Brain

An alternative approach to the traditional introductory laboratory course at the undergraduate level significantly increases student retention rates, according to research published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Scientists have found that people who feel powerless actually see the world differently, and find a task to be more physically challenging than those with a greater sense of personal and social power.

Boston, MA-- Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that exposure to short wavelength, or blue light, during the biological day directly and immediately improves alertness and performance. These findings are published in the February issue of Sleep.

Amsterdam, NL, February 4, 2014 – There is a growing need for Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT) due to the huge influx of soldiers returning from war zones with brain injuries, athletes with sports-related head injuries, and the growing population with age-related cognitive decline.

Intensive blood pressure and cholesterol lowering was not associated with reduced risk for diabetes-related cognitive decline in older patients with long-standing type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a study by Jeff D. Williamson, M.D., M.H.S., of the Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues.

There are sleep cycles and there are also weight loss cycles. Almost everyone loses weight on weekdays and gains weight on weekends. What separates the slim from the heavy isn't how much more they gain on weekends. It's how much they lose during the weekdays. In this study, Dr. Brian Wansink from Cornell University, in collaboration with researchers from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Tampere University of Technology, looks into the impact that the seven-days-a-week human cycle has on weight.

MADISON — As many American public school districts adopt single-sex classrooms and even entire schools, a new study finds scant evidence that they offer educational or social benefits. The study was the largest and most thorough effort to examine the issue to date, says Janet Hyde, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The less education you have, the more your attitude counts when it comes to staying alive and well.

That's the finding of a new study conducted by personality researchers from the University of Rochester and Brandeis University. They found that adults without college degrees live longer if they feel like they're in control of their lives. Those who feel little control are three times as likely to die.

Montréal, February 3, 2014 – In a study published today by the medical journal Paediatrics & Child Health, IRCM researchers address shortcomings in transitional care in the Canadian healthcare system. The team led by Eric Racine and Emily Bell, Montréal neuroethics experts, identified important challenges in the transition from paediatric to adult health care, especially among youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (such as autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy).

LOS ANGELES (EMBARGOED UNTIL 12 NOON EST ON FEB. 3, 2014) – Many people with high blood pressure are familiar with ACE inhibitors, drugs that widen blood vessels by limiting activity of ACE – angiotensin-converting enzyme – a naturally occurring protein found in tissues throughout the body.

Scientists have known that shy toddlers often have delayed speech, but a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that the lag in using words does not mean that the children don't understand what's being said.

The nature of the connection between behavioral inhibitions—such as shyness or fearfulness—and delayed language acquisition has not been well understood.

Adolescents with high media use, reduced sleep and low physical activity comprise an 'invisible-risk' group that has high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, according to a large international study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The results of the study are published in the February issue of World Psychiatry.

INDIANAPOLIS – Research led by Jesse C. Stewart, Ph.D., of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is the first to find that treatment of depression before any apparent signs of cardiovascular disease can decrease the risk of future heart attacks and strokes by almost half.

Johns Hopkins surgeons report they have devised a better, safer method to replace bone removed from the skull after lifesaving brain surgery. The new technique, they say, appears to result in fewer complications than standard restoration, which has changed little since its development in the 1890s.

Human beings are emotional creatures whose state of mind can usually be observed through their facial expressions.

A commonly-held belief, first proposed by Dr Paul Ekman, posits there are six basic emotions which are universally recognised and easily interpreted through specific facial expressions, regardless of language or culture. These are: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust.