ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

Have a sense of purpose in life? It may protect your heart Posted: 06 Mar 2015 10:25 AM PST Having a high sense of purpose in life may lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.

Multitasking hunger neurons also control compulsive behaviors Posted: 06 Mar 2015 08:20 AM PST In the absence of food, neurons that normally control appetite initiate complex, repetitive behaviors seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia nervosa, according to a new study.

Male smokers at higher risk than females for osteoporosis, fractures Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:27 AM PST In a large study of middle-aged to elderly smokers, men were more likely than women to have osteoporosis and fractures of their vertebrae. The findings suggest that current and past smokers of both genders should be screened for osteoporosis.

The price of protection: Abused women and earnings Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:27 AM PST 'Why doesn't she just leave?' is a timeworn question about women trapped in relationships that are physically and/or emotionally abusive to them. Economic dependence is clearly part of the story--many women lack the financial means to leave and find themselves trapped by both poverty and abuse.

Calling your bluff: Supervisors easily sniff out what drives a worker Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:27 AM PST Good supervisors aren't easily duped by the motives of underlings who go the extra mile -- they know when an employee is sucking up to them because of personal ambition, or when such actions truly have what's best for the organization at heart.

High-normal thyroid hormone level in pregnancy may affect fetal brain development Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:25 AM PST A new study finds that not only low but also high maternal thyroid hormone levels during early pregnancy may significantly lower the infant's IQ later in childhood. The study results suggest that the common practice of treating pregnant women who have mild thyroid hormone deficiency may pose unexpected risks to the developing baby's brain.

First validated method of detecting drugs of abuse in exhaled breath Posted: 06 Mar 2015 07:24 AM PST Drug testing is most commonly performed using urine samples. The methodology and regulations for reliable urine testing are well developed and can be considered the current gold standard for drug testing. However, one problem with urine testing is related to the methodology of sample collection, often perceived as inconvenient and privacy-overriding by those undergoing the test. As such, a group of researchers has developed a more donor-friendly alternative to urine testing for drugs by focusing on exhaled breath.

New study points to better classrooms for children with disabilities Posted: 06 Mar 2015 06:16 AM PST A pilot study in 51 North Carolina classrooms shows the effectiveness of a new measure in assessing the quality of practices in inclusive preschools. Not only is the Inclusive Classroom Profile a reliable instrument, researchers say it also reveals the types of inclusive settings that may be best serving preschoolers with disabilities, researchers say.

New findings on 'key players' in brain inflammation Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:38 AM PST Inflammatory processes occur in the brain in conjunction with stroke and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have presented new findings about some of the ‘key players’ in inflammation. In the long term, these findings could lead to new treatments.

Mice don't need the cortex to sing their songs Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:37 AM PST The human language is unique in that we can refer to objects, events and ideas. The combination of syllables and words enables humans to generate an infinite number of expressions. An important prerequisite for language is the ability to imitate sounds, i.e. to store acquired acoustic information and to use this for one's own vocal production. Cortical structures in the brain play a crucial role in this. While songbirds and certain marine mammals are capable of such vocal learning, there is very little evidence for vocal learning in terrestrial mammals -- not even in our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Nonhuman primate vocal production is largely restricted to an innate repertoire of sounds.

Brain treats real and imaginary objects in the same way Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:37 AM PST The human brain can select relevant objects from a flood of information and edit out what is irrelevant. It also knows which parts belong to a whole. If, for example, we direct our attention to the doors of a house, the brain will preferentially process its windows, but not the neighbouring houses. Psychologists have now discovered that this also happens when parts of the objects are merely maintained in our memory.

Teenage TV audiences and energy drink advertisements Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:36 AM PST Researchers have examined a database of television advertisements broadcast between March 2012 and February 2013 on 139 network and cable channels and found that more than 608 hours of advertisements for energy drinks were aired. Nearly half of those advertisements, 46.5%, appeared on networks with content themes likely to appeal to adolescents.

Autism detection improved by multimodal neuroimaging Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:36 AM PST Combined measurements of brain anatomy, connectivity and neurochemistry distinguish autism spectrum disorder subjects from controls, scientists say. This multimodal approach is distinct from many previous studies that have used a single neuroimaging measure. While those studies uncovered widespread functional and anatomical brain abnormalities in ASD, the results were not highly consistent, possibly reflecting the complex brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders.

Carotid artery stenosis: Air pollution connected with narrowing of the arteries Posted: 04 Mar 2015 04:01 PM PST People living in areas with more air pollution face a greater risk of carotid artery stenosis, a narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the brain, according to new research. Carotid artery stenosis, which results when fatty substances build up in the arteries in the neck, is associated with more than half of the strokes that occur in the United States each year.

Spouses of alcoholics can benefit from online help, study finds Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:20 PM PST Women with alcoholic partners who face barriers to seeking help may benefit from an Internet-based, interactive support program, a study concludes. Approximately 7.7 million U.S. adults are currently married to or living with a partner with an alcohol use disorder. The burden of living with an alcoholic partner can cause considerable psychological distress, but many spouses do not or cannot seek help.

Women in business Posted: 03 Mar 2015 11:17 AM PST A sociologist traces systemic bias in favor of male-led businesses to stereotypical beliefs about entrepreneurs. The author didn't doubt that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to establishing their own business enterprises -- plenty of evidence proves that to be the case -- but she wanted to find out whether or not people are systematically biased in favor of male-led businesses, and if so, why.