Brain
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Depression diversity: Brain studies reveal big differences among individuals
Depressed people may have far fewer of the receptors for some of the brain’s “feel good” stress-response chemicals than non-depressed people, new University of Michigan Depression Center research shows.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Nearly 1 in 5 troops has mental problems after war service
Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more. As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government.
Brain • Depression • Military • PTSD • (0) Comments • Permalink
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Get feedback on your state
Now it’s scientifically proven that the heart can affect the mind. There are subtle changes in our bodies that affect and reflect our mental state constantly. Biofeedback is one way to become aware of and monitor these changes. Through this feedback, participants can then interpret visible or aural cues for their current and shifting psychological and physiological state. Biofeedback has given me a whole new way of looking at my heart and its emotional well-being.
Autonomic Nervous System • Brain • Education • Heart Rate Variability • HeartMath • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Anatomy of pain can bring relief
Queensland researchers have made a discovery that sheds important new light on how the brain processes pain, and how central emotions are in the pain experience. This very reliable connection means that any signal that reaches the brain’s pain centre is almost guaranteed to set off a signal in the central amygdala. And the cells there trigger emotional responses—emotions, hormones, blood pressure increases and so on.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Short-term stress can affect learning and memory
Short-term stress lasting as little as a few hours can impair brain-cell communication in areas associated with learning and memory, University of California, Irvine researchers have found. It has been known that severe stress lasting weeks or months can impair cell communication in the brain’s learning and memory region, but this study provides the first evidence that short-term stress has the same effect.
Brain • Education • Productivity/Performance • (0) Comments • Permalink
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Psychological Distress, but Not Major Depression, Linked to Stroke Risk
A new analysis from the UK European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)–Norfolk population-based study has shown a relationship between psychological distress and increased risk for stroke. No such link was seen between episodic major depressive disorder (MDD) and stroke in this analysis.
Brain • Cardiovascular Health • Depression • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
Go with your gut – intuition is more than just a hunch, says Leeds research
Most of us experience ‘gut feelings’ we can’t explain, such as instantly loving – or hating – a new property when we’re househunting or the snap judgements we make on meeting new people. Now researchers at Leeds say these feelings – or intuitions – are real and we should take our hunches seriously.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Teen Aggression May Really Be a State of Mind
For parents of emotionally combative teens, new research offers a powerful biological reason for all the family feuding—adolescent brain size. A team of Australian scientists has found that when key regions of the brain known for controlling emotions are bigger, boys and girls tend to be more aggressive and more persistent during their fights with Mom and Dad.
Amygdala • Anger • Brain • Parenting • Teenagers • (0) Comments • Permalink
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Grape expectations - what wine can tell us about the nature of reality
Scientists and Cal Tech and Stanford recently published the results of a peculiar wine tasting. They provided people with cabernet sauvignons at various price points, with bottles ranging from $5 to $90. Although the tasters were told that all the wines were different, the scientists were in fact presenting the same wines at different prices. The subjects consistently reported that the more expensive wines tasted better, even when they were actually identical to cheaper wines.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Stress hormone impacts memory, learning in diabetic rodents
Diabetes is known to impair the cognitive health of people, but now scientists have identified one potential mechanism underlying these learning and memory problems. A new National Institutes of Health (NIH) study in diabetic rodents finds that increased levels of a stress hormone produced by the adrenal gland disrupt the healthy functioning of the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for learning and short-term memory.
Brain • Diabetes • Hormones • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
Study shows stress affects brain growth
Children who suffer deprivation in early life show altered patterns of brain growth by the time they are teenagers, according to research that documents for the first time measurable physical effects of poor parenting and unstimulating home lives.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Chronic Pain Harms the Brain
People with unrelenting pain don’t only suffer from the nonstop sensation of throbbing pain. They also have trouble sleeping, are often depressed, anxious and even have difficulty making simple decisions.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Keeping Your Brain Fit
There’s plenty you can do to slow the effects of aging. Here’s how to keep your thinking and memory sharp.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
NIDA research reveals subconscious signals can trigger drug craving
Brain imaging on drug addicted patients shows that poorly controlled desires begin even when cues are unseen. Using a brain imaging technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientists have discovered that cocaine-related images trigger the emotional centers of the brains of patients addicted to drugs—even when the subjects are unaware they’ve seen anything.
Military Study Links Battlefield Concussions to Stress Disorder
About one in six combat troops returning from Iraq have suffered at least one concussion in the war, injuries that, while fleeting, could heighten their risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers are reporting. The study, given early release on Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, is the military’s first large-scale attempt to gauge the effect of mild head injuries — concussions, many of them from roadside blasts — which some experts worry may be causing a host of unrecognized neurological deficits.