Brain | Page 674 | Science Codex

Seeing the song

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Imagine the brain's delight when experiencing the sounds of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" while simultaneously taking in a light show produced by a visualizer.

A new Northwestern University study did much more than that.

To understand how the brain responds to highly complex auditory-visual stimuli like music and moving images, the study tracked parts of the auditory system involved in the perceptual processing of "Moonlight Sonata" while it was synchronized with the light show made by the iTunes Jelly visualizer.

New biological links between sleep deprivation and the immune system discovered

Population-level studies have indicated that insufficient sleep increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. These diseases are known to be linked to inflammatory responses in the body.

UNC child neurologist finds potential route to better treatments for Fragile X, autism

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – When you experience something, neurons in the brain send chemical signals called neurotransmitters across synapses to receptors on other neurons. How well that process unfolds determines how you comprehend the experience and what behaviors might follow. In people with Fragile X syndrome, a third of whom are eventually diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, that process is severely hindered, leading to intellectual impairments and abnormal behaviors.

Study: Students text, a lot, during class

The typical college student plays with his or her digital device an average of 11 times a day while in class, according to a new study by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln associate professor.

More than 80 percent admit that their use of smart phones, tablets and laptops can interfere with their learning. More than a fourth say their grades suffer as a result.

TopoChip reveals the Braille code of cells

Cells in the human body change shape as they crawl, split, or cling to other surfaces, but while the scientific literature is filled with examples of how cell shapes shift in response to things they touch, little is known about the rules that govern these changes. And there has been no high-throughput way to systematically test different topologies against different types of cells to optimize the surface of something like a medical implant.

"We don't know the Braille codes of cells," said biologist Jan de Boer of the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

UCSB anthropologist examines the motivating factors behind hazing

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– It happens in military units, street gangs and even among athletes on sports teams. In some cultures, the rituals mark the transition from adolescence to adulthood. And in fraternities and sororities, it's practically a given.

A step towards early Alzheimer's diagnosis

If Alzheimer's disease is to be treated in the future it requires an early diagnosis, which is not yet possible. Now researchers at higher education institutions such as Linköping University have identified six proteins in spinal fluid that can be used as markers for the illness.

Alzheimer's causes great suffering and has a one hundred percent fatality rate. The breakdown of brain cells has been in progress for ten years or more by the time symptoms begin to appear. Currently there is no treatment that can stop the process.

Super song learners

This news release is available in German.

Communication with similar people stronger than believed

People's tendency to communicate with similar people is stronger than earlier believed, which restricts the flow of information and ideas in social networks. These are the findings that an Aalto University research group will publish this week in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication series.

Changes in epigenetic DNA functions reveal how diabetes predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's

New York, NY (Oct. 23, 2013) – Diabetes and dementia are rising dramatically in the United States and worldwide. In the last few years, epidemiological data has accrued showing that older people with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop cognitive deterioration and increased susceptibility to onset of dementia related to Alzheimer's disease. Now, a research team led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, the Saunders Family Chair and Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discovered a novel mechanism through which this may occur.

'Saving Brains' of kids in developing countries: Grand Challenges Canada funds 14 bold new ideas

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today extended a total of $10.1 million to 14 bold, creative projects aimed at improving the early brain development of kids in low-resource countries.

Projects in Jamaica, Colombia, Bangladesh and Indonesia are scale-up award nominees (board-approved grants up to CDN $2 million, pending successful contract negotiations).

Delaying gratification, when the reward is under our noses

How can some people resist the attraction of immediate pleasures and pursue long-term goals, while others easily succumb and compromise their ultimate expectations? A recent study led by researchers at the Brain and Spine Institute in Paris have found that the brain's memory systems help in resisting temptations. One factor which might explain the difference in people's ability to resist temptation might lie in the activity of a deep brain structure: the hippocampus.

Genetic variation alters efficacy of antidepressant

Washington, DC — Having a different form of a gene that regulates the brain chemical noradrenaline influences how well men remember negative memories after taking the antidepressant drug reboxetine, according to a study published in the October 23 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings demonstrate how genes can influence antidepressant response.

Veterans who mismanage money four times more likely to become homeless

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Military veterans who report having common financial problems, such as bouncing a check or going over their credit limit, are four times more likely to become homeless in the next year than veterans without such problems.

Furthermore, money mismanagement by itself made a significant contribution to predicting higher odds of subsequent homelessness in veteran populations above and beyond other variables, according to a new study published online ahead of print on Oct. 22, 2013, by the American Journal of Public Health.

Intranasal application of hormone appears to enhance placebo response

The hormone oxytocin may mediate processes such as empathy, trust, and social learning. These are key elements of the patient-physician relationship, which is an important mediator of placebo responses, according to background information in a Research Letter appearing in the October 23/30 issue of JAMA. Simon Kessner, of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues conducted a study to test whether oxytocin enhances the placebo response in an experimental placebo analgesia model.