Category Archives: Neuroscience

L-Dopa Improves Decision-Making In Older Adults

Posted on March 26, 2013 by rkennedy

A study published online  in Nature Neuroscience has demonstrated that a drug widely used to treat Parkinson’s Disease can help to reverse age-related impairments in decision making in some older people.  Researchers from Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging describe the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Genetics, Imaging, Memory, Neuroscience | Comments Off

We Stlil Can Raed Words Wehn Teh Lettres Are Jmbuled Up?

Posted on March 16, 2013 by rkennedy

Researchers have taken an important step towards understanding how the human brain ‘decodes’ letters on a page to read words. [More...]

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Magnetic Stimulation Can Improve Memory in Schizophrenia

Posted on March 13, 2013 by rkennedy

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry provides new evidence that stimulating the brain using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be an effective strategy to improve cognitive function. A randomized, 4-week controlled trial (n=27) evaluated whether rTMS can improve … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Cognitive Stimulation, Neuroscience, Schizophrenia, Transcranial magnetic stimulation | Comments Off

The Nature of Relapse in Schizophrenia

Posted on February 26, 2013 by rkennedy

Discontinuation of treatment in schizophrenia results in very high relapse rates, even after a single psychotic episode. A new review in BMC Psychiatry asserts that multiple relapses characterze the course of illness in most patients with schizophrenia, yet the nature … Continue reading →

Posted in Adherence, Antipsychotic medication, Neuroscience, Psychosis, Relapse, Schizophrenia | Comments Off

Research Shows How the Human Brain Adapts to Injury

Posted on January 17, 2013 by rkennedy

A study published in Cerebral Cortex, demonstrates that when one brain area loses functionality, a “back-up” group of secondary brain areas immediately activate, replacing not only the unavailable area but also its collateral areas. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University’s Center … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Scan, Cognition, MRI, Neuroscience | Comments Off

Why People Perform Better After Receiving a Compliment

Posted on November 11, 2012 by rkennedy

Japanese scientists have found scientific proof that people doing specific tasks appear to perform better when another person compliments them. There seems to be scientific validity behind the message ‘praise to encourage improvement’. [Read more...]

Posted in Job satisfaction, Neuroscience, News | Comments Off

The Brain Organizes Objects by Size

Posted on June 21, 2012 by rkennedy

Previously unknown to neuroscientists, how the brain organizes object representation or perceives and identifies different objects has been a mystery. A new study in Neuron, by MIT researchers, has discovered that the brain organizes objects based on their physical size, … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Scan, Cognition, Neuroscience, Radiology | Comments Off

Brain Changes in Obesity

Posted on February 10, 2012 by rkennedy

Finnish researchers have found new evidence for the role of the brain in obesity. The central nervous system is actively involved in processing hunger signals and thus, controlling food intake. Research suggests that it is possible that the cause of … Continue reading →

Posted in Imaging, MRI, Neuroscience, Obesity, PET, Radiology | Comments Off

The Neuroscience of Happiness

Posted on January 30, 2012 by rkennedy

A new book “The Happiness of Pursuit: What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About the Good Life” by Shimon Edelman, PhD, professor of psychology and cognitive scientist at Cornell University offers some interesting insights into the brain’s basic computational skills – … Continue reading →

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Modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) Improves New Learning and Memory in MS

Posted on January 19, 2012 by cansted

According to a study by Chiaravalloti and colleagues from the Kessler Foundation,  behavioral interventions can have a positive effect on brain function in people with cognitive disability caused by MS. Deficits in new learning and memory are common in persons with … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognition, Multiple sclerosis, Neuroscience | Comments Off