Brain

Police lineups in which distinctive individual marks or features are not altered can impair witnesses' ability to distinguish between innocent and guilty suspects, according to new research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The research, conducted by a team of psychology researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK, builds on existing eyewitness identification studies suggesting that so-called "unfair lineups," in which the police suspect stands out, make witnesses more willing to identify that suspect.

Our eyes are constantly moving, whether we notice or not. They jump from one focus point to another and even when we seem to be focused on one point, the eyes continue to reflexively move. These types of eye movements are called saccades. During saccades, even if we are not actively thinking about moving our eyes, our brain is still quickly working to land our focus precisely on spots that hold important information, such as the eyes of a person that you are talking to.

TORONTO - An FDA approved drug to treat renal cell carcinoma appears to reduce levels of a toxic brain protein linked to dementia in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases when given to animals. This finding is the latest from Georgetown University Medical Center's Translational Neurotherapeutics Program (TNP) examining tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

An adolescent orangutan called Rocky could provide the key to understanding how speech in humans evolved from the time of the ancestral great apes, according to new research.

In an imitation "do-as-I-do" game, eleven-year-old Rocky, who was eight at the time of the research, was able to copy the pitch and tone of sounds made by researchers to make vowel-like calls.

The discovery, led by Dr Adriano Lameira of Durham University, UK, shows that orangutans could have the ability to control their voices.

SINGAPORE, 27 July 2016 - Research conducted by Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) and Duke University has associated low vitamin D levels with increased subsequent risk of cognitive decline and impairment in the Chinese elderly.

UBC researchers have determined that certain facial features, not the expression, influence whether people think someone is trustworthy.

UBC psychology professor Stephen Porter, who teaches psychology at UBC's Okanagan campus, and PhD student Alysha Baker, recently completed two studies determining that people often make judgments of trustworthiness based solely on the face.

New research from the University of Warwick highlights why it's vital for police to disguise distinctive features in line-ups.

TORONTO, July 27, 2016 - A team of Toronto scientists has found similarities in brain impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

The highly consistent anatomical patterning found in the brain's cortex is controlled by genetic factors, reports a new study by an international research consortium led by Chi-Hua Chen of the University of California, San Diego, and Nicholas Schork of the J. Craig Venter Institute, published on July 26 in PLOS Genetics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 26, 2016) - Many in the general public think scientific and technological innovations bring helpful change to society, but they are more concerned than excited when it comes to the potential use of emerging technologies to make people's minds sharper, their bodies stronger and healthier than ever before, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The survey covers broad public reaction to scientific advances and examines public attitudes about the potential use of three specific emerging technologies for "human enhancement."

Among patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases, the use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone, compared with SRS combined with whole brain radiotherapy, resulted in less cognitive deterioration at 3 months, according to a study appearing in the July 26 issue of JAMA.

Two studies involving University of Waterloo researchers presented this week at the 2016 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Toronto highlight a new diagnostic tool that can identify Alzheimer's disease long before the onset of symptoms as well as the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in Ontario.

Window to the brain

NEW YORK, NY, July 26, 2016 - Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York State Psychiatric Institute, and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that an odor identification test may prove useful in predicting cognitive decline and detecting early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Their two studies, presented at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference in Toronto, Canada, suggest that the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) may offer a practical, low-cost alternative to other tests.

As British cyclist Chris Froome celebrates his third Tour de France victory, research from the University of Kent and Australian collaborators shows for the first time that elite endurance athletes have superior ability to resist mental fatigue.

Professor Samuele Marcora, Director of Research in Kent's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, co-authored a report in the journal PLOS ONE entitled Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists.

"My workload has shot up after my last promotion, I know that I'm stressed out," says a management executive from Delhi. "I feel anxious all the time, and since starting this job six months ago, I seem to be forgetting small things on a daily basis. Did I take my supplements this morning? Where did I put my car keys? I don't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday," he continues.