Latest Neurophysiology Stories

Opening the door to the development of thought-controlled prosthetic devices to help people with spinal cord injuries, amputations and other impairments, neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Portugal have demonstrated that the brain is more flexible and trainable than previously thought. Their new study, to be published Sunday, March 4, in the advanced online publication of the journal Nature, shows that through a process...

Promising avenue of neurodegenerative disease research may be a dead end In science, refuting a hypothesis can be as significant as proving one, all the more so in research aimed at elucidating how diseases proceed with a view toward preventing, treating, or curing them. Such a discovery can save scientists from spending precious years of effort exploring a dead end. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Munich-based researchers refute a widely...

There are a number of drugs and experimental conditions that can block cognitive function and impair learning and memory. However, scientists have recently shown that some drugs can actually improve cognitive function, which may have implications for our understanding of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The new research is reported 21 February in the open-access journal PLoS Biology. The study, led by Drs. Jose A. Esteban, Shira Knafo and Cesar Venero, is the result of...

Researchers track structural changes during formation of new memories New connections between brain cells emerge in clusters in the brain as animals learn to perform a new task, according to a study published in Nature on February 19 (advance online publication). Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study reveals details of how brain circuits are rewired during the formation of new motor memories. The researchers studied mice as they learned new behaviors,...

Finnish researchers break ground in neonatal brain research In the past few years, researchers at the University of Helsinki have made several breakthroughs in discovering how the brain of preterm babies work, in developing treatments to protect the brain, and in developing research methods suitable for hospital use. Each year, the brains of hundreds of Finnish children, and therefore their future lives, are at risk due to premature birth or intrapartum asphyxia. The brain is a...

A new study reveals that children are sleep deprived, and they have been for over 100 years. The researchers compiled the data from studies going back to the 19th century and discovered experts have been concerned about the lack of sleep that children receive. Lisa Anne Matricciani of the University of South Australia in Adelaide and her colleagues wrote, “There is a common belief that children are not getting enough sleep and that children’s total sleep time has been declining.”...

Discovery provides clues to development of neurological diseases and cancer Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. The findings, published February 3 in Cell, may help scientists develop new therapies for neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and provide insight into certain cancers. The...

New tool advocates small behavioural changes that can lead to more restful sleep in just one week. Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) February 11, 2012 A quick visit to the pharmacy shows that there are numerous pharmaceutical remedies to help those suffering from sleep problems. While these solutions can help sufferers get to sleep, the drawbacks of tolerance and dependence can outweigh the benefits. “You can train your brain to sleep better,” says Dr. Craig Hudson. “While it may not happen...

UC Riverside scientists identify a protein that plays a crucial role in learning and memory Biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside have identified a new link between a protein called beta-arrestin and short-term memory that could open new doors for the therapeutic treatment of neurological disorders, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Beta-arrestin is expressed in various cells of the body, including cells of the hippocampus, the region of the brain that is...

Researchers have revealed that the neural circuits controlling hunger and eating behaviors are also controlled by plasticity. They found that during fasting, the AgRP neurons that drive feeding behaviors actually undergo anatomical changes that cause them to become more active. This effect results in these neurons "learning" to be more responsive to hunger-promoting neural stimuli. "The role of plasticity has generally not been evaluated in neuronal circuits that control feeding...