Neuroscience

Patients with schizophrenia are able to correctly see through an illusion known as the 'hollow mask' illusion, probably because their brain disconnects 'what the eyes see' from what 'the brain thinks it is seeing', according to a joint UK and German study published in the journal NeuroImage. The findings shed light on why cannabis users may also be less deceived by the illusion whilst on the drug. People with schizophrenia, a mental illness affecting about one per cent of the population, are known to be immune to certain vision illusions. The latest study confirms that patients with…

Can people's differing reactions to situations of stress be attributed at least in part to genetic differences and do those differences affect men and women in different ways - with the edge seemingly favoring the women?   Research conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would seem to indicate that the answer to both questions is yes. Some people appear to be resilient to difficult conditions, whereas others react adversely to such challenges, incurring a range of physical and mental disorders. Much research has shown that the way in which the brain and body adapt to acute and…

If you’ve ever been sleep-deprived, you know how it correlates to baseball and the feeling that your brain is batting below the Mendoza Line and you just aren't seeing the ball very well.      Or you just feel muddled. A study published in Science has molecular and structural evidence  saying proteins that build up in the brains of sleep-deprived fruit flies drop to lower levels in the brains of the well-rested - basically spring training, or a good cleaning, for your brain. The proteins are located in the synapses, those specialized parts of neurons that allow brain cells…

Some of the symptoms of the autistic condition Asperger Syndrome, such as a need for routine and resistance to change, could be linked to levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggests new research led by the University of Bath. Normally, people have a surge of this hormone shortly after waking, with levels gradually decreasing throughout the day. It is thought this surge makes the brain alert, preparing the body for the day and helping the person to be aware of changes happening around them. However, a study led by Dr Mark Brosnan and Dr Julie Turner-Cobb from the Department of Psychology…

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. It usually appears during the first three years of life. Autism is called a "spectrum disorder" since it affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. It is estimated that one in every 150 American children has some degree of autism. Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a new hypothesis about autism, suggesting that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated - meaning symptoms of the…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to stare at people's mouths rather than their eyes. A new study of 2-year-olds with the social deficit disorder suggests why they might find mouths so attractive: lip-sync—the exact match of lip motion and speech sound. Such audiovisual synchrony preoccupied toddlers who have autism, while their unaffected peers focused on socially meaningful movements of the human body, such as gestures and facial expressions.  "Typically developing children pay special attention to human movement from very early in life, within days of being born.…

While physical exercise has been shown to trigger migraine headaches among sufferers, a new study describes an exercise program that is well tolerated by patients. The findings show that the program decreased the frequency of headaches and improved quality of life. The study is published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. The study used a sample of migraine sufferers who were examined before, during and after an aerobic exercise intervention. The program was based on indoor cycling (for continuous aerobic exercise) and was designed to improve maximal oxygen uptake without…

Dale Deutsch, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University and colleagues discovered a new molecular mechanism for the processing of endocannabinoids, brain compounds similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and essential in physiological processes such as pain, appetite, and memory.   Reported online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the finding could pave the way for new medicines for pain, addiction, appetite control and other disorders. Dr. Deutsch and colleagues in the Departments of Biochemistry and…

Top medical experts Professor Louis Appleby and Baroness Susan Greenfield are backing a campaign about the health benefits of reading. A nationwide survey commissioned by the National Year of Reading(1) to explore the importance of reading in everyday life confirmed that reading can have real benefits for your health, as well as for your social circumstances, with 86% of respondents confident that reading improves their mood. Celebrities including Richard Judy, Lorraine Kelly, Terry Wogan, Roger Moore, John Humphrys, Sophie Dahl and Kenny Logan have all shown their support and shared their…

A receptor for glutamate, the most prominent neurotransmitter in the brain, plays a key role in the process of "unlearning," report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their findings in the Journal of Neuroscience, could eventually help scientists develop new drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including phobias and anxiety disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder.  Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was…