Health Problems

Brain’s cerebellum found to influence addictive and social behavior

In a study published online today in the journal Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, prove for the first time that the brain’s cerebellum—long thought to be mainly involved in coordinating movement—helps control the brain’s reward circuitry. The surprising finding indicates that the cerebellum plays a major role in reward […]

Health Problems

Computers can ‘spot the difference’ between healthy brains and the brains of people with DID

Machine-learning and neuroimaging techniques have been used to accurately distinguish between individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and healthy individuals, on the basis of their brain structure, in new research part funded by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers performed MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans […]

Health Problems

Creating custom brains from the ground up

Scientists studying how genetics impact brain disease have long sought a better experimental model. Cultures of genetically-modified cell lines can reveal some clues to how certain genes influence the development of psychiatric disorders and brain cancers. But such models cannot offer the true-to-form look at brain function that can be provided by genetically-modified mice. Even […]

Health News

Brief Exercise Breaks During Class Help Bodies, Brains

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 — Two-minute exercise breaks in the classroom may help school children meet physical activity goals without disrupting learning, new research suggests. University of Michigan researchers say short bursts of in-classroom activity can trim childhood obesity rates while helping elementary schools provide 30 minutes of daily exercise for students. “What we’re showing […]

Health Problems

Premature brains develop differently in boys and girls

Brains of baby boys born prematurely are affected differently and more severely than premature infant girls’ brains. This is according to a study published in the Springer Nature-branded journal Pediatric Research. Lead authors Amanda Benavides and Peg Nopoulos of the University of Iowa in the US used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans as part of […]