Neuroscience posts
- April 24, 2013
- 02:41 PM
- 72 views
Vision is for decision
by neuroecology in Neuroecology
When we typically think of how decision-making works in the brain, we think of new input coming in, perhaps through the eyes or ears, being processed in the relevant sensory areas, and then sent to the ‘decision-making’ areas (the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, or anterior cingulate cortex) where this information is used to make a decision. [...]... Read more »
Chubykin, A., Roach, E., Bear, M., & Shuler, M. (2013) A Cholinergic Mechanism for Reward Timing within Primary Visual Cortex. Neuron, 77(4), 723-735. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.12.039
- April 24, 2013
- 11:12 AM
- 93 views
DTI Identifies Brain Aging Changes
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Brain white matter plays a key role in connecting functional brain areas. These connections are required for complex brain processing required for memory and executive functions, i.e planning and problem solving.Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a relatively recent brain imaging tool that provides a method of analyzing regional human white matter function. Additionally, when DTI is paired with cognitive testing it allows for study of the brain regions and circuits responsible for spe........ Read more »
Sasson E, Doniger GM, Pasternak O, Tarrasch R, & Assaf Y. (2013) White matter correlates of cognitive domains in normal aging with diffusion tensor imaging. Frontiers in neuroscience, 32. PMID: 23493587
- April 24, 2013
- 02:58 AM
- 74 views
Recent Trauma and Acute Infection Linked with Stroke In Children
by Vivek Misra in Beautiful Mind
Research has demonstrated that experiencing head or neck trauma or minor acute infections such as influenza can increase risk for stroke among adults. Inflammation in the CNS or in the periphery may be a risk factor for the initial development of cerebral ischemia. Fullerton (University of California, San Francisco, USA) and colleagues hypothesized that trauma and acute infections are independently associated with childhood arterial ischemic stroke (AIS). Researchers carried out a case........ Read more »
Hills, N., Johnston, S., Sidney, S., Zielinski, B., & Fullerton, H. (2012) Recent trauma and acute infection as risk factors for childhood arterial ischemic stroke. Annals of Neurology, 72(6), 850-858. DOI: 10.1002/ana.23688
Emsley, H., & Tyrrell, P. (2002) Inflammation and Infection in Clinical Stroke. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow , 1399-1419. DOI: 10.1097/00004647-200212000-00001
Qureshi, A., Janssen, R., Karon, J., Weissman, J., Akbar, M., Safdar, K., & Frankel, M. (1997) Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Stroke in Young Patients. Archives of Neurology, 54(9), 1150-1153. DOI: 10.1001/archneur.1997.00550210078016
- April 23, 2013
- 11:15 AM
- 94 views
Hypothalaumus Connectivity Changes in Cluster Headaches
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Cluster headaches are a relatively rare but serious pain disorder. Unlike the female-predominant migraine headache, cluster headaches occur predominantly in men. These headaches tend to be acute in onset and affect only one side of the head.The term cluster describes the typical chronological pattern of these headaches. The tend to occur regularly for days or weeks and are then separated by periods of remission lasting months or years.Attacks typically last between 15 minutes a........ Read more »
Qiu E, Wang Y, Ma L, Tian L, Liu R, Dong Z, Xu X, Zou Z, & Yu S. (2013) Abnormal brain functional connectivity of the hypothalamus in cluster headaches. PloS one, 8(2). PMID: 23460913
- April 22, 2013
- 08:20 PM
- 79 views
Connecting Form and Function: Serial Block-face EM
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
The retina is a beautiful and wondrous structure, and it has some really weird cells. Retina by Cajal (source)Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGC) have all sorts of differentiating characteristics. Some are directly sensitive to brightness (like rods and cones), while some are sensitive to the specific direction that a bar is traveling. I am discussing really amazing new techniques to see inside cells this month, and have already posted about the magic that is Array Tomography. Today we'll look at anoth........ Read more »
Briggman KL, Helmstaedter M, & Denk W. (2011) Wiring specificity in the direction-selectivity circuit of the retina. Nature, 471(7337), 183-8. PMID: 21390125
- April 22, 2013
- 07:09 PM
- 52 views
Focus on Manual Skill or Action to Restore Slightly Shredded Soul
by m.c. in begin to dig (b2d)
This is the unexpected story of working to find a path to restore some shredded soul, not through power lifting masses of weights, or sprinting all out till wiped out, but through Sharpening knives, grinding coffee beans - both by hand - making espresso on the stove, latte art - all manual, all small tasks, small skill focus, all about practice of motor learning or just small motor actions as a quest to reduce stress right now.
