Brain

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that is often used to help improve the level of consciousness in patients with disorder of consciousness (DOC). However, the responses to stimulation of acupoints in patients with DOC are not fully understood. Hao Zhang and colleagues from China Rehabilitation Research Center found that acupuncture at the Yongquan acupoints induced stronger neuronal activity than acupuncture at the sham acupoints shown on positron emission tomography (PET).

Scientists from the University of Liverpool have demonstrated the effectiveness of a fibre-based dietary ingredient that makes people feel less hungry and consume less food.

HAMILTON, ON (Aug. 26, 2014) – Treatment for opioid addiction tampers with the testosterone levels of male but not female opioid users, McMaster University research has shown.

In a paper published today by the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers say addiction treatment may need to change to address the side-effect.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A balance board accessory for a popular video game console can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce their risk of accidental falls, according to new research published online in the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed that use of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board system appears to induce favorable changes in brain connections associated with balance and movement.

DURHAM, N.C. – Implantating deep brain stimulation devices poses no greater risk of complications to older patients than it does to younger patients with Parkinson's disease, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

The findings, published Aug. 25, 2014, in the journal JAMA Neurology, ease concerns that patients older than age 75 are poorer candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) because they may be prone to bleeding, infections or other complications that can arise after surgeries.

Scientists have known that toxic effects of substances known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), found in both natural and human-made materials, can pass from one generation to the next, but new research shows that females with ancestral exposure to EDC may show especially adverse reactions to stress.

The Taung Child, South Africa's premier hominin discovered 90 years ago by Wits University Professor Raymond Dart, never seizes to transform and evolve the search for our collective origins.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A five-year old's brain is an energy monster. It uses twice as much glucose (the energy that fuels the brain) as that of a full-grown adult, a new study led by Northwestern University anthropologists has found.

The study helps to solve the long-standing mystery of why human children grow so slowly compared with our closest animal relatives.

It shows that energy funneled to the brain dominates the human body's metabolism early in life and is likely the reason why humans grow at a pace more typical of a reptile than a mammal during childhood.

CHICAGO --- Mindfulness training for individuals with early-stage dementia and their caregivers together in the same class was beneficial for both groups, easing depression and improving sleep and quality of life, reports new Northwestern Medicine study.

A parasitic fungus that reproduces by manipulating the behavior of ants emits a cocktail of behavior-controlling chemicals when encountering the brain of its natural target host, but not when infecting other ant species, a new study shows.

The findings, which suggest that the fungus "knows" its preferred host, provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, according to researchers.

Most people know children learn many skills simply by watching people around them. Without explicit instructions youngsters know to do things like press a button to operate the television and twist a knob to open a door. Now researchers have taken this further, finding that children as young as age 2 intuitively use mathematical concepts such as probability to help make sense of the world around them.

Tempe, Ariz. (Aug. 25, 2014) - Parents naturally comfort their children when they are scared, but new research shows that some reactions may actually reinforce their children's feelings of anxiety.

People with cognitive impairment are significantly more likely to have a stroke, with a 39% increased risk, than people with normal cognitive function, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

To get the most enjoyment out of our dollar, science tells us to focus our discretionary spending on trips over TVs, on concerts over clothing, since experiences tend to bring more enduring pleasure than do material goods. New research shows that the enjoyment we derive from experiential purchases may begin before we even buy.

The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In a recent study reported in the Neural Regeneration Research, repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was administered to healthy people at the left Guangming (GB37) and a mock point, and calculated the sample entropy of electroencephalogram signals using nonlinear dynamics. Additionally, researchers compared electroencephalogram sample entropy of signals in response to visual stimulation before, during, and after repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Guangming.