In previous studies of resilience in people, researchers have rarely differentiated in their analysis between the types of traumatic events experienced by individuals. However, the type of trauma undergone seems to be a significant predictor of how someone will fare long-term, according to a new study by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine and...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Whether you feel 73 or 37, age perception alone does not spur treatment decisions
One 80-year-old patient told Wilmot Cancer Institute investigators that he felt 20. A 74-year-old who felt like he was 40 had a goal of outliving his 90-year-old father. But for these vibrant older adults, age was only one of the complex factors influencing their decisions to receive chemotherapy, a study found. The study volunteers were...
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Wiring diagram of the brain provides a clearer picture of brain scan data
Already affecting more than five million Americans older than 65, Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise and expected to impact more than 13 million people by 2050. Over the last three decades, researchers have relied on Neuroimaging—brain scans such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) – to study Alzheimer’s disease and...
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Using neurofeedback to prevent PTSD in soldiers
A team of researchers from Israel, the U.S. and the U.K. has found that using neurofeedback could prevent soldiers from experiencing PTSD after engaging in emotionally difficult situations. In their paper published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the group describes experiments they conducted with military personnel engaged in intensive training sessions, and what they...
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Music evokes powerful positive emotions through personal memories
Music is known to evoke emotions through a range of mechanisms. A new study gives insights into the way positive emotional reactions can be triggered by music and pictures. Credit: CC0 Public Domain We all have experiences of being emotionally moved after listening to music that we have strong personal memories of or to seeing...
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Your brain on imagination: It’s a lot like reality, study shows
Imagine a barking dog, a furry spider or another perceived threat and your brain and body respond much like they would if you experienced the real thing. Imagine it repeatedly in a safe environment and soon your phobia–and your brain’s response to it–subsides. That’s the takeaway of a new brain imaging study led by University...
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Toward an improved treatment of anxiety disorders
Traumatic experiences can become deeply entrenched in a person’s memory. How can fears following a traumatic event be reduced in the long term and prevented from becoming a permanent stress-related disorder? Researchers at the Mainz University Medical Center have recently shed new light on these questions. The key to their approach lies in firmly anchoring...
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Study confirms role of brain’s support cells in Huntington’s, points to new therapies
New research gives scientists a clearer picture of what is happening in the brains of people with Huntington’s disease and lays out a potential path for treatment. The study, which appears today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows that support cells in the brain are key contributors to the disease. “Huntington’s is a complex disease that is characterized by the loss of multiple...
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Older people can come to believe their own lies
What happens when older adults lie? A new study suggests that in as little as 45 minutes they can come to believe it’s the truth. Associate professor of psychology Angela Gutchess and her colleagues published the research online in the journal Brain and Cognition. Gutchess and her collaborators used electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the brain activity of...
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Autism behaviors show unique brain network fingerprints in infants
The findings help pinpoint brain regions involved in particular aspects of ASD and provide clues as to how the characteristic behaviors–known as restricted and repetitive behaviors–develop in the brain from an early age. “This study is the first to investigate which patterns of brain functional connectivity underlie the emergence of these behaviors in infancy,” said...