ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Want to get drivers' attention? Use road signs showing more action Posted: 23 Feb 2015 11:22 AM PST Researchers have discovered a way to provide a little extra cushion when it comes to near-accidents. Their new study finds that people react significantly faster to warning signs that depict greater movement.

One year later, preoperative quit-smoking program still shows benefits Posted: 23 Feb 2015 11:09 AM PST Patients receiving a brief intervention to help them quit smoking before surgery are still more likely to be nonsmokers at one-year follow-up, reports a study.

How brain waves guide memory formation Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:25 AM PST Two brain regions that are key to learning -- the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex -- use two different brain-wave frequencies to communicate as the brain learns to associate unrelated objects, researchers have discovered.

Brain activity shows infants are hardwired to link images, sounds as they learn to speak Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:25 AM PST We are biologically predisposed to link images and sounds to create language, new research examining electrical brain activity in infants suggests. These findings reveal that sound symbolism allows 11-month-old infants to spontaneously bind the speech sound and the visual referent, and this spontaneous binding may provide infants an insight that spoken words refers to objects you can see in the world, an author explains.

Study shows how the brain can trigger a deep sleep Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:24 AM PST Switching on one area of the brain chemically can trigger a deep sleep, scientists have found. The new study, which explored how sedatives work in the brain's neural pathways, could lead to better remedies for insomnia and more effective anesthetic drugs.

Epigenome orchestrates embryonic development Posted: 23 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST Studying zebrafish embryos, researchers have shown that the epigenome plays a significant part in guiding development in the first 24 hours after fertilization. The research may deepen understanding of congenital defects and miscarriage.

Study sheds light on a 'guardian' protein of brain function Posted: 23 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST The critical role of CHIP was reported by researchers. Their report has spurred efforts to develop CHIP-enhancing drugs to help speed recovery from strokes and following neurosurgery, and prevent development of neurodegenerative disorders.

Certain factors influence whether cancer patients involve family members in treatment decisions Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:43 AM PST Family members often play an important role in providing care for patients with cancer, but which patients are more or less likely to involve family members in decisions regarding their care is not well known.

Smoking for 75 minutes in a car could render you unconscious, study suggests Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:42 AM PST A student study suggests that smoking 15 cigarettes for over an hour in a closed car could cause loss of consciousness. This is not a medical study. It is based on a series of theoretical calculations using applied physics.

Acute use of cannabinoids depresses motor neuron activity Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:42 AM PST A new study could explain the acute lack of coordination and difficulty speaking and breathing experienced by some people who habitually use cannabis.

Help is Just a Call Away for Mothers with Postnatal Depression Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:40 AM PST New research reveals that telephone-based peer support may help reduce postnatal depression, also known as postpartum depression, in new mothers. Researchers also found that social support from peers may be effective for maternal depression up to two years after delivery. At the start of the study all mothers were moderately depressed, but this dropped after telephone peer support to 8.1% (3/37) depressed at midpoint, rising to 11.8% (4/34) at the end of the study, suggesting some relapse.

Experimenting preteens may have different brain processes Posted: 23 Feb 2015 05:39 AM PST Preteens who experiment or explore new things may have brain processes that work differently than those of preteens who do not, according to a new study.

Up in smoke: Belief that shisha pipe 'filters out' heavy metals Posted: 19 Feb 2015 06:18 PM PST Contrary to popular belief, only a minimal amount of heavy metals are removed in the 'filtration' process when smoking shisha, also known as hookah, according to research. On average, 3 percent of heavy metals present in tobacco are removed and this would not be enough to protect users from exposure to these toxins.

Editorial issues a call to action for end-of-life care of older adults in nursing homes Posted: 19 Feb 2015 10:31 AM PST With more than one in four older Americans dying in a nursing home -- including 70 percent of Americans with advanced dementia -- a new editorial calls for bold action to improve the care and support provided to dying nursing home patients and their families.