ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Facebook: Overseeing your online afterlife Posted: 15 Feb 2015 04:21 AM PST On Feb. 12, Facebook rolled out a new feature called Legacy Contact, which gives people a platform for remembering and celebrating the lives of loved ones when they die.

Cannabis: A new frontier in therapeutics Posted: 15 Feb 2015 04:02 AM PST While debate about recreational marijuana use continues, researchers are investigating the effectiveness of cannabis for treating pain, spasticity, and a host of other medical problems. Experts share their perspectives on the therapeutic potential of medical cannabis and explore the emerging science behind it.

Transgender: Evidence on the biological nature of gender identity Posted: 13 Feb 2015 08:23 AM PST Medical care of transgender patients, including surgical and hormonal treatment, has largely been met with resistance by physicians in favor of psychiatric treatment, owing to misconceptions that gender identity can be changed. There is increasing evidence of a biological basis for gender identity that may change physicians' perspective on transgender medicine and improve health care for these patients.

In silico method to predict effectiveness of cognitive enhancers Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:47 AM PST Scientists have published new research into personalizing nootropic drugs using in silico prediction methods.

How mindfulness training affects health Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:35 PM PST Over the past decade, there have been many encouraging findings suggesting that mindfulness training can improve a broad range of mental and physical health problems. Yet, exactly how mindfulness positively impacts health is not clear. Researchers have developed a model suggesting that mindfulness influences health via stress reduction pathways.

Spontaneous activity shapes neuron development Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:16 AM PST A process previously thought to be mere background noise in the brain has been found to shape the growth of neurons as the brain develops, according to research.

U. S. antionwide survey reveals widespread use of mind and body practices Posted: 12 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST A large nationally representative survey shows that the number of Americans using mind and body approaches to improve health and well-being remains high. Of note is a significant increase in the use of yoga since 2002. In addition, almost as many Americans practice meditation or receive chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

Possible mechanism underpinning Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases Posted: 12 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST Scientists have for the first time discovered a killing mechanism that could underpin a range of the most intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS. The new study revealed the mechanism of toxicity of a misfolded form of the protein that underlies prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy ('mad cow disease') and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Brain activity can predict increased fat intake following sleep deprivation Posted: 12 Feb 2015 08:42 AM PST Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain. A new study found that not only do we consume more food following a night of total sleep deprivation, but we also we consume more fat and less carbohydrates and a region of the brain known as the salience network is what may lead us to eat more fat.

Psychological factors play a part in acupuncture treatment of back pain Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:50 AM PST People with back pain who have low expectations of acupuncture before they start a course of treatment will gain less benefit than those people who believe it will work, according to new research. Conversely, those people who have a positive view of back pain and who feel in control of their condition experience less back-related disability over the course of acupuncture treatment.

Novel factor involved in autophagy discovered Posted: 11 Feb 2015 03:30 PM PST Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease are typically characterized by protein deposits in the brain. These are comprised of defective, insoluble proteins which no longer fulfill their function and which cells are unable to break down. Medical researchers have determined the RAB3GAP complex as a novel factor that influences the efficient degradation of proteins.

New therapy dramatically benefits stroke patients Posted: 11 Feb 2015 03:30 PM PST A clot retrieval procedure, known as endovascular treatment, can dramatically improve patient outcomes after an acute ischemic stroke. Overall, positive outcomes for patients increased from 30 per cent to 55 per cent. In many cases, instead of suffering major neurological disability, patients went home to resume their lives. The overall mortality rate was reduced from two in 10 patients for standard treatment of care to one in 10 patients -- a 50 per cent reduction with ET.

Optic nerve may help predict stroke patient death risk Posted: 11 Feb 2015 03:30 PM PST The diameter of the sheath that encases the optic nerve may help indicate which stroke patients are at highest risk of dying within six months. For every added millimeter of optic nerve sheath diameter, risk of death was four to six times higher.

Stem cell transplants may work better than existing drug for severe multiple sclerosis Posted: 11 Feb 2015 01:08 PM PST Stem cell transplants may be more effective than the drug mitoxantrone for people with severe cases of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study.

Revolutionary new probe zooms in on cancer cells Posted: 11 Feb 2015 12:38 PM PST Brain cancer patients may live longer thanks to a new cancer-detection method. The team has created a powerful new intraoperative probe for detecting cancer cells. The hand-held Raman spectroscopy probe enables surgeons, for the first time, to accurately detect virtually all invasive brain cancer cells in real time during surgery.

How the brain listens to literature Posted: 11 Feb 2015 11:09 AM PST When we listen to stories, we immerse ourselves into the situations described and empathize with the feelings of the characters. Only recently has it become possible to find out how exactly this process works in the brain. Scientists have now succeeded using an fMRI scanner to measure how people listen to a literary story.

Protein controls both alcohol craving and organ damage Posted: 11 Feb 2015 10:21 AM PST A new study in mice shows that disrupting one protein can simultaneously curb alcohol cravings and protect the heart and liver from alcohol-induced damage. The findings suggest that the RGS6 protein may be a useful drug target both for treating alcoholism and reducing the organ damage caused by chronic alcohol consumption.

Fifteen-fold increase in newborn opioid withdrawal in Ontario Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:37 AM PST The number of newborns suffering from opioid withdrawal increased 15-fold in Ontario over 20 years, according to new research.

Does illness make people lonely? Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:37 AM PST Difficult circumstances often bring people closer together. But a new study published has found that the onset of chronic illness often results in sufferers feeling lonelier -- even for those who have had a steady partner for 50 years or more.