Articles tagged with Memory Processes
Researchers have been awarded $4 million to develop software for multithreaded supercomputers, enabling faster analysis of complex problems like power grid stability and biological networks. The new machines can handle large, random datasets more efficiently than traditional systems.
University of Missouri researchers discovered that the human brain has a fixed capacity for holding information in working memory, with an average capacity of 3-4 items. This finding has significant implications for understanding attention-deficit disorders and improving learning outcomes.
Michael Davis has made significant advances in understanding the neural basis of fear and its applications to psychiatric research, including a proposal for using NMDA receptor signaling to enhance fear extinction. His work has shown promise in treating disorders such as PTSD, OCD, and social phobia.
The Gerontological Society of America has awarded USC's Mara Mather the 2007 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award for her groundbreaking research on memory in older adults. Her work challenges traditional notions of memory as an exact photograph, highlighting the role of cognitive control in emotional memory.
Researchers at UCI discovered how to reverse learning and memory problems in fragile X syndrome by adding brain-derived neurotrophic factor proteins. This discovery provides scientific foundation for possible therapies that allow increased learning and memory in individuals with the condition.
Researchers found that exposing Fragile X knockout mice to an enriched environment restored normal neuronal plasticity and increased synaptic strength in the prefrontal cortex. This suggests that stimulating environments can facilitate the development of synaptic plasticity in cortical areas involved in higher cognitive function.
Brandeis University researchers have identified CaMKII as a key molecule in memory storage, allowing them to induce and biochemically erase memory in rat hippocampus slices. This discovery holds promise for treating Alzheimer's and epilepsy by weakening overly strengthened synapses.
Researchers found that taking breaks from studies, including getting a good night's sleep, enhances relational memory and 'big picture' inferences. This 'off-line' processing period allows the brain to unconsciously mull over information, leading to improved performance on complex tasks.
Researchers recorded activity in two brain regions during deep sleep, finding a complex 'dialogue' between the hippocampus and neocortex. The findings suggest that the neocortex drives communication during sleep, contradicting previous theories of hippocampal control.
A series of articles provides tried-and-true advice on maintaining and manipulating flies, inducing mutations, harvesting and analyzing embryos, and characterizing proteins. These protocols are designed to be easy to use at the bench, with reagents, equipment, and recipe lists.
Researchers found a toxic link between beta-amyloid and tau that causes nerve cell death in Alzheimer's disease. The connection occurs before the formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and affects cells containing tau, which account for just 10% of brain cells.
A study by Kansas State University professor Richard Harris found that men and women have similar preferences when it comes to romantic films. Men rated romantic movies a 4.8 on a 7-point scale, while women gave them a 6. The study suggests that movie studios should market romantic movies to both male and female audiences.
Researchers found a decrease in blood circulation in some areas of the brain and verbal memory performance among low-dose ecstasy users compared to non-users. The study suggests that even small amounts of ecstasy may cause subtle changes in brain structure and function.
A Case Western Reserve University study found that children's range of emotions in play can indicate how emotionally charged their memories will be. The researchers used this link to develop a tool for gauging emotional openness in children, which can help them process traumatic experiences and express negative emotions.
A recent study by University of Alberta psychologist Dr. Norman Brown found that momentous events like 9/11 do not drastically change people's daily lives. Instead, their memories are influenced more by historical events that have a significant impact on their daily routines.
Researchers at UC Irvine discovered that a class of drugs called ampakines can reverse age-related memory loss by increasing the production of a naturally occurring protein in the brain. The study showed that even after the drug left the body, its effects on memory formation persisted.
Researchers have discovered that C-myc, known as an oncogene, acts downstream of IL-15 signaling to regulate T memory cell homeostasis. This finding has implications for future therapies and highlights the importance of preserving a gene's role in normal processes.
In cluttered conditions, observers make more high-confidence errors due to increased background noise and reduced accuracy. The study's findings suggest far-reaching implications for complex cognitive tasks, including problem-solving and memory.
Researchers at Duke University explore the neural mechanisms of interval timing, a fundamental process involved in tasks like walking, speech recognition, and learning. They propose a new model involving the 'coincidence detection' of oscillatory patterns, which integrates information from various brain structures.
Sandstrom aims to understand the relationship between estradiol's neuroprotective effects and its ability to preserve learning and memory abilities. His team will examine biological mechanisms and hormone interactions to uncover new insights into estrogen's role in brain function.
Researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute have identified a key protein involved in regulating emotions and memories. Blocking this protein enhanced connections between cells in the amygdala, potentially leading to novel treatment strategies for anxiety disorders and other mental health conditions.
Researchers at University of Minnesota have made a groundbreaking discovery on how estrogen affects the brain, revealing distinct differences between females and males. The study suggests that estrogen activation of glutamate receptors could explain various non-reproductive behaviors, such as female motor control and pain sensation.
Researchers have demonstrated that NMDA receptors are actively needed for both associative learning and long-term memory. Disrupting the receptor resulted in difficulties with learning to associate an odor with a footshock, but not with initial learning through training.
Researchers developed a mathematical model that explains how the brain carries out working memory tasks, including loading, holding, and comparing information. The model makes predictions about the neurological basis of working memory.
A new PIM chip called Godiva, designed and prototyped at USC, has successfully integrated into a server and delivered comparable performance to the original-equipment Itanium chip. The Godiva chip uses DDR-DRAM interface and reduces electrical power consumption by one hundredth.
