing people from combined visual and auditory cues.
A new study suggests that grey matter volume in the cerebellum predicts cognitive ability, particularly in older adults. The study found a stronger relationship between brain volume in the cerebellum and general intelligence in men compared to women.
Gyorgy Buzsaki and two Hungarian scientists receive the Brain Prize for their work on neuronal circuits in the cerebral cortex. Their research has contributed to a better understanding of clinical conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, and dementia.
A study led by Academy Research Fellow Eleanor Coffey identifies new players that put the brakes on neuron migration. The results show that JNK1 and SCG10 cooperate to slow down neurons' movement, which is crucial for brain development.
A new study published in Cortex found that the orbitofrontal cortex plays a central role in an event monitoring system, which allows us to adapt to unexpected events. The brain's response to anticipated and unexpected outcomes is influenced by the potential harm of the outcome.
Researchers from Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization found that the brain's activity patterns are highly chaotic, with information lost at a rate of one bit per active neuron per second. This high deletion rate indicates that the cerebral cortex is tailored to process brief snapshots of sensory input.
A York University study has pinpointed the part of the brain that suppresses automatic behavior, such as looking away from a facial expression. The research found an increase in signal from the left inferior frontal cortex when participants were confronted with conflicting stimuli.
Researchers used near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate 7-8 month old infants' brain activity while perceiving their mother's face and female strangers. The study found increased hemodynamic responses in the bilateral temporal cortex for mothers, but only in the left temporaI cortex for maternal recognition.
A study published in Neuron found that the perirhinal cortex plays a crucial role in forming unconscious conceptual memories. Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to map brain activity while participants performed memory tests, revealing that damage to this area impairs memory formation.
Two new studies reveal distinct types of reading and writing disorders, including attentional dyslexia, which causes letter migrations between words. Italian dyslexic children's spelling impairments suggest knowledge of vocabulary is crucial in spelling, contradicting previous assumptions.
Researchers have discovered that neurons in the sensory information pathway change their firing levels to enhance discrimination between different sensations. This modification allows brains to switch from detecting an object to identifying it more accurately.
A new imaging method has been developed at Stanford to quickly and accurately locate and count the myriad connections between nerve cells in unprecedented detail. The method, array tomography, combines high-resolution photography with specialized fluorescent molecules to capture information and converts it into imagery.
A new study published in Cortex reports that over half of patients recovering from stroke experience phantom limb sensations. Researchers found 27 patients with daily phantom limb experiences, some even able to control their phantom limb. The phenomenon may be underreported due to fear of being labeled 'crazy'.
Researchers found that experienced gamers showed increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, a region involved in complex tasks. The study suggests that video games can reorganize brain networks, offering hope for future research into Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders.
Researchers investigated familial prosopagnosia, a condition where individuals have trouble recognizing faces. The study found that changes in lighting conditions and viewing angles affected their ability to recognize faces, suggesting an inability to form robust mental representations of faces.
EMBL scientists uncover counterpart of cerebral cortex in marine worm Platynereis dumerilii, a relative of the earthworm. The finding suggests that the pallium is much older than previously thought and likely evolved as an adaptation to early marine life.
Scientists have found 'grid cells' for the first time outside of the entorhinal cortex in the rat brain, expanding our knowledge of how the brain generates internal maps. These grid cells work together with other neural cells to create a series of maps that help with navigation and recognition of specific landmarks.
Researchers identify parietal cortex as key brain region combining touch and limb position to create 'body map' of space. The discovery has implications for understanding developmental coordination disorders and improving motor skills.
Researchers at UH are studying 'wireless connections' in the brain to prevent diseases like epilepsy and schizophrenia. They found that liver X receptor β and thyroid hormone receptor α play key roles in brain development and regulation.
Researchers at the University of Granada found that patients with right prefrontal cortex damage exhibit deficient temporal preparation and anticipation functions. However, they retain unintentional anticipation and other unaffected functions, which could be harnessed to develop new therapies.
Children with dyslexia exhibit structural differences in white matter fibers that affect the left-hemisphere language network. This disruption impairs reading, articulation, and speech, as the front and back parts of the brain fail to communicate effectively.
Researchers found that patients with semantic dementia have difficulty identifying individual flavours and assessing the appropriateness of particular flavour combinations. This suggests a 'pan-modal' deficiency of knowledge in semantic dementia, affecting not just words but also common experiences like flavours.
Researchers have developed a simple lottery game to assess spatial neglect in stroke patients, which can aid rehabilitation. The test evaluates physical and mental choices, indicating the extent of brain damage and providing insights for tailored treatment.
Researchers found that the brain's frontal cortex plays a key role in processing abstract knowledge, enabling individuals to adapt behaviors based on past learning. The study used fMRI to investigate how the brain achieves flexibility in solving unfamiliar problems.
A new study suggests that an underlying cause of psychopathic behavior may be frontal lobe dysfunction, with participants showing striking similarities to those with brain damage. The research examined the emotional and cognitive aspects of Theory of Mind abilities in criminal offenders and patients with frontal lobe damage.
Researchers developed a realistic computer model of spiny stellate cells, finding that only 30 synapses out of 6,000 firing simultaneously create reliable signaling. This contradicts the widely accepted view that neurons communicate through volleys of electrical spikes.
A new study shows that older adults' inability to ignore distracting information contributes to memory decline. Prior knowledge of an impending distraction does not improve working memory performance in this age group.
Older adults remember past experiences positively due to strong brain connections between emotion and memory regions. In contrast, young adults lack these connections, making it harder to recall positive events.
Research reveals that temporary hearing deprivation during childhood can cause persistent hearing deficits, similar to amblyopia. The auditory cortex's vulnerability to lack of stimulation during critical periods suggests a similar problem exists in the realm of hearing, leading to 'lazy ear.'
A new study from Northwestern University has found that people with fragile X syndrome experience delayed development of the sensory cortex, leading to problems with brain wiring and tactile defensiveness. This delay may trigger a domino effect, causing further symptoms such as social withdrawal, hyperarousal, and anxiety.
Acquired prosopagnosia sufferers process faces as a whole, rather than in parts, according to new study findings. This 'locally restricted, serial processing style' is inefficient for certain types of information, hindering real-life face recognition.
Researchers have extended the fear map to include the prelimbic cortex, revealing its importance in emotional regulation. The study found that mice lacking a critical growth factor in the prelimbic cortex struggle to remember to fear electric shocks, suggesting a potential link to anxiety disorders.
A recent study published in Nature Neuroscience found that rats use their taste system to smell with, and when the taste cortex is inactivated, their sense of smell alters. The researchers discovered state dependency in neural circuit function, where the sensory systems don't work in isolation from each other.
A study published in Cortex found that synaesthetes can exhibit automatic color experiences when presented with numbers or patterns, regardless of their conscious awareness. The research suggests that learning may contribute to the development of these associations.
A study published in Cortex identifies the left fusiform gyrus as necessary for normal understanding of written text and correct word spelling. The findings suggest that this brain area is specialized and required for orthographic processing.
A study found that choosing high-risk, high-gain options activates a key brain area associated with reward and pleasure. The researchers also discovered that the brain's response increases with the amount of money involved.
A Yale team found a crucial molecular mechanism for mixing neurons in columns of the cerebral cortex. This intermixing is essential for normal cognitive processing and disruption can lead to severe problems like autism and mental retardation.