Brain
‘Tremendous ethical challenge’: What if lab-grown brains are capable of developing consciousness?
At what point does electro-chemical activity in dissected brain-like tissue become conscious? Yes, I’m talking about the classic sci-fi “brain ...
Taming immune system after stroke could reduce risk of brain damage
The pathology of a stroke is deceptively complicated. In the simplest sense, strokes occur when the blood supply to a ...
Tiny electric signals in the brains of comatose patients may help predict who will wake up
Researchers may have found a way to detect inklings of consciousness in comatose and vegetative patients just days after they ...
Brain’s ‘instant replay’ system helps us make better decisions
A report published on June 27 in Science reveals how the hippocampus learns and hard wires certain experiences into memory ...
Cloned mini-brains could boost research into autism, other disorders
An army of free-floating minibrain clones are heading your way! No, that’s not the premise of a classic sci-fi brain-in-jars ...
Viewpoint: We must embrace ‘risk taking’ in the quest to cure Alzheimer’s
For common neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, nothing has worked so far to slow the course of the disease in spite ...
Brain changes can be spotted ‘years before’ Parkinson’s disease emerges
Changes in the brain that can be spotted years before physical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease occur might act as an ...
Brain games: Computer interface lets multiple people play video games telepathically
Telepathic communication might be one step closer to reality thanks to new research from the University of Washington. A team ...
Viewpoint: Psychiatry still hindered by all the things we don’t understand about the brain
The heart is not a mystery. We know a great deal (not everything) about how it pumps blood around the ...
Drugs used for depression, epilepsy may increase risk of dementia, study shows
Scientists have long found a possible link between anticholinergic drugs and an increased risk of dementia. A study published in ...
Human brains are drawn to the sound of music
In the eternal search for understanding what makes us human, scientists found that our brains are more sensitive to pitch, ...
Surgically implanted chips could boost memory for people with traumatic brain injuries
Over the past five years, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has invested $77 million to develop devices ...
Viewpoint: No, cell phones aren’t causing people to grow horns
You might have heard recently, from publications like the Washington Post, NBC, and of course, Newsweek, that some people are ...
Microsleep: What happens to our brains when we’re both awake and asleep?
During microsleep, parts of the brain go offline for a few seconds while the rest of the brain stays awake ...
Electrical ‘brain ripples’ could boost memory for the elderly, Alzheimer’s patients
Specific patterns of brain activity are thought to underlie specific processes or computations important for various mental faculties, such as ...
Are people with ADHD really more creative than the rest of us?
Those affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are clinically thought of as inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive. However, people with ...
GPS keeps you from getting lost. It also may be ruining your brain.
When people are told which way to turn, it relieves them of the need to create their own routes and ...
Viewpoint: Neuroscientists cannot afford to ignore differences between male, female brains
Diseases like Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia manifest differently in men and women, and that’s important to know ...
New migraine treatments a game changer for some patients
Chronic migraine disorder, which a neurologist diagnosed [Michelle] Tracy with shortly after her initial ER visit, is defined as having ...
Alzheimer’s trial seeks to harness the body’s immune system
Scientists in academic and corporate labs are already pursuing a host of new approaches that they hope will offer pathways ...
‘On the precipice of memory loss’: Pursuing better diagnostic tools for patients with CTE and other neurodegenerative disorders
New imaging analyses hint at progressive brain disorders like CTE, offering people with memory issues difficult — but transformative — ...
Brain simulations could reveal how ‘self’ emerges from ‘seemingly random chattering among millions of neurons’
“Do we have a chance of ever understanding brain function without brain simulations?” So asked the Human Brain Project (HBP), the brainchild ...
Infographic: Understanding autism’s origins and prevalence
More than 3.5 million Americans live with autism spectrum disorder — a developmental disability that has no blood test, no ...
Why we need to be skeptical of claims about the benefits of brain wearables
[Brain] wearables are touted as ways to curb stress, sleep better, boost creativity or athleticism, or even address serious medical ...
Inside the brains of Neanderthals: Were they capable of ‘symbolic and abstract thinking’?
We know from the archaeological record that much of Neanderthal hunting, foraging, and toolmaking behavior was quite similar to that ...
Do creative minds draw inspiration from a special place in the brain?
By using the dorsomedial part of what scientists refer to as the brain’s “default network,” creative people can stretch their ...
Infographic: These supercomputers mimic human brains to boost computing power
Neuromorphic hardware takes a page from the architecture of animal nervous systems, relaying signals via spiking that is akin to ...
