Articles tagged with Prefrontal Cortex
A Pitt professor has been awarded a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship to study brain communication and its impact on mental disorders like schizophrenia. The two-year, $45,000 fellowship will fund his research into how brain areas interact during normal behaviors and how this interaction breaks down in schizophrenia.
A study found that increased activity in the prefrontal cortex predicts higher dopamine levels in the midbrain in individuals with the val COMT gene type, while decreased activity is seen in those with the met type. This suggests a 'tuning' model where dopamine regulates signal-to-noise ratios in brain cells.
Research suggests pathological gamblers exhibit altered decision-making functions and executive control, leading to long-term negative consequences. The study sheds light on the role of the prefrontal cortex in this neuropsychiatric disorder.
Research reveals that two brain systems, amygdala and right prefrontal cortex, play a crucial role in determining an individual's behavior and emotional expression when seeking help. The study found that animals with more secure relationships had increased activity in the right prefrontal cortex and decreased amygdala activity, while t...
A study by University of Colorado researchers found that rats with controlled stress exhibit reduced brainstem activation and behaviors similar to depression and anxiety. The prefrontal cortex sends inhibitory signals to the brainstem when stress is controllable, quelling alarm center activity.
Researchers found that brain activity in the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex predicts accurate or false memories. Weak prefrontal cortex activity during misinformation phase indicates poorly placed details, creating false memories.
A new study reveals that stress activates the mania-linked enzyme PKC, leading to impaired cognitive functions in the prefrontal cortex and reduced memory-related cell firing. Inhibiting PKC may offer a fast-acting treatment for mania, with potential benefits for patients seeking emergency room care.
PKC enzyme's excessive activity is associated with symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Increasing PKC activity in the prefrontal cortex impairs cognitive function, while inhibition may offer therapeutic benefits.
Researchers at NIMH identified a brain region in the frontal cortex as the site of perceptual decision-making, which weighs competing signals from specialized visual processing areas. The discovery could explain why harder-to-identify images evoke slower responses in this area.
A decade-long brain development study using MRI scans shows that higher-order brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, mature later in life. Gray matter wanes in a back-to-front wave as neural connections are pruned, with areas performing basic functions maturing earlier.
Researchers discovered that the medial prefrontal cortex is activated during hypoglycemia, indicating a link between cognitive processes and innate physiological responses. This finding provides new understanding of how the brain functions during basic responses like those seen in hypoglycemia.
Research on fear extinction suggests that cognitive enhancers like D-cycloserine can accelerate the learning process of fear extinction, leading to more rapid and lasting reductions in phobias. Virtual reality therapy combined with DCS resulted in significant improvements in patients' anxiety levels.
Researchers found that social exclusion activates the same part of the brain as physical pain, leading to elevated activity in the anterior cingulate cortex. The study's authors theorize that this automatic response evolved to protect human survival and well-being.
Researchers have identified neural pathways connecting the prefrontal cortex to the spinal cord and hypothalamus, influencing autonomic responses in complex emotional situations. These findings have implications for conditions such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
A study found that chronic alcoholism can cause damage to both the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, leading to deficits in executive functioning and balance. The research suggests that lesions in the frontocerebellar circuitry may compound their effects on these functions.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that individuals with greater activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex had a stronger immune response against disease. The researchers measured brain activity and immune function in 52 individuals between 57-60 years old, and found a positive corre...
Researchers used PET scans to explore brain activity while watching actors tell stories with sad and neutral tones. The study found that brain regions associated with emotional processing were activated when the story content and actor's expression matched, but suppressed when they didn't.
Studies reveal that the ventral frontal lobe and orbitofrontal cortex respond to somatosensory stimulation, while other areas show less consistent activation. The findings suggest a more modality-specific sensory process in humans compared to monkeys.
Researchers found that high-performing elderly adults showed significantly more bilateral activity in the prefrontal cortex compared to low-performing older adults and young adults. This suggests the possibility of using training or drugs to enhance cognitive function in the elderly by increasing brain recruitment.
Researchers found that stimulating the prefrontal cortex in rats reduces fear responses by mimicking the brain's safety signal. The study suggests a new approach to treating anxiety disorders by using transcranial magnetic stimulation to control fear.
A study using MRI found that procedural learning and declarative learning activate the same neural networks, despite requiring different levels of awareness. The brain's prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal cortex, and putamen were active in both cases, suggesting a shared underlying network.
Researchers found that at least a third of neurons in the prefrontal cortex vary their activity with the number of dots seen, indicating they tune to quantity. The study suggests that individual cells specialize as they adapt to experience and participate in multiple networks.
Duke University researchers used functional MRI to study the brains of neurologically healthy subjects while they tried to focus on a task. The results showed that emotional stimuli and attentional functions move in parallel streams through the brain before meeting up in the prefrontal cortex.
Researchers have linked two key brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, including reduced frontal lobe activation and abnormal dopamine release, suggesting a common pathophysiological mechanism. The study suggests that antipsychotic drugs may target the wrong area, leading to an excess of dopamine activity.
Researchers have identified a region in the right prefrontal cortex that can rapidly distinguish emotional information from visual stimuli. This finding suggests that neurons in this area can modulate visual information processing and may play a crucial role in responding to potentially threatening or dangerous stimuli.
Researchers found that men with Antisocial Personality Disorder have significant deficiencies in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region enabling moral sensibilities and self-restraint. The study bolsters the link between damage to this region and the acquisition of antisocial behavior.
Researchers found that subjects with intellectually skilled professions, such as engineering or teaching, had 17% more synapses than those with less education. This suggests that professional training may lead to the formation of new synaptic connections between neurons.
Researchers found that verbal storage tasks activate left-hemisphere speech areas, while spatial storage tasks activate specific areas of the right cortex. The study provides strong evidence for a more precise understanding of how various regions of the frontal cortex are involved in specific mental activities.
Research finds that people with inherited depression have fewer glia cells in the brain's subgenual prefrontal cortex, a region involved in stress responses. This difference is not seen in those without a family history of depression.
Research at USC highlights how neurodiverse brains interact with their families to develop coping strategies and resilience.
A Yale study reveals that information related to faces is processed in a specific region of the prefrontal cortex. The research found that neurons responding to faces were clustered in one area, called the inferior prefrontal cortex, and were able to maintain activity even after stimuli disappeared.
Researchers used non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging to test the theory that the prefrontal cortex stores information in working memory. The study found sustained activity in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting it plays a key role in maintaining information.