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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: neurons

neurons stories: 16 news summaries

 New Brain Cells 
 Bump Old Memories 

Study finds new neurons clear out short-term memory

Nov 13, 09 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) - The birth of new brain cells bumps old memories into long-term storage, according to new research which upends earlier theories. Researchers working with rodents found that the creation of new neurons destabilized existing connections in the hippocampus instead of strengthening them as they had expected, effectively "clearing the inbox"... More »

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memory • brain • neuroscience • neurons • short-term memory • hippocampus

Your Brain Has
a Neuron Just for Tom Cruise

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

Oct 9, 09 11:47 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Barack Obama • Tom Cruise • LeBron James • brain • neurology • neurons • Jon Gosselin • Kate Gosselin • celebrities

Reckless Teens Have More Mature Brains 

Study links risky behavior to a better crop of white matter

Sep 2, 09 12:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Conventional wisdom says that teens who experiment with drugs, sex, and other risky behaviors do so because their brains—specifically the frontal-lobe areas responsible for decision making—are immature. But a new study turns that notion upside down, suggesting that risky teens have more mature brains than teens who play... More »

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brain • frontal lobe • fMRI • neurons • teenager • risky behavior • risk-taking

(Newser) - A functional artificial brain could be built within the next decade, leading scientist and brain-builder Henry Markram told a tech conference. Markram, who leads a project seeking to reverse engineer the mammalian brain from lab data, says his team has already duplicated parts of the rat brain, the BBC reports.... More »

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technology • brain • neurology • neurons • cortex • supercomputer • Henry Markram

 Think Hard: 
 Telekinetic Toys 
 On Their Way 

Concentration 'magically' lifts ball in tube

Apr 23, 09 12:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two companies are set to release toys this fall that kids can operate using only their minds—and that’s just the beginning of a telekinetic revolution, experts say. To use one toy, intrigued individuals wear a headset and concentrate on anything. The toy senses the brain’s electrical activity... More »

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technology • toys • mind • Mattel • neurons • gadget • telekinesis

CIA Tactics Can Cause Mental Harm: Doctors

Bush-era interrogation memos understated long-term effects

Apr 20, 09 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Experts disagree with Bush-era rulings, made public in memos released last week, that interrogation techniques the CIA used on terror suspects don’t cause lasting psychological damage, the Los Angeles Times reports. “There’s absolutely no question they are going to lead to permanent mental harm,” one psychology... More »

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torture • mental health • psychology • brain damage • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • neurons

 Docs Track Autism 
 to Brain's Fever Center 

Batch of neurons may be key to treatment

Apr 7, 09 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mulling over the evidence that the symptoms of autistic children recede during a fever—long reported by parents and confirmed by a study 2 years ago—two New York doctors had a “eureka moment,” seeing that link as a clue to treating the condition, Time reports. The same... More »

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autism • brain • medical treatment • fever • neurotransmitter • neurons

Brain Scientists Find 'Memory Molecule'

Blocking it could erase memories; enhancing may stave off dementia

Apr 6, 09 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Imagine having the power to wipe out a particularly troubling memory, or to enhance neuron systems in order to stave off the effects of dementia. Such techniques, once only considered by science fiction writers and philosophers, could now be within our grasp, based on studies in animals. The New York ... More »

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memory • dementia • neurons • molecules • brain chemistry

Single Nerve
Cell Can Hold a Memory: Study

New findings may shed light on addiction, memory disorders

Jan 26, 09 12:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Individual neurons in the brain can hang on to memories for a minute or longer, a new study finds. Something like a computer’s temporary random access memory (RAM), this working memory is what allows you to keep a phone number in your head for a few seconds, then forget... More »

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memory • addiction • cognitive science • dopamine • scientific discoveries • scientific study • neurons • short-term memory • working memory

 Ultrasound May Help 
 Counter Brain Disease 

Low frequency ultrasound shown to release neurotransmitters

Jan 10, 09 4:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Bombarding the brain with sound waves may not seem like the most logical way to repair damage, but a new study shows that ultrasound may have therapeutic uses, reports the Economist. While ultrasound technology has long been used to take images of human interiors, such as fetuses in the... More »

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Parkinson's disease • brain • neurons • Alzheimer's Disease • brain chemistry • ultrasound

Japanese Scientists Can Read Your Mind

They find a way
to extract images directly from the brain

Dec 12, 08 12:02 PM CST
(Newser) - The Thought Police could eventually exist in reality, if they can just figure out how to harness new technology developed by Japanese researchers, the Daily Yomuri reports. The team managed to re-create images that people were looking at—using only subjects' recorded brain activity. This is the first successful display... More »

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brain • neuroscience • fMRI • neurons • scientific breakthroughs

Vitamin Could Delay Onset of Alzheimer's

B3 pills caused big improvement in mice; human trials to begin

Nov 5, 08 2:07 PM CST
(Newser) - A simple dose of vitamin B3 may be one of the keys to combating the brain deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s disease, California scientists say. The team found that diseased mice given high levels of the vitamin retained normal memory ability over the four months of a study, and healthy... More »

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memory • medical breakthrough • medical research • vitamin B • neurons • scientific research • Alzheimer's Disease

 Autism-Reversing 
 Drugs Show Promise 

MIT scientists stumbled onto workaround for misfiring brain system

Sep 24, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - MIT scientists have discovered one of the mechanisms of Fragile X Syndrome, one cause of autism, and are developing drugs to treat it, NPR reports. The disorder, triggered by a genetic mutation, interferes with the normal links between brain cells, making those networks something like a car without a brakes.... More »

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medical breakthrough • mental health • autism • MIT • brain • neurons • scientific research • Fragile X Syndrome

Brain Doesn't Remember Events—It Relives Them

Study records evidence supporting long-suspected memory pathway

Sep 5, 08 9:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists for the first time have observed how brain cells drum up a memory, and the findings buttress the notion that our minds don't so much remember events as relive them. When recalling short film clips they had seen, patients' brains repeated the same pattern of neuron activity they experienced... More »

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memory • brain • scientific study • neurons • brain scans • Alzheimer's Disease

Study Yields More Clues About Autism

Scientists find genes needed for learning stuck in the off position

Jul 10, 08 6:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have found six new genes linked to autism, inching closer to a fuller understanding of the disorder and how to treat it, the AP reports. The genes in question are necessary for learning but are essentially stuck in the "off" position. The finding lends credence to the philosophy... More »

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Middle East • autism • DNA • genetic defects • scientific study • neurons • synapse

Chronic Pain Rewires the Brain

Researchers find suffering constant pain can cause permanent changes

Feb 6, 08 5:34 AM CST
(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... More »

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depression • chronic pain • brain • neuroscience • neurology • insomnia • anxiety • neurons • cortex • sleeplessness

16 Stories


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