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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: brain

brain stories: 103 news summaries

1 - 20 of 103 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

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 Bad Driving Is in the Genes 

Study says 30% can't help being lousy on the roads

Oct 29, 09 4:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Certain people—perhaps up to 30% of the population—may be fated by their genetic makeup to be bad drivers, a new study suggests. Researchers tested a small group of people on a driving simulator and found that subjects with a particular gene variant weren't so hot at keeping up... More »

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motorists • genetic modification • brain • genes • driving • multiple sclerosis

 Multitasking Causes 
 Serious Brain Drain 

Constant switching of focus is inefficient, can lead to trouble

Oct 26, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Multitasking isn’t helping you do anything faster, and constant exposure to multiple electronic media makes people really bad at—multitasking. “When you’re pushing yourself to perform two or more tasks, especially complicated tasks, it’s not beneficial,” a researcher tells the Boston Globe . “It’s... More »

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brain • multitask • texting • scientific study • cognitive overload • multitasking • electronic media • concentration

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

CIA Interrogations Caused Brain Damage: Scientist

Harsh techniques damaged subject's facility for recall

Sep 21, 09 3:26 PM CDT
(AP) - The CIA's harsh interrogations are likely to have damaged the brains of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to recall and provide the detailed information the spy agency sought, according to a new scientific paper. The paper scrutinizes the techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration through the lens... More »

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CIA • memory • brain • brain damage • neuroscience • sleep deprivation • waterboarding • enhanced interrogation techniques

 NFL Stars Donate 
 Brains to Science 

After death, players' brains will be used to help research into concussion injuries

Sep 15, 09 2:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three NFL players have agreed to donate their brains after they die to help scientists better understand sports brain injuries, HealthDay reports. Matt Birk of the Baltimore Ravens, Lofa Tatupu of the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals' Sean Morey are the first active NFL players to join the brain... More »

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NFL • Arizona Cardinals • brain • Baltimore Ravens • concussions • Seattle Seahawks • sports injuries • Lofa Tatupu • chronic traumatic encephalopathy • football player • Matt Birk • Sean Morey

 Blueberry Smoothies 
 Boost Brain Power 

'Super food' can increase powers of concentration, ward off dementia

Sep 11, 09 3:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - A blueberry smoothie in the morning is good for your brain in the afternoon—and in the long run, according to new research. Scientists at a British university found that one blueberry smoothie increased powers of concentration by as much as 20% in a single day. Consumption of blueberries can... More »

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food • memory • dementia • brain • fruit and vegetables

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


 Playing Tetris 
 Boosts Brain 
 Power 

Study claims game
has building blocks
for better grey matter

Sep 2, 09 6:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Playing Tetris leaves people's brains better-equipped to deal with more than just an onslaught of falling blocks, according to a new study. Researchers—funded by the video game's makers—took brain scans of adolescent girls before and after three months of daily Tetris playing and found that some parts of... More »

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brain • neurology • arcade games • video games • Tetris

Scientist Seeks Help for the Hopelessly Lost

Brain disorder causes people to get lost even in their own homes

Aug 15, 09 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Canadian neuroscientist has discovered a brain disorder that causes sufferers to spend their lives hopelessly lost even in their own neighborhoods, reports the Canadian Press. People with developmental topographical disorientation utterly lack the ability to form mental maps and orient themselves, leaving them with no idea how to navigate... More »

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brain • neuroscience • neurological disorder • neurology

High Cholesterol in 40s Tied to Dementia Later

Lowering it won't necessarily help, studies suggest

Aug 10, 09 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - High cholesterol in middle age may increase a person’s future risk of Alzheimer’s disease, NPR reports. “Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s puts people at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in later life,” says one researcher, who... More »

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elderly • dementia • public health • cholesterol • aging • brain • medical research • health research • vascular dementia • Alzheimer's Disease • women's issues

