Brain

"My work represents the first test of the hypothesis that the elaborated nasal passages of large dinosaurs functioned as efficient heat exchangers," explained Jason Bourke, doctoral student researcher at Ohio University and lead author of the study. Using a branch of engineering known as computational fluid dynamics, Bourke simulated the movement of air and heat through the nasal passages of various dinosaur species.

Because sound travels much more slowly than light, we can often see distant events before we hear them. That is why we can count the seconds between a lightning flash and its thunder to estimate their distance.

But new research from the University of Rochester reveals that our brains can also detect and process sound delays that are too short to be noticed consciously. And they found that we use even that unconscious information to fine tune what our eyes see when estimating distances to nearby events.

A group of leading scientists representing a wide range of disciplines has formed a unified initiative to support basic research, technological development and commercial applications to better understand and harness the capabilities of Earth's vast systems of microorganisms.

LA JOLLA--The brain cells of patients with bipolar disorder, characterized by severe swings between depression and elation, are more sensitive to stimuli than other people's brain cells, researchers have discovered.

The finding, published October 28, 2015 in the journal Nature, is among the first to show at a cellular level how the disorder affects the brain. Moreover, it reveals why some patients respond to treatment with lithium while others don't.

The sight of a face offers the brain something special. More than a set of features, it conveys the emotions, intent, and identity of the whole individual. The same is not true for the body; cues such as posture convey some social information, but the image of a body does not substitute for a face.

Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a method that cuts down by half the time needed to make high-tech flexible sensors for medical applications. The advance brings the sensors, which can be used to monitor vital signs and brain activity, one step closer to mass-market manufacturing.

Findings from a new study challenge the notion that older adults always lag behind their younger counterparts when it comes to learning new things. The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that older adults were actually better than young adults at correcting their mistakes on a general information quiz.

Chemical changes in brain cells caused by disturbances in the body's day-night cycle may be a key underlying cause of the learning and memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

The research on mice, led by UCI biomedical engineering professor Gregory Brewer, provides the first evidence that circadian rhythm-altering sleep disruptions similar to jet lag promote memory problems and chemical alterations in the brain.

Adults with schizophrenia were more than 3.5 times as likely to die as adults in the general U.S. population, particularly from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and that implicates tobacco as a modifiable risk factor, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.

Looking at brain tissue from mice, monkeys and humans, scientists have found that a molecule known as growth and differentiation factor 10 (GDF10) is a key player in repair mechanisms following stroke. The findings suggest that GDF10 may be a potential therapy for recovery after stroke. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Toronto, Canada - An international team of scientists has demonstrated that just one month of training on a "Virtual Week" computer brain game helps older adults significantly strengthen prospective memory - a type of memory that is crucial for planning, everyday functioning and independent living.

Seniors who played the cognitive-training game "more than doubled" the number of prospective memory tasks performed correctly compared to control groups that performed other activities such as music classes.

It's a frustrating fact that most people would live longer if only they could make small changes: stop smoking, eat better, exercise more, practice safe sex. Health messaging is one important way to change behavior on a large scale, but while a successful campaign can improve millions of lives, a failed one can be an enormous waste of resources.

Mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety are likely to increase in UK military personnel during the months after returning from Afghanistan, according to a study by researchers from King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London.

Researchers have found that two treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have long term benefits for people affected by the condition.

Rehearsing information immediately after being given it may be all you need to make it a permanent memory, a University of Sussex study suggests.

Psychologists found that the same area of the brain activated when laying down a memory is also activated when rehearsing that memory.

The findings, published on Oct. 27, 2015 in the Journal of Neuroscience, have implications for any situation in which accurate recall of an event is critical, such as witnessing an accident or crime.