ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Neuroscientists identify new way several brain areas communicate Posted: 03 Mar 2015 03:34 PM PST Neuroscientists have identified a new pathway by which several brain areas communicate within the brain's striatum. The findings illustrate structural and functional connections that allow the brain to use reinforcement learning to make spatial decisions. Knowing how these specific pathways work together provides crucial insight into how learning occurs. It also could lead to improved treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Creative genius driven by distraction Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise -- and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the inability to shut out competing sensory information while focusing on the creative project at hand might have been so acute for geniuses such as Proust, Franz Kafka, Charles Darwin, Anton Chekhov and many others.

Air pollution linked to slower cognitive development in children Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7- to 10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a new study.

ADHD plus childhood trauma heightens risk for self-harm, suicide Posted: 03 Mar 2015 11:17 AM PST Young women with ADHD who have been exposed to abuse, neglect or other traumas in childhood and adolescence are at greater risk for self-injury, eating disorders and suicide than those with ADHD who were not mistreated in early youth, according to new research.

Bans don't help smokers quit, researchers say Posted: 03 Mar 2015 10:11 AM PST No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from having friends or family who set an example by giving up cigarettes themselves, the authors write.

Poor heart function could be major risk for Alzheimer's disease Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:40 AM PST Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to three times more likely to develop significant memory loss over the follow-up period.

Understanding electric car 'range anxiety' could be key to wider acceptance Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:39 AM PST Drivers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles due to 'range anxiety,' the fear of becoming stranded with an empty battery. This phenomenon was recently addressed in a study that aims to explain range anxiety and determine whether hands-on experience can reduce drivers' stress.

Divorce fuels kids' sugary beverage consumption, study finds Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:39 AM PST Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity later in life, according to a new study. Maintaining family routines such as eating a regular dinner or carving out time to talk each day, however, can protect children during divorce against developing unhealthy eating habits.

Examination of prior authorization policies for antipsychotic prescribing to children Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:37 AM PST With a concern about inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications to children, 31 states in the U.S. have implemented prior authorization policies for atypical antipsychotic prescribing, mostly within the past 5 years, and with most states applying their policies to children younger than 7 years of age, according to a study.

Administering sedatives for patients receiving general anesthesia questioned Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:37 AM PST Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before surgery, compared with placebo or no premedication, did not improve the self-reported patient experience the day after surgery, but was associated with longer time till removal off a breathing tube (extubation) and a lower rate of early cognitive recovery, according to a study.

Nice to sniff you: Handshakes may engage our sense of smell Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:59 AM PST Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may provide people with a socially acceptable way of communicating via the sense of smell. People sniff their hands twice as much after a handshake.

Stress markers in unemployed linked to poor health Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:57 AM PST It appears that stress markers in unemployed people can be found, independent of smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight/obesity. Results from a study suggest that long-term unemployment may be especially damaging to health. Authors also note that older jobseekers appear more affected than younger counterparts.

Vaccine skeptics aren't swayed by emotional scare tactics Posted: 03 Mar 2015 06:58 AM PST On the heels of an American nationwide measles outbreak comes a report that campaigns aimed at scaring people about the consequences of non-vaccination might not be as effective as many think. Authors challenge the popular assumption that emotional appeals have a wide, sweeping effect on people's health beliefs.

Time to 'just say no' to behavior-calming drugs for Alzheimer patients? Experts say yes Posted: 03 Mar 2015 06:57 AM PST Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry far fewer risks, experts conclude in a new report.

Educating college students on drinking risks can help lessen drinking behaviors, but only temporarily, study finds Posted: 03 Mar 2015 06:57 AM PST Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back where they started a year later, according to new research.

The more friends you drink with ... the more you drink Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:54 AM PST Alcohol consumption of individuals appears to increase with the number of friends in their drinking group. A new study used internet-based questionnaires that study participants completed on their own smartphones to survey almost 200 young adult drinkers in Switzerland every hour while they were drinking in real-life situations, asking them to report the number of friends present and number of drinks they had consumed.

