by Leila Ugincius, Virginia Commonwealth University Music makes us happy. Listening to music produces dopamine—nature’s happy pill—in the brain. And music also makes us sad. Listening to Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” or just about anything by Hank Williams produces tears. In fact, music can evoke every emotion known to man. But can music also make us productive? Yes, if it’s the right music, according to Kathleen R. Keeler,...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Dual studies offer incredible insights into connection between depression and the gut
Two newly published studies build on a compelling growing body of evidence linking depression with mechanisms in our gut. A fascinating study led by researchers at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center found that low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with depression, can directly result in gastrointestinal distress such as constipation, while a second study, from the Children’s Hospital of...
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Inhibitory synapses grow as ‘traffic controller’ at busy neural intersections
by Utrecht University, Utrecht University Faculty of Science Neurons pass on information to one another via synapses. The vast majority of these synapses are excitatory, which increase the activity of the receiving neuron. Around 10 to 20 percent of synapses have the opposite effect, and are called inhibitory. Researchers at Utrecht University have discovered that the growth of inhibitory synapses is specifically stimulated in the...
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By disabling a protein in the brain’s blood vessels, researchers ease age-related deterioration in mice
By ANDREW JOSEPH @DrewQJoseph Scientists have shown that delivering blood from an old mouse into a young mouse or vice versa prompts a sort of “Freaky Friday” effect: The brains of the young mice exposed to the old blood lose vitality, while the young blood rejuvenates some brain function in the older mice. What they don’t know,...
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Detecting dementia’s damaging effects before it’s too late
By studying a rare form of dementia, researchers might have found a way to detect neurodegeneration before brain cells are lost for good. Earlier detection could provide therapeutic drug treatments a chance to work. Scientists might have found an early detection method for some forms of dementia, according to new research by the University of Arizona and...
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Relay station in the brain controls our movements
by University of Basel The relay station of the brain, the substantia nigra, consists of different types of nerve cells and is responsible for controlling the execution of movements. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have now characterized two of these cell populations more precisely and assigned an exact function to each of them. The results of the study have now...
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Brain training shows promise as a treatment for veterans’ cognitive problems after TBI
By SHARON BEGLEY @sxbegle t has been 27 years since an attack on a U.S. military convoy in the Middle East left Army reservist Melissa Dengan, now 63, with such serious head trauma that she was unconscious for five days. “I woke up back in the United States, and didn’t know how I got there,” she said....
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Brain network activity can improve in epilepsy patients after surgery
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Successful epilepsy surgery can improve brain connectivity similar to patterns seen in people without epilepsy, according to a new study published in the journal Neurosurgery. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study of 15 people with temporal lobe epilepsy is the first to show improvements in brain networks after surgery compared to a group of healthy subjects. Brain networks involved...
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Study paves way for better treatment of lingering concussion symptoms
by La Trobe University A La Trobe University study has lifted the lid on the debilitating effects of persistent post-concussion symptoms (PCS) felt by many—10% of concussion-sufferers—after a knock to the head. The results of the study, released in Neurosciencejournal, show that significant levels of fatigue and poorer brain function can persist for months, or even years, following concussion. Renowned concussion expert Professor Alan Pearce used...
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Just ONE 30-minute workout may improve memory by changing the way the brain works, study suggests
About a third of over-60s in the US say their memories sometimes fail them Routine exercise is known to have protective effects for brain cells and encourage growth in some regions New University of Maryland research found that a single 30-minute workout changes brain activity to prime the brain to remember information better By NATALIE RAHHAL DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 16:32 EDT, 2 May 2019 | UPDATED: 17:19 EDT,...