Researchers at USC and NASA Ames have developed a novel transistor architecture using molecular-scale nanowire memory cells that can hold three bits of data each. The device achieves a density of 40 Gigabits per square centimeter, surpassing silicon-based memories.
Researchers have demonstrated that molecular memories are both durable and practical, with test results showing they can survive high temperatures and up to 1 trillion operational cycles. This finding could spur development of molecule-based memory devices, promising smaller, faster, and more powerful computers.
A study found that people with Alzheimer's disease show increased activation in the default network, a set of interconnected brain areas responsible for passive mental processes. This could be an attempt to compensate for memory problems caused by normal aging or Alzheimer's.
Computer scientists Pedro Diniz and Joonseok Park are developing programming tools to automatically synthesize near-optimal chip architectures for flexible chips. Their techniques enable FPGAs to utilize available transistors more effectively for irregular applications, outperforming current processor architectures in some cases.
A study by Karel Svoboda's team found that new connections form and dissolve in the adult brain as mice take in sensory information. The total number of synapses stayed relatively constant, but individual connections often changed, with some sticking around for only a few days.
Pre-terms exhibit significantly slower processing speed at recognizing new faces, a skill linked to intelligence and academic achievement. The study suggests pre-terms' slower processing speed is rooted in infancy and may be related to medical risks such as respiratory distress syndrome.
Researchers at the University of Houston have developed a new resistive memory technology that can store information even when power is turned off, potentially replacing current RAM and hard drive technologies. This technology could enable faster processing and high-speed data transfer for multimedia and broadband applications.
Two new faculty members at UC Davis have been awarded Sloan Fellowships for their groundbreaking research. Marie Burns studies the G-protein cascade in light-sensitive cells, while Alexander Soshnikov explores the applications of random matrix theory in pure statistics and mathematical physics.
A brain imaging study has pinpointed cognitive mechanisms behind age-related memory difficulties and confirmed that certain factors can be reversed with the right guidance. Older adults have underutilized cognitive resources in the left frontal cortex that can be harnessed for more efficient memory processing.
Researchers found that severe head injury survivors can learn implicitly, despite impaired explicit learning and memory. This discovery holds promise for new approaches to remediation for CHI survivors, who often struggle with cognitive impairments.
Researchers believe that a single deficit in context processing, impaired by declining dopamine levels, may explain age-related cognitive declines. Studies showed older adults performed worse on tests requiring context processing, while younger adults did better.
The partnership aims to explore the impact of protein folding on diseases using IBM's Blue Gene research project and ORNL's supercomputing power. This effort will scale computer performance to petaflops, enabling breakthroughs in biology, climate science, and nanotechnology.
Studies reveal a connection between neuronal plasticity and chronic neuropathic pain. Gene therapy targeting protein kinase C shows promise in reducing sensitivity to pain. Such findings may lead to innovative treatments for persistent and debilitating pain conditions.
A study by The Wistar Institute suggests that infections can trigger autoimmunity through a normal but rare process involving memory B cells. A transgenic mouse with a self-similar influenza gene led to an autoimmune response, showing that the immune system may not eliminate all self-reactive cells.
Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science have shown that frequent observations do not freeze motion, but rather increase it. This contradicts Zeno's paradox, which suggested that repeated glimpses could stop an object in place.
Researchers have identified a new protein synthesis mechanism at synapses that regulates synaptic strength, leading to long-term memory storage. The study reveals that experience or activity in the mammalian brain can modify individual synapses on an individual basis.
Scientists have developed a method to convert bulk silicon into ultra-small, nano-sized particles with potential uses in low-power electronics, nonvolatile memories, and optical displays. These nanoparticles can also form the basis for novel semiconductor lasers and serve as fluorescent markers for biologically sensitive materials.
Research suggests that expert physicians use data-driven heuristics for routine problems, while hypothesis-driven strategies are employed for complex cases. These strategies are error-prone, with serious consequences for inadequate knowledge, and hinder efficient decision making.
Researchers at Princeton University have created ultrasmall plastic structures using a novel technique called LISA. The discovery has yielded insights into material behavior at nanoscales and has potential applications in computer memory chips, DNA sorting, and more. Refinements of the technique may lead to even smaller structures.
A Penn State neuropsychologist emphasizes the need for individualized assessment when determining an athlete's readiness to return to play after a concussion. Reliable Change scores can provide a general guideline, but their application is limited by factors such as practice effects and difficulty in determining significant differences.
A new study found that walking rapidly for 45 minutes, three days a week, can significantly improve mental-processing abilities in adults over 60. The exercise triggered faster reaction times and heightened the ability to ignore distractions on computer tasks.
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.
Two distinct brain regions are activated by faces, one specializing in rapid face recognition and the other responding to eye and mouth movements, which convey important social signals. This complex process involves multiple brain areas working together to extract essential information related to social communication.
The 'Mugspot' software module automatically analyzes video images to pick out passers-by, tracking their heads for identification. Developed at USC and Bochum University, it uses an unusual approach mimicking the brain's visual cortex to recognize faces in substandard lighting conditions.
A new study by Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that prolonged hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) can cause an overproduction of glutamate, leading to increased risk of brain damage. The study found significant increases in glutamate levels during the cooling process, recovery period, and up to eight hours post-recovery.
Researchers at the University of Delaware are developing a space-capsule computing concept that could help bridge the gap between processing speed and memory for a petaflops computer. The concept, introduced by Guang R. Gao, involves preparing