A new study provides fresh evidence that the decline in the capacity of brain cells to change, called “plasticity,” rather than a decline in total cell number may underlie some of the sensory and cognitive declines associated with normal brain aging. Scientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and memory show that inhibitory interneurons in […]
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Men and women show surprising differences in seeing motion
Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on August 16 have found an unexpected difference between men and women. On average, their studies show, men pick up on visual motion significantly faster than women do. Individuals representing both sexes are good at reporting whether black and white bars on a screen are moving to the […]
How people use, and lose, preexisting biases to make decisions
From love and politics to health and finances, humans can sometimes make decisions that appear irrational, or dictated by an existing bias or belief. But a new study from Columbia University neuroscientists uncovers a surprisingly rational feature of the human brain: A previously held bias can be set aside so that the brain can apply […]
How the brain biases beliefs: Proposed neural circuit may underlie motivation to cling to desirable notions about the future
People’s motivation to cling to desirable notions about future outlooks results from interactions between prefrontal cortex regions, according to a human neuroimaging study published in JNeurosci. Bojana Kuzmanovic and colleagues uncovered circuits in the brain that support belief updating by asking participants to estimate their own and a peer’s likelihood of experiencing an adverse life […]
Adult-child conversations strengthen language regions of developing brain: Study suggests talking with children from early age could promote language skills regardless of socioeconomic status
Young children who are regularly engaged in conversation by adults may have stronger connections between two developing brain regions critical for language, according to a study of healthy young children that confirms a hypothesis registered with the Open Science Framework. This finding, published in JNeurosci, was independent of parental income and education, suggesting that talking […]
Who made the error? The brain distinguishes causes of errors to perform adaptation
Practice is necessary to improve motor skills. Even if one performs poorly at first, one’s athletic performance improves through repeated exercise due to the reduction of motor errors as the brain learns. However, it’s important to remember that there are two types of errors: motor errors caused by poor motor control and target errors caused […]
Brain iron levels may predict multiple sclerosis disabilities
A new, highly accurate MRI technique can monitor iron levels in the brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and help identify those at a higher risk for developing physical disability, according to a study published in the journal Radiology. MS is a disease that attacks three critical components of the central nervous system: the neurons […]
Researchers find more genes associated with intelligence and neuroticism
A single team of researchers from around the globe conducting two different studies has found more genes related to human intelligence and more that are associated with neuroticism. They have published separate papers outlining their work and findings in the journal Nature Genetics. To understand how the human brain functions, scientists conduct work to isolate […]