Overnight brain

Overnight brain stimulation improves memory

Posted Posted in brain, Health

New research in humans demonstrates the potential to improve memory with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique delivered during sleep. The results, published in J Neurosci, come from a project funded by the United States Department of Defense that aims to better understand the process of memory consolidation, which could translate into improved memory function in both […]

human intelligence

Flexibility is at the heart of human intelligence

Posted Posted in brain, Health

Centuries of study have yielded many theories about how the brain gives rise to human intelligence. Some neuroscientists think intelligence springs from a single region or neural network. Others argue that metabolism or the efficiency with which brain cells make use of essential resources are key. A new theory, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive […]

The same characteristics can be acquired differently when it comes to neurons

Posted Posted in brain, Health

Distinct molecular mechanisms can generate the same features in different neurons, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which appear in the journal Cell, enhance our understanding of brain cell development. “We now have a better comprehension of how neurons form and acquire the features that allow them to fulfill their function in neural circuits […]

Face value: Brain’s ability to recognize faces is shaped through repeated exposure, study suggests

Posted Posted in brain, Health

Scientists have long deemed the ability to recognize faces innate for people and other primates — something our brains just know how to do immediately from birth. However, the findings of a new Harvard Medical School study published Sept. 4 in the journal Nature Neuroscience cast doubt on this longstanding view. Working with macaques temporarily deprived of […]

Unraveling Alzheimer’s: New study documents how brain cells go bad

Posted Posted in brain, Health

In the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, there are abnormal deposits of amyloid beta protein and tau protein, and swarms of activated immune cells. But scientists do not fully understand how these three major factors combine to drive the disease. Now, UNC School of Medicine and National Institutes of Health researchers have untangled the […]

New possibility of studying how Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain at different ages

Posted Posted in brain, Health

Alzheimer’s disease can lead to several widely divergent symptoms and, so far, its various expressions have mainly been observed through the behaviour and actions of patients. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now produced images showing the changes in the brain associated with these symptoms — a development which increases knowledge and could facilitate […]