Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: brain

brain stories: 106 news summaries

81 - 100 of 106 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

Tiny Shocks
Win by a Nose

Sense of smell shows electric response; technique could help PTSD patients

Mar 28, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Electric shocks can sharpen the sense of smell, a finding that suggests new ways of altering sensory perception, the Chicago Tribune reports. MRIs showed subjects’ brains actually changing after researchers administered tiny shocks, which improved their ability to distinguish between similar smells. Because many psychological conditions relate to the senses,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mental health • brain • MRI • therapy • sense of smell • PTSD • electrical shocks • health research • phobias

 Heal Me, Amadeus! 

Docs credit "Mozart effect" with improving epilepsy

Mar 18, 08 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - A British patient's epilepsy showed remarkable improvement after he started listening to 45 minutes of Mozart daily, the Independent reports. And while research is still sparse on the music's effect on epilepsy, some doctors speculate that his complex melodies stimulate the brain in a way other composers' works don't. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • classical music • brain • epilepsy • neurology • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sea Slugs Inspire New
Brain Implant Technology

Findings could apply to people with Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries

Mar 7, 08 7:17 AM CST
(Newser) - Sure, it’s a warty creepy-crawly that lurks at the bottom of the ocean, but the sea cucumber has inspired scientists to create a new material that could be used in implanted brain electrodes to help people with Parkinson’s disease, reports the BBC. The creature stiffens its skin when... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Parkinson's disease • brain • neurological disorder • stroke • implant • spinal cord • health research • scientific breakthroughs • sea cucumber • brain implants

Mind-Reading Edges Closer
to Reality

New computer can determine what
you're looking at

Mar 6, 08 3:30 AM CST
(Newser) - Mind-reading has taken a step toward possibility with a new computer that can decode brain activity to determine what a person is looking at with up to 90% accuracy, the Independent reports. With improvements, the technology could be able to reconstruct any image a person could conjure up—and someday,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
brain • research • mind • neuroscience • neurology • neuroimaging • fMRI

A.I. Will Match Human Brain
in 20 Years

But nanobots in our neurons will make
us smarter, too

Feb 16, 08 6:54 PM CST
(Newser) - One engineer and futurist says it’s only a matter of time before machines are as smart as people, and people are part machine, the BBC reports. Ray Kurzweil claims that artificial intelligence will produce human-level smarts and even emotions by 2029. Humans, meanwhile, will inject nanobots into their brains... More »

MORE ABOUT:
artificial intelligence • intelligence • brain • robots • nanotechnology • Ray Kurzweil • futurism

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 »

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

Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind

From memories to sleep to consciousness itself, scientists still can't agree

Jan 19, 08 11:49 AM CST
(Newser) - Debated for centuries, the human mind still holds a mystery or two in modern times. Here are LiveScience's top 10:
  1. Consciousness. Still the biggest human puzzle since Socrates.
  2. Cryonics. Can gray matter be revived from a 320-degree deep freeze?
  3. Aging. An unappreciated benefit, or simply cell decay with
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sleep • memory • science • list • brain • mind • mystery • top 10 • laughter

'Google Man' Never Forgets

Cal-Irvine researchers examining his remarkable recall

Jan 16, 08 10:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Give Brad Williams a date—say, Jan. 1, 1962. He’ll tell you on that Monday his mother worked on the calendar while he watched To Tell The Truth. Sound amazing? Williams’ very rare detailed memory is called hyperthymesia, and University of California at Irvine scientists are studying his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • memory • brain • documentary • University of California Irvine • hyperthymesia

Hospital Fined for Year's Third Botched Brain Surgery

Rhode Island state officials order new safety procedures

Nov 27, 07 5:57 AM CST
(Newser) - State health officials fined Rhode Island Hospital yesterday and ordered it to change procedures after a surgeon began operating on the wrong side of a woman's head, the Providence Journal reports. A patient died after a similar incident four months ago. Yesterday's incident is the third botched neurosurgical procedure this... More »

MORE ABOUT:
surgery • medical malpractice • patients • brain • doctor • Rhode Island • brain surgery

Gene Therapy for Parkinson's Delivers
 Major Results

Researchers find dramatic improvement

Nov 20, 07 4:47 AM CST
(Newser) - New evidence indicates that the first gene therapy for Parkinson's disease has achieved measurable success. Brain scans of patients receiving the treatment confirmed significant changes, supporting earlier anecdotal accounts of 65% improvements in mobility and other gains, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • genetics • gene therapy • Parkinson's disease • brain

