ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Pigeon power: Study suggests similarity between how pigeons learn the equivalent of words and the way children do Posted: 04 Feb 2015 03:44 PM PST A new study finds pigeons can categorize 128 photographs into 16 categories of natural and humanmade objects, a skill researchers say is similar to the mechanism children use to learn words.

Compound found in grapes, red wine may help prevent memory loss Posted: 04 Feb 2015 03:42 PM PST A compound found in common foods such as red grapes and peanuts may help prevent age-related decline in memory, according to new research.

Possible use of medical marijuana for depression Posted: 04 Feb 2015 01:30 PM PST Scientists are studying chronic stress and depression, with a focus on endocannabinoids, which are brain chemicals similar to substances in marijuana.

Premature babies grow out of asthma Posted: 04 Feb 2015 11:46 AM PST Premature babies grow out of the asthma which they are likely to develop in early life. Babies born prematurely are more likely to develop asthma, but they grow out of it.

Anti-epilepsy drug preserves brain function after stroke, research suggests Posted: 04 Feb 2015 10:41 AM PST New research suggests that an already-approved drug could dramatically reduce the debilitating impact of strokes, which affect nearly a million Americans every year.

The brain's social network: Nerve cells interact like friends on Facebook Posted: 04 Feb 2015 10:41 AM PST Neurons in the brain are wired like a social network, according to new research. Each nerve cell has links with many others, but the strongest bonds form between the few cells most similar to each other.

Opioid and heroin crisis triggered by doctors overprescribing painkillers Posted: 04 Feb 2015 09:59 AM PST Researchers say policymakers must look beyond painkiller abuse in their efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths. New research reframes the heroin and prescription drug abuse problem as a wave of opioid addiction caused by overprescribing of painkillers by doctors.

Listening carefully: Brain waves indicate listening challenges in older adults Posted: 04 Feb 2015 09:59 AM PST The elderly often complain about hearing difficulties, especially when several people are talking all at once. Researchers have discovered that the reason for this does not just concern the ear but also changes in the attention processes in the brain of older people. Particular importance is attached to the alpha waves whose adaption to altered hearing situations improves speech comprehension in everyday situations.

Schizophrenia, depression, addiction: Different mental disorders cause same brain-matter loss Posted: 04 Feb 2015 09:58 AM PST In a study analyzing whole-brain images from nearly 16,000 people, researchers identified a common pattern across a spectrum of psychiatric disorders that are widely perceived to be quite distinct.

Groundbreaking technique developed to measure oxygen in deep-sited tumor, brain Posted: 04 Feb 2015 07:25 AM PST A novel Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) oximetry technique will help clinicians directly measure oxygen and schedule treatments at times of high oxygen levels in cancer and stroke patients to improve outcomes, researchers have found.

New nanoparticle gene therapy strategy effectively treats deadly brain cancer in rats Posted: 04 Feb 2015 06:01 AM PST Nanoparticles have been used to successfully deliver a new therapy to cancer cells in the brains of rats, prolonging their lives, scientists report. Previous research on mice found that nanoparticles carrying genes can be taken up by brain cancer cells, and the genes can then be turned on. However, this is the first time these biodegradable nanoparticles have effectively killed brain cancer cells and extended survival in animals.

New look at complex head and neck tumor behavior Posted: 04 Feb 2015 04:48 AM PST Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) ranks among the top ten most prevalent cancers in the United States. Despite its prevalence, little is known about how this cancer develops and spreads. However, researchers now offer critical new information about head and neck cancers.

Cocaine users have impaired ability to predict loss Posted: 03 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST Cocaine addicted individuals may continue their habit despite unfavorable consequences like imprisonment or loss of relationships because their brain circuits responsible for predicting emotional loss are impaired, according to a new study.

Intellectual privacy vital to life in digital age Posted: 03 Feb 2015 11:19 AM PST In our increasingly digital world, the balance between privacy and free speech is tenuous, at best. But we often overlook the important ways in which privacy is necessary to protect our cherished civil liberties of freedom of speech, thought and belief, says an expert.

Superager brains yield new clues to their remarkable memories Posted: 03 Feb 2015 10:33 AM PST 'Cognitive SuperAgers,' persons aged 80 and above with extraordinarily sharp memories, have distinctly different looking brains than those of normal older people, according to new research. A new study begins to reveal why the memories of these cognitively elite elders don't suffer the usual ravages of time. The discoveries may foster the development of strategies to protect the memories of normal aging persons as well as treat dementia.

Neurons important for induction of natural REM sleep identified Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Scientists have found that that activation of cholinergic neurons -- those that release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine -- in two brain stem structures can induce REM sleep in an animal model. Better understanding of mechanisms that control different sleep states is essential to improved treatment of sleep disorders.

Glioblastoma: Study ties three genes to radiation resistance in recurrent tumors Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST A new study identifies three genes that together enable a lethal form of brain cancer to recur and progress after radiation therapy. The findings could lead to new therapies for brain tumors that target cancer stem cells.

Kids five years after the recession: Smart policies, better lives Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:31 AM PST A new analysis shows that, five years after its technical end, the recession of the mid-2000s continues to impact America’s children in four key areas: health, hunger, housing, and abuse and neglect, updating research conducted in 2010. It finds lingering effects in every aspect, but it underscores the effectiveness of federal investments in mitigating harm to children.

Range of options, prices brings in the crowdfunding bucks Posted: 02 Feb 2015 06:24 PM PST It doesn't work in the traditional marketplace, but in the world of crowdfunding, giving consumers options and the choice to pay more for essentially the same product makes sense, new research confirms.

Findings reinforce use of targeted tutoring to benefit disadvantaged CPS students Posted: 02 Feb 2015 06:22 PM PST A new report provides further evidence that it’s not too late to improve academic outcomes for adolescents from disadvantaged environments if they receive individual attention. The latest data is from the first year of a two-year study that shows that participation in the Match tutoring intervention improved student math test scores, which is equivalent to narrowing the nationwide achievement gap between black and white students by about a third.

Language study offers new twist on mind-body connection Posted: 02 Feb 2015 01:07 PM PST New research finds that spoken language and motor systems are intricately linked -- though not in the way that has been widely believed. Spoken languages express words by sound patterns, some of which are preferred to others. For instance, the sound pattern "blog" is preferred to "lbog" in English as well as many other languages. The researchers wanted to know what accounts for such preferences--specifically, whether they reflect abstract rules of language in the brain, or if upon hearing speech people attempt to simulate how those sounds are produced by the speech motor system.

Smartphones change teenagers' digital media use patterns Posted: 02 Feb 2015 10:26 AM PST Teenagers who own smartphones spend more time online -- also during the night, which may affect their sleep. A new study on more than 300 students reports that teenagers' digital media use during the night is associated with an increased risk of sleep problems and depressive symptoms.

Behaviors, preferences of picky eaters described Posted: 02 Feb 2015 09:35 AM PST Although there’s no scientific definition of picky eating, parents say they know it when they see it. Now a study shows that picky eaters do exhibit definable preferences and mealtime behaviors.