Often, working out sits in this place, but i feel a little too dr........ Read more »
Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004) Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311-312. DOI: 10.1038/427311a
Draganski, B. (2006) Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Brain Structure Changes during Extensive Learning. Journal of Neuroscience, 26(23), 6314-6317. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4628-05.2006
Holzel, B., Carmody, J., Evans, K., Hoge, E., Dusek, J., Morgan, L., Pitman, R., & Lazar, S. (2009) Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(1), 11-17. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsp034
- April 22, 2013
- 05:59 PM
- 60 views
Knowledge is Pleasure!: Reliable reward information as a reward itself
by Grace Lindsay in Neurdiness
Pursuing rewards is a crucial part of survival for any species. The circuitry that tells us to seek out pleasure is what ensures that we find food, drink, and mates. In order to engage in this behavior, we must learn associations between rewards and the stimuli that predict them. That way we can know that [...]... Read more »
Bromberg-Martin, E., & Hikosaka, O. (2009) Midbrain Dopamine Neurons Signal Preference for Advance Information about Upcoming Rewards. Neuron, 63(1), 119-126. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.06.009
- April 22, 2013
- 05:24 PM
- 58 views
Let the Light Shine In: Addiction and Optogenetics
by Dirk Hanson in Addiction Inbox
Study says laser light can turn cocaine addiction on and off in rats.
Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), had one word for it: “Wow.”
Writing in the director’s blog at the online NIH site, Collins said that a team of researchers from NIH and UC San Francisco had succeeded in delivering “harmless pulses of laser light to the brains of cocaine-addicted rats, blocking their desire for the narcotic.”
Wow, indeed. It didn’t take long for the sc........ Read more »
Chen Billy T., Yau Hau-Jie, Hatch Christina, Kusumoto-Yoshida Ikue, Cho Saemi L., Hopf F. Woodward, & Bonci Antonello. (2013) Rescuing cocaine-induced prefrontal cortex hypoactivity prevents compulsive cocaine seeking. Nature, 496(7445), 359-362. DOI: 10.1038/nature12024
- April 22, 2013
- 12:12 PM
- 85 views
Exercise Boosts Brain Prefrontal Cortex in Children
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Regular aerobic exercise has been associated with enhanced cognition in both children and adults. Most of these types of studies have been cross-sectional in design. Cross-sectional studies do a good job of examining association but do not prove causality. Prospective randomized control trials are better at examining the cause-effect relationship.So an important research question in the exercise-cognition domain is: Can an exercise intervention improve cognition in a prospectiv........ Read more »
Chaddock-Heyman, L., Erickson, K., Voss, M., Knecht, A., Pontifex, M., Castelli, D., Hillman, C., & Kramer, A. (2013) The effects of physical activity on functional MRI activation associated with cognitive control in children: a randomized controlled intervention. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00072
- April 21, 2013
- 05:39 PM
- 79 views
Urging neurons to self-eat: a therapy for neurodegenerative diseases?
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
Many bloggers like to write about studies that advance our understanding on how the brain FUNCTIONS, including myself. Function, however, depends on the smooth running of processes both between neurons (circuits) and within neurons. Unfortunately things don’t always go smoothly, and sometimes broken, misshapen and aggregated proteins can build up in cells, disrupting their normal [...]... Read more »
Wong E, & Cuervo AM. (2010) Autophagy gone awry in neurodegenerative diseases. Nature neuroscience, 13(7), 805-11. PMID: 20581817
Shoji-Kawata, S., Sumpter, R., Leveno, M., Campbell, G., Zou, Z., Kinch, L., Wilkins, A., Sun, Q., Pallauf, K., MacDuff, D.... (2013) Identification of a candidate therapeutic autophagy-inducing peptide. Nature, 494(7436), 201-206. DOI: 10.1038/nature11866
- April 21, 2013
- 11:23 AM
- 95 views
Was Steven Pinker right after all? [Part 2]
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
Last week Science published a study (a follow-up of Salimpoor et al., 2011) in which Canadian researchers showed that music can arouse feelings of euphoria and craving, similar to tangible rewards that involve the striatal dopaminergic system. ... Read more »
Salimpoor, V., van den Bosch, I., Kovacevic, N., McIntosh, A., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2013) Interactions Between the Nucleus Accumbens and Auditory Cortices Predict Music Reward Value. Science, 340(6129), 216-219. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231059
Salimpoor, V., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2011) Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2726
- April 19, 2013
- 08:25 PM
- 75 views
Does Tylenol Exert its Analgesic Effects via the Spinal Cord?
