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Tag Archives: neuroscience

A mind for math

By Stephen Ornes / May 19, 2013

A child’s talent for learning math may relate to the size and wiring of different parts of the brain. Credit: iStockphoto

A part of the brain associated with making memories may also predict success in learning math

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged brain, brain scans, Carnegie Mellon University, cognitive science, Columbia, David Geary, hippocampus, IQ, Kaustubh Supekar, learning, math, mathematics, MRI, neuroscience, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh, Robert Siegler, Stanford University, topstories, University of Missouri

The stuff of dreams

By Stephen Ornes / April 18, 2013

Scientists recently used a computer program to decode patterns of brain activity displayed during a dream. They found that a certain object was linked with a particular pattern, and that pattern was similar whether the object was seen while awake or asleep. Credit: iStockphoto

Computer program decodes dreams, finds similar brain activity patterns for objects seen while asleep or awake

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, brain, computers, dreams, fMRI, Frank Tong, getinvolved, Japan, Kyoto, mind, Nashville, neuroscience, sleep, Tennessee, topstories, Vanderbilt University, wakefulness, Yukiyasu Kamitani

Another buzz for bees

By Stephen Ornes / March 24, 2013

The caffeine in some flower nectar gives bees a memory boost, a new study shows. Credit: Image courtesy of Geraldine Wright

Blooms are more memorable when their nectar contains caffeine

Posted in Animals | Tagged bees, behavior, brain, caffeine, coffee, England, Gerladine Wright, getinvolved, honeybees, nectar, neuroscience, Newcastle University, Pollination, protection, stimulant, tea, topstories

Brain to brain

By Stephen Ornes / March 15, 2013

Scientists connected the brains of two rats using computer chips and computers. One animal later signaled the other rat’s brain. Credit: K. Zhuang, Lab.of M. Nicolelis, Duke Univ.

Rats brains signaled each other through computers

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged artificial limbs, brain, brain activity, Brazil, cognition, computer chips, computers, cyborgs, Duke University, getinvolved, Lee Miller, microchips, Miguel Nicolelis, mind meld, nerve signaling, neuroscience, North Carolina, Northwestern University, rats, signals, topstories

Baby brain, adult disease

By Stephen Ornes / January 24, 2013

Newborns with a certain version of a gene are more likely to have a smaller medial temporal lobe (blue spots). This brain region is also smaller in adults with Alzheimer’s disease. People with the gene version are three times more likely to develop the disorder, which affects memory.

Scientists find signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of infants

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Alzheimer’s disease, ApoE, brain, cells, gene, genetic variant, getinvolved, medial temporal lobe, memory, molecular genetics, nervous system, neurology, neuroscience, newborns, psychiatry, Rebecca Knickmeyer, topstories, University of North Carolina

Risk-taking linked to Ritalin

By Stephen Ornes / October 5, 2012

In a new study, people without ADHD who took Ritalin took greater chances than those who didn’t take the drug. Credit: istockphoto

People who inappropriately take the prescription drug to become more alert may also become more reckless

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Aarhus University, attention deficit disorder, behavior, brain, Daniel Campbell-Meiklejohn, dopamine, gambling, getinvolved, neuroscience, neurotransmitter, New York University, noradrenaline, risk, risky behavior, Ritalin, stimulant, topstories

Learning in your sleep

By Stephen Ornes / September 20, 2012

Your brain is so eager to learn that it does so even while you sleep, scientists recently found. Credit: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Sleeping people can be taught to make connections between sounds and smells

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Anat Arzi, brain, getinvolved, nervous system, neurobiology, neuroscience, olfaction, sleep, smell, sound, topstories, Weizmann Institute of Science

Fooling the mind’s eye

By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli / September 19, 2012

Brain scientists find they have much to learn from magicians and their tricks

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Alzheimer’s, Anthony Barnhart, axon, Barrow Neurological Institute, consciousness, feature, illusion, invisible gorilla, magic, magician, misdirection, neuromagic, neuron, neuroscience, optic nerve, Penn & Teller, perception, primary visual cortex, reality, sleight of hand, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, topstories, trick

Sweets on the brain

By Stephen Ornes / June 28, 2012

Many diet sodas are sweetened without sugar, but those sweeteners may fool your brain as well as your taste buds.

Sugar-free sweeteners fool the body’s internal computer

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged artificial sweeteners, brain, Claire Murphy, diet soda, Erin Green, fat, getinvolved, health, neuroscience, nutrition, obesity, psychology, sugar-free sweeteners, Susan Swithers, taste

Seeing swirling snakes

By Stephen Ornes / May 21, 2012

These circles seem to squiggle perhaps because of blinks and tiny eye movements called microsaccades, say scientists in a new study. Credit: Akiyoshi Kitaoka

Brain scientists watch the eyes of people watching an optical illusion

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Barrow Neurological Institute, getinvolved, microsaccades, neuroscience, optical illusions

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