Brain

There is no evidence of genetic overlap between risk for schizophrenia and brain volume measures, according to researchers in a global study that examined the genes that drive the development of schizophrenia.

That was the key finding in a collaborative study involving nearly 600 researchers from more than 350 institutions, including Georgia State University, and published in journal Nature Neuroscience.

It may be possible to increase the neuron reserve of the hippocampus - and thus improve preconditions for learning - by promoting neurogenesis via sustained aerobic exercise such as running.

NMDA glutamate receptors, which function as receptors that bond with glutamates, are known to be deeply involved in animal memory and learning. In order for memories to be created inside the brain, these NMDA glutamate receptors must first be transported to and accumulated in the synapses.

University of Tsukuba Faculty of Medicine Professor Yosuke Takei, in a joint study with the University of Tokyo, has for the first time clarified the mechanism in the brain that inhibits derailment of the receptor transport that supports memory.

Human and animal movements generate slight neural signals from their brain cells. These signals obtained using a neural interface are essential for realizing brain-machine interfaces (BMI). Such neural recording systems using wires to connect the implanted device to an external device can cause infections through the opening in the skull. One method of solving this issue is to develop a wireless neural interface that is fully implantable on the brain.

What if computers could recognize objects as well as the human brain could? Electrical engineers at the University of California, San Diego have taken an important step toward that goal by developing a pedestrian detection system that performs in near real-time (2-4 frames per second) and with higher accuracy (close to half the error) compared to existing systems. The technology, which incorporates deep learning models, could be used in "smart" vehicles, robotics and image and video search systems.

A new study suggests that people are more likely to misidentify a toy as a weapon after seeing a Black face than a White face, even when the face in question is that of a five-year-old child.

The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Fit or fat? How about both?

In what could be the death knell for that once-vaunted measure of health known as BMI (body mass index), new research out of UC Santa Barbara and UCLA reveals that millions of Americans labeled overweight or obese based on their BMI are, in fact, "perfectly healthy."

Their findings, which appear in the International Journal of Obesity, suggest that 34.4 million Americans considered overweight by virtue of BMI are actually healthy, as are 19.8 million who are considered obese.

The ability to see the direction in which something is moving is vital for survival. Only in this way is it possible to avoid predators, capture prey or, as humans in a modern world, cross a road safely. However, the direction of motion is not explicitly represented at the level of the photoreceptors but rather must be calculated by subsequent layers of nerve cells. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now discovered that, in fruit flies, four classes of nerve cell are involved in calculating directionally selective signals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 5, 2016) --They return to the United States with multiple types of trauma, and suffer from one of the highest rates of chronic pain of any population in the United States. They are U.S. veterans. A major challenge for health care providers is how to help them alleviate pain that will last a lifetime. Now, a new study suggests veterans may be empowered to help themselves with the practice of meditation.

A group of neurobiologists from Russia and the USA, including Dmitry Smagin, Tatyana Michurina, and Grigori Enikolopov from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), have proven experimentally that aggression has an influence on the production of new nerve cells in the brain. The scientists conducted a series of experiments on male mice and published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.

A new study indicates that children with Down syndrome who have motor speech deficits have been inadequately diagnosed, which could have a major impact on the interventions used by speech pathologists when treating patients.

WASHINGTON -- Doctors who order several days of rest after a person suffers a concussion are giving sound advice, say researchers, and new data from animal models explains why.

The brain still has a lot to learn about itself. Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have made a key finding of the striking differences in how the brain's cells can change through experience.

Their results were published this week in PLOS ONE.

People who watch meaningful entertainment may be more willing to lend a hand to people they consider different, according to researchers.

After watching a meaningful clip from a television show, participants in a study were more likely to help someone from a different age and race than they were people in their own age and racial groups, according to Erica Bailey, doctoral student in mass communication, Penn State.

MADISON, Wis. - Each year, thousands of newborn babies suffer complications during pregnancy or birth that deprive their brains of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood and result in brain injury. This deprivation results in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which can lead to long-term neurological issues such as learning disabilities, cerebral palsy or even death.

Researchers have known for some time that male infants are more vulnerable to HIE than females, but why this gender difference exists has remained a mystery.