Brain

Recently, scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) discovered a new learning rule for a specific type of excitatory synaptic connection in the hippocampus. Their study was now published in the renowned journal Nature Communications on May 13. These synapses are located in the so-called CA3 region of the hippocampus, which plays a critical role for storage and recall of spatial information in the brain. One of its hallmark properties is that memory recall can even be triggered by incomplete cues.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Assessing whether a fluffy bunny or a giant spider poses a threat to our safety happens automatically. New research suggests the same brain areas may be involved in both detecting threats posed by animals and evaluating other humans' intentions. The study, published in the May 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, offers insight into a basic feature of human cognition: how we understand and evaluate other creatures.

For decades, scientists have fiercely debated whether rapid eye movement (REM) sleep - the phase where dreams appear - is directly involved in memory formation.

Now, a study published in Science by researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (McGill University) and the University of Bern provides evidence that REM sleep does, indeed, play this role - at least in mice.

In a Veterans Affairs study of more than 300 enlisted Army National Guard and Army Reserve members who had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, a majority reported symptoms consistent with a condition known as chronic multisymptom illness (CMI). The data were collected a year after the soldiers returned home.

The results suggest that deployment to these conflicts could trigger symptoms consistent with CMI.

Incorporating omega-3, vitamins and mineral supplements into the diets of children with extreme aggression can reduce this problem behavior in the short term, especially its more impulsive, emotional form, according to University of Pennsylvania researchers who published their findings in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

A new study in mice provides direct causal evidence that rapid eye movement or REM sleep helps to consolidate memory in the brain. The link between REM sleep and memory has been long been considered by scientists, but the transient nature of REM sleep, along with the ethical concerns of experimentally depriving humans of REM sleep, make it difficult to study.

In a study that included 29 NCAA football players, repetitive subconcussive impacts were associated with changes in near point of convergence (NPC) ocular-motor function among players in the higher-impact group, although NPC was normalized after a 3-week rest period, according to a study published online by JAMA Ophthalmology. The NPC measures the closest point to which one can maintain convergence (simultaneous inward movement of eyes toward each other) while focusing on an object before diplopia (double vision) occurs.

A new study from King's College London offers clues as to why chronic pain can persist, even when the injury that caused it has gone. Although still in its infancy, this research could explain how small and seemingly innocuous injuries leave molecular 'footprints' which add up to more lasting damage, and ultimately chronic pain.

The discovery that dung beetles use the light of the Milky Way to navigate in the world has received much praise. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now taken a new step in understanding the existence of these unique beetles: when the beetles dance on top of a ball of dung, they simultaneously take a photograph - a snapshot - of how celestial bodies are positioned.

Then they know where they are going and roll off with their ball of dung in a straight line across the savannah.

University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new theory for the causes of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, involving an out-of-control immune system.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, the researchers have assembled strong evidence that the neurological decline common to these diseases is caused by 'auto-inflammation', where the body's own immune system develops a persistent inflammatory response and causes brain cells to die.

Loneliness is a widespread condition. It can make people depressed and even physically ill. The psychologists Maike Luhmann and Louise C. Hawkley conducted a representative survey among 16,132 participants of the Socio-economic Panel (SOEP) in 2013. They published their findings under the title "Age Differences in Loneliness From Late Adolescence to Oldest Old Age" in the journal Developmental Psychology. Their research shows that the loneliness elderly people experience is often due to their decreasing social interactions and oftentimes low income.

• Brain cells that play a crucial role in appetite and weight gain identified. They are known as NG2-glia cells.
• Although these cells exist within different parts of the brain, it is those found in a specific brain structure called the median eminence that are crucial to weight control.
• Discovery opens door to development of new drugs designed to control weight gain and obesity.

A class of drug that inhibits estrogen production and is used to treat breast cancer has been found to quickly and effectively suppress dangerous brain seizures, according to a new Northwestern University study.

"The effect was profound and very clear," said Catherine S. Woolley, senior author of the study, which was conducted in a rat model of status epilepticus, a condition characterized by a prolonged episode of seizure activity. "This shows that clinically available drugs could be effective therapies for suppressing seizures in humans."

ANN ARBOR--When applying for a job or to college, women seek positions with fewer applicants than men, according to a new University of Michigan study.

The researchers found that the size of a competition--such as the number of applicants to a particular job or the number of people vying for a monetary reward--shapes who enters the competition.

Women prefer smaller competitions, whereas men seek larger competitions, which are typically associated with higher monetary rewards.

Long-term members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) report little or no craving for alcohol, but why this happens remains poorly understood.