Losing a spouse often too hastily linked to depression Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:54 AM PST Loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms, a study has found, but authors suggest that doctors are often too quick to attribute these symptoms to depression.

Family based interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed preadolescents is more effective than child-centered therapy Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:51 AM PST Family Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) is more effective in treating preadolescent children with depression compared to child-centered therapy (CCT), a recent study has found. Preadolescents with depressive disorders may be under-diagnosed and go untreated because those presenting for outpatient treatment with clinically significant depressive symptoms often do not meet full diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, preadolescents with depressive symptoms are at increased risk of experiencing MDD in adolescence.

Neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, functional assessments help follow course of Alzheimer's disease Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:51 AM PST The cognitive performance of persons with Alzheimer's disease and behavioral and psychological problems are linked to their performance of activities of daily living, according to a recent study. However, difficulties in cognitive performance were not linked to behavioral and psychological problems, although both deteriorated as the disease progressed. Some persons may have significant problems in memory and other cognitive performance without the presence of behavioral and psychological problems, while others experience behavioral and psychological problems already at the early phase of the disease.

Defect responsible for memory impairment in aging found Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:49 AM PST Everyone worries about losing their memory as they grow older—memory loss remains one of the most common complaints of the elderly. But the molecular reasons behind the processes remain unclear, particularly those associated with advancing age. Now, a mechanism that causes long-term memory loss due to age in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, has been discovered by scientists.

Clues to early detection of bipolar disorders in high-risk children Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:47 AM PST A strong link has been made between subthreshold manic episodes and likelihood of developing bipolar disorder in children of parents with bipolar disorder. The study’s findings could improve clinical assessment and care for these high-risk children by potentially enabling earlier identification, treatment or possible preventive measures.

Myelin-maker: How an FDA-approved drug boosts myelin synthesis Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:08 PM PST A researcher has discovered a way to keep remyelination going, using a drug that's already on the market. Damage to myelin, the fatty insulator that enables communication between nerve cells, characterizes multiple sclerosis (MS) and other devastating neurological diseases.

Anxious people more apt to make bad decisions amid uncertainty Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:07 AM PST Highly anxious people have more trouble deciding how best to handle life's uncertainties. They may even catastrophize, interpreting, say, a lover's tiff as a doomed relationship or a workplace change as a career threat. Investigating this dynamic, scientists have found evidence of a glitch in the brain's higher-order decision-making circuitry that could eventually be targeted in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Alcohol screening, intervention for risky drinking: A guide for physicians Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:07 AM PST Tips for physicians to help patients cut down on excessive alcohol use have been published in a new article that is aimed at health care providers who are not addiction specialists. The article is based on current evidence, including recent Canadian guidelines.

Republicans trust science -- except when it comes to health insurance and gay adoption Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST A new study finds that while Democrats are generally more 'pro-science' than other political groups, Republicans are also inclined to defer to science across a range of policy issues. In fact, there are only four issues where Republicans exhibit less trust than independents: global warming, evolution, gay adoption, and mandatory health insurance.

Neuron groups, not single cells, maintain brain stability Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST Disruptions in brain stability cause disorders such as epilepsy, but precious little is known about homeostasis, the brain's regulatory system. Now a new study finds that homeostatic regulation occurs mainly in groups of neurons rather than in the individual neurons themselves. Understanding the principles and mechanisms involved in neuronal homeostasis may lead to new approaches in the treatment of brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers propose novel new treatment of stroke, other neurological diseases Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST Medicine should reconsider how it treats stroke and other neurological disorders, focusing on the intrinsic abilities of the brain and nervous system to heal themselves rather than the 'modest' benefits of clot-busting drugs and other neuroprotective treatments, experts suggest.

Brain metastases: Better outcomes for those under 50 years old receiving stereotactic radiosurgery alone Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PST Cancer patients with limited brain metastases (one to four tumors) who are under 50 years old should receive stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) without whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), according to a study.