The process of learning requires the sophisticated ability to constantly update our expectations of future rewards so we may make accurate predictions about those rewards in the face of a changing environment. Although exactly how the brain orchestrates this process remains unclear, a new study by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) suggests […]
Tag Archives | Brain
The Importance Of Early Detection Of Depression In Young Children
It is difficult to imagine a depressed third-grader. It is even more difficult to imagine a depressed preschooler. Although childhood depression is a well-recognized and treated disorder, only recently have research studies begun looking at depression in children younger than six years old. In the new Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the […]
EEG Study Finds That Infants Capable of Learning While Asleep
Newborn infants are capable of a simple form of learning while they are asleep according to a study by researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The finding may one day lead to a test that can identify infants at risk for developmental disorders that do not become apparent until later in childhood. The […]
Creativity Linked To Mental Health
New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia. Check the […]
Mom’s Voice Works As Well As A Hug For Comfort
“Reach out and touch someone” – good advertising slogan, or evolutionary imperative? How about both? What Madison Avenue knew decades ago has been observed in brain chemistry. A simple phone call from mom can calm frayed nerves by sparking the release of a powerful stress-quelling hormone, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (read […]
Mirror Neuron System Functions Normally In Individuals With Autism
A team of neuroscientists has found that the mirror neuron system, which is thought to play a central role in social communications, responds normally in individuals with autism. Their findings, reported in the journal Neuron, counter theories suggesting that a mirror system dysfunction causes the social difficulties exhibited by individuals with autism. (read the full […]
New Nerve Cells Form Even Into Old Age
After birth the brain looses many nerve cells and this continues throughout life – most neurons are formed before birth, after which many excess neurons degenerate. However, there are some cells that are still capable of division in old age – in the brains of mice, at least. According to scientists from the Max Planck […]
Stem Cells From Uterine Lining May Repair Brain Cells Damaged By Parkinson’s Disease
Stem cells derived from the uterine lining, or endometrium, and transplanted into the brains of laboratory mice with Parkinson’s disease appear to restore functioning of brain cells damaged by the disease, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. The findings are published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. (read […]
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