Brain

• The somatosensory cortex is responsible for conscious perception of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and movement.
• In the brain, this type of sensory information is transmitted and processed in the superficial layer of the cortex, also called layer 2/3.
• Layer 2/3 neurons all have similar morphological and functional characteristics, but they tend to form functionally distinct microcircuits through specialized connections.

Wisdom is often linked with age, but not all elders are wise. So, what makes a person wise?

A new study, "The Relationship between Mental and Somatic Practices and Wisdom," published Feb. 18, 2016, in PLOS ONE, confirms the age-old conception that meditation is associated with wisdom. Surprisingly, it also concludes that somatic (physical) practices such as classical ballet might lead to increased wisdom.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - When people playing violent video games focus on killing and maiming, they don't often remember the corporate brands they see along the way.

That's the conclusion of a new study that is one of the first to look at whether product placements in video games are an effective form of advertising.

Results showed that gamers who played with nonviolent goals recalled 51 percent more brands shown inside the game than did those playing the exact same game with violent goals.

Changes in one circuit of nerves, but not another, in the spinal cord depend on how quickly muscles must move to complete a task, according to results from the Human Motor Control Laboratory of Professor Kozo Funase, PhD, at Hiroshima University. The results could influence physical therapy routines for patients struggling to control their bodies after a stroke or spine injury.

After suffering a stroke, about three-fourths of patients exhibit some disability. The extent of a patient's symptoms depends on the degree and location of brain tissue damage following the stroke event. This week in ACS Central Science, researchers show that by using a tailored small molecule to turn off the production of a key neuromodulator in the brain, they can dramatically reduce brain damage in stroke models in rats.

Los Angeles, CA (March 09, 2016) A new study finds that gender stereotypes are as strong today as they were 30 years ago, and that people are even more likely now to believe that men avoid "traditional" female roles. This research is out today in Psychology of Women Quarterly (PWQ), a journal from SAGE Publishing.

(PHILADELPHIA) -- Malfunctioning mitochondria -- the power plants in cells -- are behind the damage caused by strokes, heart attacks, and neurodegenerative diseases, but little has been known about how to stop these reactors from melting down, destroying cells and tissue. Mitochondria also take up calcium, which regulates energy production.

Are the sexual interests and behaviors of Quebeckers abnormal? According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), sexual interests fall into two categories: normal (normophilic) and anomalous (paraphilic). However, findings recently published in The Journal of Sex Research contradict the DSM-5, as they demonstrate that a number of legal sexual interests and behaviors considered anomalous in psychiatry are actually common in the general population.

Tampa, Fla.- Building on the results of a survey circulated to U.S. and Canadian universities to understand current approaches for defining technology transfer activities and recognizing them as part of faculty performance assessments, a task force of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has made recommendations for just how universities might go about taking into account the value of technology transfer and concomitant social benefits as part of tenure and promotion considerations.

EUGENE, Ore. -- (March 8, 2016) -- If you have trouble sleeping, the neurons in your brain may be firing like those in roundworms randomly seeking food in the absence of clues, says University of Oregon biologist Shawn R. Lockery.

That connection is proposed in a theoretical neuroscience paper co-authored by 12 researchers at 10 institutions that is in the journal eLife. The research -- 14 years in the making -- was led by Lockery and supported by the National Institutes of Health.

People are intuitive physicists, knowing from birth how objects under the influence of gravity are likely to fall, topple or roll. In a new study, scientists have found the brain cells apparently responsible for this innate wisdom.

WASHINGTON -- Staying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Our results indicate that living a socially active life and prioritizing social goals are associated with higher late-life satisfaction and less severe declines toward the end of life," said study lead author Denis Gerstorf, PhD, of Humboldt University. The research was published in the journal Psychology and Aging.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Researchers investigating eating disorders often study chemical and neurological functions in the brain to discover clues to overeating. Understanding non-homeostatic eating -- or eating that is driven more by palatability, habit and food cues -- and how it works in the brain may help neuroscientists determine how to control cravings, maintain healthier weights and promote healthier lifestyles. Scientists at the University of Missouri recently discovered the chemical circuits and mechanisms in the brain that separate food consumption from cravings.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Investigators in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have clearly demonstrated that HIV infects and reproduces in macrophages, large white blood cells found in the liver, brain and connective tissues of the body. This discovery has significant implications for HIV cure research. Macrophages ingest foreign material, including infected CD4 T cells. Past studies concluded macrophages became infected upon ingestion of compromised CD4 T cells.

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2016 -- A new study reveals that individuals in their 60s who give advice to a broad range of people tend to see their lives as especially meaningful. At the same time, this happens to be the age when opportunities for dispensing advice become increasingly scarce.