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
What do we (not) know about how paracetamol (acetaminophen) works? (Toussaint et al., 2010). . .From the beginning, the focus of the search for paracetamol’s analgesic mechanism has concentrated on the central nervous system. When administered intraventricularly [i.e., directly into the ventricular system of the brain], acetaminophen produces no significant analgesia (115, 132). This finding lead to attempts to inject acetaminophen into the spinal cord (i.t.), which produced marked dos........ Read more »
Toussaint, K., Yang, X., Zielinski, M., Reigle, K., Sacavage, S., Nagar, S., & Raffa, R. (2010) What do we (not) know about how paracetamol (acetaminophen) works?. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 35(6), 617-638. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2009.01143.x
- April 19, 2013
- 03:16 PM
- 70 views
The Curious Case of the Earworm (Part 1)
by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented
I have had “Thrift Shop” stuck in my head for what seems like days.Yes, it is always on the radio, and yes, I usually listen to it when it is playing. Don't judge me. But why (*Stella scream* wwhhhhyyyyy!) has it established a permanent residence in my brain? I’m going to use a few studies to make the case that it isn’t my fault; I’m led around by my biochemistry. Basically, I’m blaming it on my neurons.Hmmm…where to start. Let’s try to figure out why we like a song (or music in ........ Read more »
Salimpoor, V., Benovoy, M., Larcher, K., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2011) Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14(2), 257-262. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2726
Salimpoor, V., van den Bosch, I., Kovacevic, N., McIntosh, A., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. (2013) Interactions Between the Nucleus Accumbens and Auditory Cortices Predict Music Reward Value. Science, 340(6129), 216-219. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231059
- April 19, 2013
- 05:16 AM
- 94 views
Lazarus sign - A natural yet weird-looking phenomenon
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point:
Lazarus sign, also known as Lazarus reflex, is a complex form of reflex movement of the arms in brain dead patients.
Study Further:
In this phenomenon, the arms of the brain dead patients or the patients with brainstem failure raises to the chest and often fall crossed on to the body (in a place that you may have seen in some of the Egyptian mummies). “The arms flex quickly to the chest from the patient's side, the shoulders adduct, and in some patients, the hands........ Read more »
Ropper, A. (1984) Unusual spontaneous movements in brain-dead patients. Neurology, 34(8), 1089-1089. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.34.8.1089
- April 19, 2013
- 01:50 AM
- 122 views
Do smart drugs ACTUALLY make you smarter?
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
T’is the season of finals again, and with it, a surging interest in prescription “smart drugs” (see Fig 1). High school and college students are increasingly turning to ADHD medicine (Ritalin, Adderall) in hopes of enhancing school and test performance. Intuitively this makes sense: drugs that increase energy, attention and concentration should inevitably lead to [...]... Read more »
Lakhan SE, & Kirchgessner A. (2012) Prescription stimulants in individuals with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: misuse, cognitive impact, and adverse effects. Brain and behavior, 2(5), 661-77. PMID: 23139911
Smith ME, & Farah MJ. (2011) Are prescription stimulants "smart pills"? The epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience of prescription stimulant use by normal healthy individuals. Psychological bulletin, 137(5), 717-41. PMID: 21859174
- April 18, 2013
- 04:04 PM
- 43 views
fMRI: More Voxels, More Problems?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
A new paper could prompt a rethink of a technique that’s become very hot in neuroscience lately: Confounds in multivariate pattern analysis The authors are Princetonians Michael T. Todd and colleagues, and the method in question is multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA). I’ve written about this before and there’s a blog dedicated to it. MVPA searches [...]... Read more »
Todd, M., Nystrom, L., & Cohen, J. (2013) Confounds in multivariate pattern analysis: Theory and rule representation case study. NeuroImage. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.03.039
- April 17, 2013
- 10:50 PM
- 84 views
How stores trick our senses to make us buy more (Part 3 of 5: Touch)
by Jordan Gaines in Gaines, on Brains
