by Sarah Meehan, The Baltimore Sun Steroid injections, nerve stimulators and spinal fusions were no match for the chronic pain in Tammy Durfee’s left side—never mind the “searing-hot poker” sensation that would jab her leg without warning. After a decade searching for relief, a four-hour procedure in Baltimore put her pain to rest. Durfee, of Higginsville, Mo., was the...
Tag: <span>neuroscience</span>
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Mindful body awareness training during treatment for drug addiction helps prevent relapse
Date: April 16, 2019 Source: University of Washington Summary: A novel type of body awareness training helps women recover from drug addiction, according to new research. People in the study made marked improvement, and many improvements lasted for a year. A novel type of body awareness training helps women recover from drug addiction, according to...
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Virtual reality offers benefits for Parkinson’s disease patients
Researchers are reporting early success with a new tool to help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance and potentially decrease falls with high-tech help: virtual reality. After practicing with a virtual reality system for six weeks, people with Parkinson’s disease demonstrated improved obstacle negotiation and balance along with more confidence navigating around obstacles in...
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Men are fooled by placebo more often than women
It was not until the 1990s that researchers fully began to include both genders in health research. Sara Magelssen Vambheim has contributed with valuable new insights in her study of gender differences in pain experiences. Sara Magelssen Vambheim recently submitted her Ph.D. thesis on gender differences in experiences of pain, fear of pain and placebo...
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Sports involvement linked to fewer depressive symptoms in children
A study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging investigates the relationship between involvement in sports, brain development, and depression in children ELSEVIER Philadelphia, March 21, 2019 Participation in team sports is associated with fewer depressive symptoms in children, whereas non-sport activities have no association with symptoms, according to a study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier. The association was found only for boys. The findings...
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An impaired sense of smell can signal cognitive decline, but ‘smell training’ could help
As we age, we often have problems with our ability to smell (called olfactory dysfunction). Older people might not be able to identify an odour or differentiate one odour from another. In some cases they might not be able to detect an odour at all. Odour identification difficulties are common in people with neurodegenerative diseases,...
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Multiple sclerosis – helping cells to help themselves
Diseases such as multiple sclerosis are characterized by damage to the myelin sheath, a protective covering wrapped around nerve cells akin to insulation around an electrical wire. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered how the body initiates repair mechanisms to limit the extent of any damage to this sheath. Their findings, which provide...
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Scientists have reversed memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease
By focusing on the epigenetic changes that influence gene expression, scientists at the University of Buffalo have managed to reduce memory loss and improve cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Sebastian Kaulitzki | Shutterstock For the study, the team studied mice with gene mutations for familial Alzheimer’s and analyzed post-mortem brain tissues...
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How To Stop Overthinking Everything, According To Therapists
Rumination — aka thinking about something in endless circles — is exhausting *and* makes you more susceptible to depression and anxiety. The last time you saw your grandma before she died. That work presentation last month. Yesterday’s argument with your SO. Your performance eval next quarter. That damn toast you agreed to give at the...
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Scientists solve century-old neuroscience mystery; answers may lead to epilepsy treatment
Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have solved a 125-year-old mystery of the brain, and, in the process, uncovered a potential treatment for acquired epilepsy. Since 1893, scientists have known about enigmatic structures called perineuronal nets wrapped around neurons, but the function of the nets remained elusive. IMAGE: A RESEARCH TEAM LED BY HARALD SONTHEIMER...