Unruly Kids Don't Do Worse in School 

Studies show many youngsters grow out of behavior problems

Nov 13, 07 3:33 PM CST
(Newser) - In what will surely be balm to desperate parents—and an annoyance to school administrators—the New York Times pairs two new studies that find kids with early behavior problems may be more likely to grow out of them than is commonly thought. In one, researchers looked at over 16,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ADHD • children • behavior • brain

Brains of ADHD Kids
Mature Later: Study

Cortex controlling action and attention lags three years behind

Nov 13, 07 3:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The brains of hyperactive children appear to develop more slowly than those of their peers,  researchers have discovered, with the cortex—the area that affects attention and action— maturing 3 years later than in other children. The finding accounts for the fact that many kids with ADHD grow out... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ADHD • children • brain • MRI • prefrontal cortex • scientific study

Scientists
Find Eternal Sunshine Spot
in Your Mind

Study: Brain section thinks happy thoughts

Oct 25, 07 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you think the glass is half empty, you’re a pessimist—but if you think it’s half full, you have strong activity in your rostral anterior cingulate cortex. That’s the section of the brain, located right behind the eyes, that controls optimism, according to a new study... More »

MORE ABOUT:
depression • brain • neuroscience • neurology • deep brain stimulation • optimism

Old Doesn't Mean Crotchety, Whippersnapper

Study finds 'negative bias' erodes with age

Sep 2, 07 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Aging might cause the memory to, er, lapse, but it also can create a more positive outlook, reports Science. We tend to have a "negative bias"—an inclination to pay more attention to bad news than good—which is reversed as we age. Young people's brain activity... More »

MORE ABOUT:
elderly • aging • brain • neurology • old age

Heart Meds May Work Against Alzheimer's

Anti-cholesterol drugs appear to combat
brain disease

Aug 28, 07 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The best medicine for Alzheimer's disease may be a heart drug, researchers say, and the discovery may shed light on the way the devastating disorder acts on the brain. Subjects taking popular statin-based cholesterol meds developed fewer protein deposits in their brains, reports Time, possibly confirming suspicions that Alzheimer’s... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • health • heart disease • brain • statins • neurology • Alzheimer's Disease

Brain Implant Shows Promise for Stroke Victims

Electrical stimulations helps organ rewire itself

Aug 22, 07 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stroke patients have shown lasting, "extremely promising" results, even years after suffering a brain hemorrhage, from an experimental therapy that electrically stimulates the brain. The currents help the organ rewire itself to take over for stroke-damaged sections, Newsweek reports, and study participants have improved significantly beyond what they could... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • brain • neuroscience • stroke • implant • hemorrhage • therapy • electrical impulse

Scientists Find Switch to Turn On Brain Cells

Breakthrough could treat mental disorders

Aug 14, 07 3:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Neuroscientists are experimenting with switching targeted groups of brain cells on and off using remote-controlled lasers, promising hope for treatment of mental disorders, reports the New York Times. The technique, using cells altered with a photo-sensitive protein called channelrhodopsin-2, could one day be used to treat a host of problems... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Duke University • depression • autism • MIT • brain • channelrhodopsin 2 • Emory University • neurotransmitter • halorhodopsin • neurology

Woman Has Pencil Removed From Brain After 55 Years

Carry your pencils eraser-side up!

Aug 7, 07 5:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - A German woman had a pencil removed from her brain after living with it for 55 years. Margret Wegner fell down while holding a pencil when she was four years old, jamming it into her brain and leading to a lifetime of headaches and nosebleeds. Surgeons finally removed most of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weird • Germany • surgery • brain • Margret Wegner • pencil

2 Studies
Tie Dopamine
to ADHD

Low level of brain chemical connected to substance abuse, too

Aug 7, 07 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Levels of dopamine—a brain chemical associated with movement and emotion—may explain the occurrence of attention deficit and hyperactivity, two studies published yesterday concluded. The studies found decreased dopamine activity in the brains of individuals, both children and adults, diagnosed with ADHD. Doctors say these decreased levels could have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ADHD • health • brain • dopamine • chemical

Electric Stimulation Revives Man
in Near-Coma

Case brings hope,
raises questions

Aug 1, 07 8:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Electric stimulation may help improve the brain function of patients in a minimally conscious state, a case study reported in Nature reveals. A 38-year-old man who was mute and barely conscious for nearly 6 years is able to name objects, perform precise movements, and eat without the aid of a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • health • patients • brain • medical research • brain damage • neuroscience • Terry Schiavo

81 - 100 of 106 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>


from our news partners