Sure, a company can do its job to create an attractive, pleasurable product for us consumers. But—you guessed it—the store does its own part in tricking us, ensuring that the phrase "you touch it, you buy it" often holds true.... Read more »
James R. Wolf, Hal R. Arkes, & Waleed A. Muhanna. (2008) The power of touch: An examination of the effect of duration of physical contact on the valuation of objects. Judgment and Decision Making, 3(6), 476-482. info:/
- April 17, 2013
- 05:34 PM
- 120 views
Van Gogh was afraid of the moon and other lies
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
I remember the first time I realized just how easily false information gets spread about.A terrifying starry nightI was in French class in high school. Our homework had been to find out 1 interesting fact about Van Gogh and tell it to the class. When it was my turn, I said some boring small fact that I no longer remember. My friend sitting behind me, however, had a fascinating fact: When Van Gogh was a young child, he was actually afraid of the moon.The teacher and the class were all quite impre........ Read more »
Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U., Seifert, C., Schwarz, N., & Cook, J. (2012) Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(3), 106-131. DOI: 10.1177/1529100612451018
- April 17, 2013
- 11:16 AM
- 81 views
EEG Differentiates Adjustment Disorder From Depression
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
A key element in discovering valid mental disorder categories is to differentiate a mental disorder from other valid mental disorder categories.Biological markers for mental disorders have been slow to develop. Functional brain imaging techniques and other research tools are evolving to help in the important task of improving the validity of clinical neuroscience disorders.Adjustment disorder is a relatively common condition that has lagged in research attention. Adjustment disorder ........ Read more »
Jeong HG, Ko YH, Han C, Kim YK, & Joe SH. (2013) Distinguishing Quantitative Electroencephalogram Findings between Adjustment Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. Psychiatry investigation, 10(1), 62-8. PMID: 23482820
- April 16, 2013
- 03:05 PM
- 65 views
Pre-publication: Brain growth in Homo erectus (plus free code!)
by zacharoo in Lawn Chair Anthropology
The annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists were going on all last week, and I gave my first talk before the Association. The talk focused on using resampling methods and the abysmal human fossil record to assess whether human-like brain size growth rates were present in our >1 mya ancestor Homo erectus. This is something I've actually been sitting on for a while, but wanted to wait til the talk to post for all to see. Here's a brief version:Background: Hu........ Read more »
Coqueugniot H, Hublin JJ, Veillon F, Houët F, & Jacob T. (2004) Early brain growth in Homo erectus and implications for cognitive ability. Nature, 431(7006), 299-302. PMID: 15372030
Coqueugniot H, & Hublin JJ. (2012) Age-related changes of digital endocranial volume during human ontogeny: results from an osteological reference collection. American journal of physical anthropology, 147(2), 312-8. PMID: 22190338
DeSilva JM, & Lesnik JJ. (2008) Brain size at birth throughout human evolution: a new method for estimating neonatal brain size in hominins. Journal of human evolution, 55(6), 1064-74. PMID: 18789811
Herculano-Houzel S. (2012) The remarkable, yet not extraordinary, human brain as a scaled-up primate brain and its associated cost. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 10661-8. PMID: 22723358
Herndon JG, Tigges J, Anderson DC, Klumpp SA, & McClure HM. (1999) Brain weight throughout the life span of the chimpanzee. The Journal of comparative neurology, 409(4), 567-72. PMID: 10376740
Leigh SR. (2004) Brain growth, life history, and cognition in primate and human evolution. American journal of primatology, 62(3), 139-64. PMID: 15027089
Neubauer, S., Gunz, P., Schwarz, U., Hublin, J., & Boesch, C. (2012) Brief communication: Endocranial volumes in an ontogenetic sample of chimpanzees from the taï forest national park, ivory coast. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 147(2), 319-325. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21641
Sakai T, Matsui M, Mikami A, Malkova L, Hamada Y, Tomonaga M, Suzuki J, Tanaka M, Miyabe-Nishiwaki T, Makishima H.... (2013) Developmental patterns of chimpanzee cerebral tissues provide important clues for understanding the remarkable enlargement of the human brain. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 280(1753), 20122398. PMID: 23256194
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