ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Image-guided treatment shown to break the migraine cycle Posted: 01 Mar 2015 06:21 AM PST An innovative interventional radiology treatment has been found to offer chronic migraine sufferers sustained relief of their headaches, according to new research. Clinicians have used a treatment called image-guided, intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion blocks to give patients enough ongoing relief that they required less medication to relieve migraine pain.

Psychology of food choice: Challenging the status quo Posted: 28 Feb 2015 02:45 PM PST Researchers are challenging conventional beliefs about the effectiveness of traditional strategies for encouraging healthy eating. Researchers tackle issues such as the harmfulness of weight-stigma, encouraging healthy choices, and strategies to help children and teens.

Robust evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome is a biological illness Posted: 27 Feb 2015 11:49 AM PST Researchers have identified distinct immune changes in patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, known medically as myalgic encephalomyelitis or systemic exertion intolerance disease. The findings could help improve diagnosis and identify treatment options for the disabling disorder, in which symptoms range from extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating to headaches and muscle pain.

How central are online social networks to our lives? Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:24 AM PST Social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter play an increasingly central role in our lives. Centrality is also an important concept in the theory of social networks. Centrality of an individual, called a "node" in network theory, measures its relative importance within a network. Researchers have now studied the problem of dynamics and evolution of node's centrality.

Beliefs can regulate effects of nicotine on the human brain Posted: 26 Feb 2015 08:03 AM PST Scientists have discovered that beliefs can regulate the effects of nicotine on the human brain. Two identical cigarettes led to a new discovery. Study participants inhaled nicotine, yet they showed significantly different brain activity. Why the difference? Some subjects were told their cigarettes were nicotine free. This goes beyond he placebo effect, researchers say.

Anesthetics could have long-term impact on children's brains Posted: 26 Feb 2015 07:16 AM PST A group of anesthesiologists and toxicologists today issued a caution to parents and health care professionals about the use of general anesthetics in children.

Virtual patient: Avatar shows emotions as he talks to med students Posted: 25 Feb 2015 12:16 PM PST The avatars in the Virtual Patient Project give medical students life-like practice in interviewing patients, delving into health histories and narrowing possible diagnoses. These avatars were created to not just talk to students, but to show emotions in their facial expressions.