Our memories work better when our brains are prepared to absorb new information, according to a new study by MIT researchers. A team led by Professor John Gabrieli has shown that activity in a specific part of the brain, known as the parahippocampal cortex (PHC), predicts how well people will remember a visual scene. ...

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have conducted a study which has found striking brain similarities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The research has also pinpointed for the first time that a process which controls how information is transmitted from neuron to neuron in the brain is altered in both conditions and may potentially contribute to the d ...

A brain imaging scan may help identify people with no memory or thinking problems who have the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to research published in the August 24, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered in mice a molecular trigger that initiates myelination, the process by which brain cell networks are reinforced with an insulating material called myelin that speeds their ability to transmit messages. The myelination process is an essential part of brain development. Myelin formation is necessary for brain cells to communicate and it may cont ...

Autism is a mysterious developmental disease because it often leaves complex abilities intact while impairing seemingly elementary ones. For example, it is well documented that autistic children often have difficulty correctly using pronouns, sometimes referring to themselves as "you" instead of "I." ...

High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and smoking in middle age can cause vascular damage, decrease brain volume, and cause cognitive decline later in life, a study led by researchers at UC Davis has found. The study is published in the Aug. 2 issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...

We are all familiar with the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” – but have we actually thought about what it means? Over the last two decades, neuroscience research has been investigating whether this popular saying has a real basis in human behavior. Included in this report is a 2-part series on the role of mirror neurons in human behavior. ...

A new study suggests smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight in middle age may cause brain shrinkage and lead to cognitive problems up to a decade later. The study is published in the August 2, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...

Findings from a brain imaging study may provide clues for why some individuals with heavy cigarette-smoking habits experience depressed mood upon withdrawal from smoking, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The research was conducted by Ingrid Bacher, Ph.D., and colleagues from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, an ...

German researchers have used drivers' brain signals, for the first time, to assist in braking, providing much quicker reaction times and a potential solution to the thousands of car accidents that are caused by human error. Using electroencephalography (EEG) – a technique that attaches electrodes to the scalp – the researchers demonstrated that the mind-reading system, accompanied with modern traffic sensor ...