Artificial Brain Could Be Just 10 Years Away

Researchers find suffering constant pain can cause permanent changes

(NEWSER) - Researchers studying the brains of people suffering from chronic pain have found that an area of their cortex is permanently active when it should sometimes deactivate, Reuters reports. That part of the brain, usually associated with emotion, stays on "full throttle" at all times. Researchers say this could explain why people who endure chronic pain are also more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and shortened attention spans. More»

...and another for every celeb you recognize, study finds

(NEWSER) - You have a neuron in your brain devoted entirely to recognizing Tom Cruise. Another specializes in Barack Obama, yet another LeBron James, and, yes, Jon and Kate are taking up two. By studying a decade worth of brain activity, researchers have discovered a series of cells that act like celebrity groupies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Each pulls together all the sensory data on a personality to create a mental image. More»

Doctors pinpoint the so-called 'nocebo' effect

(NEWSER) - Worried that it's unhealthy to be glued to the Internet, surfing through stories? That anxiety alone could cause health problems—and doctors are now uncovering the neurological roots of this so-called "nocebo" effect, according to an award-winning essay by Penny Sarchet in the Guardian . The opposite of the "placebo" effect, the "nocebo" effect occurs when people believe that an illness or side-effect is real. Turns out it's all in the mind, and scientists can pinpoint it. More»

Monkeys keep their gray matter throughout their lives

(NEWSER) - Next time you start to feel mentally superior to a chimp, think again. It turns out that while human brains shrink as they age, chimpanzee brains do not, a new George Washington University study has discovered. The findings upend the conventional wisdom that all primates saw their brains shrink over time, the Wall Street Journal explains—in fact, the researchers now suspect that only humans decline in this way. More»

No, we don't just use 10% of the thing

(NEWSER) - The brain is much mythologized in mainstream culture—so much so that many believed “facts” are actually fiction, reports the Smithsonian:

1. We use just 10% of our brains. Nope, brains scans show that even basic tasks use a large portion of the brain—and even a small brain injury can have big repercussions.
2. We lose brain power after 40. It does get harder to learn languages or memorize random words—but older people have bigger vocabularies, are better at judging character, and test better on social matters, like conflict resolution.