 Sunny Days Help You Think 

Cloudiness reduces cognitive agility in depressed people, researchers found

Aug 5, 09 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Does a cloudy day leave you groggy and unable to focus? If so, a study suggests you’re not alone: Cloudy days, regardless of season, can have an effect on cognitive function, MSNBC reports. Researchers cross-referencing the results of cognitive tests from 16,800 Americans with data on daily sunshine... More »

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weather • memory • depression • learning • brain • sun • sunlight • mild cognitive impairment

(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

(Newser) - Regular doses of Omega 3, found in fish oil, can help reduce memory loss, reports the Telegraph. Healthy 70-year-old subjects taking capsules containing 900 mg of the fatty acid docosahexaenoic slashed errors on a test that measured learning and memory, according to researchers. The improvement, exhibited over a six-month period,... More »

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study • brain • memory loss • scientific study • omega 3 • fish oil

glossies

Video Games May
Stave Off Mental Decline


Jul 11, 09 7:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Shelling goblins and building medieval empires may be perfect ways to stave off cognitive decline, Anita Hamilton writes in Time. Research already shows that challenging tasks can keep brains sharp in old age, but now multi-million-dollar studies are getting the elderly to play video games—not puzzle or math games,... More »

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elderly • brain • cognitive decline • cognitive development • video games • cognitive enhancement

Real 'Thinking Cap' May Not
Be So Far Off

Magnetic pulse boosts learning, study shows; headgear next?

Jul 7, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - A magnetic pulse directed at a certain area of the brain may enhance learning and memory, the Telegraph reports. Canadian researchers subjected volunteers to a test that required they track a dot moving on a computer screen with a joystick, and volunteers who received stimulation fared much better. More »

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memory • learning • brain • neuroscience • cognitive science • magnetic field • cognitive enhancement • thinking cap

(Newser) - People prefer to listen with their right ears and are more giving when addressed from that side, LiveScience reports. An Italian study conducted in nightclubs shows that almost three-quarters of people observed listen with their right ear. Moreover, the researchers cadged significantly more cigarettes when they approached clubgoers on the... More »

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Italy • brain • club • listeners • scientific study • ear • hemisphere • disco • favor

Insurer Sees Games as Boost for Old Brains

'Mental fitness' software improves reaction time, peripheral vision

Jun 8, 09 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - An experiment by Allstate Insurance and a San Francisco software startup that aims to use computer games to improve the mental health of all ages is getting good reviews, the Chronicle reports, including from one local who says improved reaction time and peripheral vision saved him from an accident. “... More »

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software • brain • driving • auto insurance • brain fitness • Allstate • Posit Science

'Rogue' Protein Spread Key to Alzheimer's 

Discovery casts light on tangles found in brains of disease sufferers

Jun 8, 09 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - A protein linked to Alzheimer’s can run amok in the brain, affecting healthy tissue, scientists have found. All nerve cells contain the tau protein, but a “rogue form” can lead to protein clumps in cells, called neurofibrillary tangles, that are believed to play a major role in Alzheimer’... More »

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medical breakthrough • brain • protein • neurology • Alzheimer's Disease • spread • tau protein

 Scientists 
 Locate Brain's 
 Sentimental Center 

Same Spot as Sex Urges

May 20, 09 4:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - It turns out sex and sentimentality are linked after all, reports Reuters. Scientists have pinpointed areas of the brain that determine an individual's warm and fuzzy feelings—which they say are the same regions that control sex and some food urges. Researchers hope the findings may help explain brain evolution... More »

MORE ABOUT:
autism • schizophrenia • brain • neuroscience • personality • Cambridge University





 Retire Later, Delay 
 Alzheimer's: Study 

Work keeps brain alert, cells connected

May 18, 09 1:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but delaying retirement is one way to stave off Alzheimer's, a new study has found. Each extra year of work amounted to a six-week delay in the condition's development among patients studied. Alzheimer's is caused by brain cell loss, and the mental... More »

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work • retirement • brain • medical study • Alzheimer's Disease

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