brain function

Physical decline caused by slow decay of brain's myelin

harminka — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:41:11 -0500

During this year's baseball playoffs, Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., 38, threw a picture-perfect strike from center field to home plate to stop an opposing player from scoring. The White Sox ultimately won the game by a single run and clinched the division title.

Searching the Internet increases brain function

harminka — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:18:47 -0500

UCLA scientists have found that for computer-savvy middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet triggers key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning. The findings demonstrate that Web search activity may help stimulate and possibly improve brain function.

Marijuana Use Takes Toll on Adolescent Brain Function

harminka — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:33:57 -0500

Brain imaging shows that the brains of teens that use marijuana are working harder than the brains of their peers who abstain from the drug.

Musicians use both sides of their brains more frequently than average people

harminka — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:28:15 -0500

Supporting what many of us who are not musically talented have often felt, new research reveals that trained musicians really do think differently than the rest of us.

Brand attitudes improve when product is paired with favorable actor

harminka — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:00:29 -0500

Love a rap artist’s music, and you may develop fond feelings for the products placed in that artist’s rap video. That is essentially the conclusion that a team of investigators came to in an intriguing research article published in this month’s issue of Psychology & Marketing (P&M).

Brains rely on old and new mechanisms to diminish fear

harminka — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:29:25 -0500

Humans have developed complex thought processes that can help to regulate their emotions, but these processes are also linked with evolutionarily older mechanisms that are common across species, according to a study by neuroscientists at New York and Rutgers universities. The research appears in the Sept. 11 issue of the journal Neuron.

Neuroscientist scans brain for clues on best time to multitask

harminka — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:18:16 -0500

In today's fast-paced world, multitasking has become an increasingly necessary part of our daily routine. Unfortunately, multitasking also is notoriously inefficient. However, a new brain imaging study led by a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of New Hampshire finds that there are optimal times when we are better suited to multitask.

Playing, and even watching, sports improves brain function

harminka — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:01:27 -0500

Being an athlete or merely a fan improves language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport language, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

New switch found in brain regulating appetite, reproduction

harminka — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:36:55 -0500

Body weight and fertility have long known to be related to each other – women who are too thin, for example, can have trouble becoming pregnant. Now, a master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both, and researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say it may work the same way in humans.

Study sheds light on rhythms of brain

harminka — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:14:58 -0500

In our brains, groups of neurons fire up simultaneously for just milliseconds at a time, in random rhythms, similar to twinkling lightning bugs in our backyards. New research from neuroscientists at Indiana University and the University of Montreal provides a model -- a rhyme and reason -- for this random synchronization.

Brain noise quiets down with maturity

harminka — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:44:05 -0500

Canadian scientists have shown that a noisy brain is a healthy brain.

Monkey studies important for brain science

harminka — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:32:57 -0500

Studies with non-human primates have made major contributions to our understanding of the brain and will continue to be an important, if small, part of neuroscience research, according to a recent review published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.