Brain

USC scientists have mapped an uncharted portion of the mouse brain to explain which circuit disruptions might occur in disorders such as Huntington's disease and autism.

Researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles have identified a new genetic candidate for testing therapies that might affect fear learning in people with PTSD or other conditions. Results of the study have been published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"Clock genes" turn on and off, or "Express", in rhythmic patterns throughout the body to regulate physiological conditions and behaviour. When and how these genes express, especially in tissues outside the brain, is still poorly understood. Until now, scientists have lacked sufficient means to simultaneously monitor gene rhythms in specific tissues in freely moving subjects.

Philadelphia, PA, June 20, 2016 - Cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with abnormal brain structure in children, according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry.

Compared with unexposed children, those who were prenatally exposed to cannabis had a thicker prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in complex cognition, decision-making, and working memory.

Menu labels have become a favorite tool for policymakers to fight obesity, despite a lack of evidence that the format encourages people to make healthier food choices.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a surprising twist, benign brain tumors that have previously been tied to obesity and diabetes are less likely to emerge in those with high blood sugar, new research has found.

The discovery could shed light on the development of meningiomas, tumors arising from the brain and spinal cord that are usually not cancerous but that can require risky surgery and affect a patient's quality of life.

University of Texas at Arlington researchers have found that low attention control in early adolescence is related to a genetic risk factor for four different anxiety disorders. Young teens who suffer from anxiety are also more vulnerable to additional problems like depression, drug dependence, suicidal behavior and educational underachievement.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A new study begins to clarify how brain structure and chemistry give rise to specific aspects of "fluid intelligence," the ability to adapt to new situations and solve problems one has never encountered before.

The study, reported in the journal NeuroImage, links higher concentrations of a marker of energy production in the brain with an improved ability to solve verbal and spatial problems. It also finds an association between brain size and number-related problem-solving.

Parents tend to be careful about what media their children consume and often look to ratings to guide their movie choices. But one symbol might be more powerful than any rating or review--the Disney logo. Heralded by adults and kids alike, Disney Princess animated movies are the quintessential "kids' movies," positive and enjoyable for all.

Improved publication strategy for authors who use hydrological modeling software will make model data easier for readers to understand and reuse, according to an international team of researchers.

A growing number of computational models, such as the Penn State Integrated Hydrologic Model (PIHM), show coupled surface and subsurface water flow and its role in the diversity of Earth system processes. These models conceptualize representations of the physical processes governing the movement of water on, above and below the Earth's surface. 

Rice University researchers have just the thing for the age of information overload: an app that sees all and remembers only what it should.

RedEye, new technology from Rice's Efficient Computing Group that was unveiled today at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA 2016) conference in Seoul, South Korea, could provide computers with continuous vision -- a first step toward allowing the devices to see what their owners see and keep track of what they need to remember.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Teaching teens that social and personality traits can change helps them cope with social challenges such as bullying, which in turn can help mitigate stress and improve academic performance, according to a study by psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - New research aims to help educators quantify how the best students perform problem solving with the aid of instructional videos, a step toward learning how to better coach students in difficult engineering curricula.

Under growing pressure to report accurate findings as they interpret increasingly larger amounts of data, researchers are finding it more important than ever to follow sound statistical practices.

Diminishing a person's belief in free will leads to them feeling less like their true selves, according to recent research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. In a pair of studies, researchers from Texas A&M University manipulated people's beliefs in free will to see how this would affect the subjects' sense of authenticity, their sense of self.