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How a ‘sixth sense’ helps Simone Biles fly, and the rest of us walk
Posted on September 23, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-4, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

[describe image in words]Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

Scientists are finally beginning to understand proprioception, a sense that tells us where our body is in space. Much of what they’ve learned comes from a study of two girls with a rare genetic disorder. That study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Read more at NPR.org

When blind people do algebra, the brain’s visual areas light up
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-2, ND Lesson1-3, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

[describe image in words]Stuart Kinlough/Getty Images/Ikon Images

A functional MRI study of 17 people who have been blind since birth found that areas of the brain usually devoted to visual information become active when a blind person is solving math problems. The study was published in the journal PNAS.

Read more at NPR.org

Genetic analysis finds a neuroimmune view of schizophrenia
Posted on August 4, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit3, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

[describe image in words]Synapses in human neurons. Heather de Rivera, McCarroll lab

Genetic analysis, involving nearly 65,000 people, finds a surprising risk factor for schizophrenia — a variation in an immune molecule best known for its role in containing infection. The findings, published in the journal Nature, also support the emerging idea that schizophrenia is a disease of synaptic pruning, and could lead to new approaches to treating this devastating illness.

Read more at ChildrensHospital.org

Updated Brain Map Identifies Nearly 100 New Regions
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

[describe image in words]A new map based on brain scan data collected by the Human Connectome Project. The data revealed 97 new regions, bringing the total to 180. Matthew F. Glasser, David C. Van Essen.

In what many experts are calling a milestone in neuroscience, researchers published a spectacular new map of the brain in the journal Nature, detailing nearly 100 previously unknown regions — an unprecedented glimpse into the machinery of the human mind.

Read more at NYTimes.com

News & Views: Reviving memory with an electrical current
Posted on May 18, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson2-5, ND Unit2, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Lilly Padula for NPR

While still experimental, deep brain stimulation with implanted electrodes is being tested as a way to ease dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions. Could it work? Recent studies, published in the New England Journal of MedicineJournal of Neurosurgery, and Molecular Psychiatry suggest it just might.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: How a simple bump can cause an insidious brain injury
Posted on May 6, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Source

Hundreds of thousands of people suffer brain injuries each year. Sometimes the damage is caused by something that seems innocuous, like a stumble or a bump on the head. When should you see a doctor?

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: A concussion can lead to sleep problems that last for years
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit4, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

A recent study published in the journal Neurology found eighteen months after a concussion or other traumatic brain injury, two-thirds of the patients were still sleepy during the day. And most were unaware of their symptoms.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: No ‘science’ did not ‘prove’ that dogs hate hugs
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStock photo

If you have an Internet connection, you’ve probably read at least one story in the past couple of days claiming that science has shown that dogs hate being hugged. Those at The Washington Post’s Speaking of Science squeeze the life out of this misleading science coverage.

Read more at WashingtonPost.com.

News & Views: For teenagers, adult-sized opioid addiction treatment doesn’t fit
Posted on January 17, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Trina Dalziel/Illustration Works/Getty Images

Teenage brains are more susceptible to drug abuse, but it’s often hard to find treatment. It’s even harder to find evidence-based treatment designed for youth. But that’s starting to change.

Read more at NPR.org.

Anatomy of Addiction: How heroin and opioids hijack the brain
Posted on January 11, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders, News | | Add comment |

LA Johnson/NPR

Roughly 2.5 million Americans are addicted to heroin and opioids like Oxycontin. Researchers say addiction takes over the brain’s limbic reward system, impairing decision making, judgment and recovery.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Too much TV and chill could reduce brain power over time
Posted on January 7, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders, News | | Add comment |

Raoul Minsart/Masterfile/Corbis

Young adults who watch at least three hours of TV a day might end up with less cognitive function by middle age, a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry finds. That’s especially true if they’re sedentary couch potatoes.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Lack of sleep may set stage for Alzheimer’s
Posted on January 4, 2016 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson2-5, ND Unit1, ND Unit2, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Courtesy of Oregon Health & Science University

A mouse’s brain clears out toxins during periods of deep sleep — including toxins that form sticky plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Could the same hold true for people?

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: A peek at brain connections may reveal attention deficits
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

By assessing the strength of certain connections in the brain with an MRI test, researchers report in the journal Nature Neuroscience that they were often able to tell whether children and adolescents had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Doctor behind ‘Concussion’ wanted to ‘enhance the lives’ of football players
Posted on December 29, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Dr. Bennet Omalu’s discovery of a new degenerative brain disease among football players inspired a movie-and the wrath of the NFL.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: The neuroscience of musical perception, bass guitars and Drake
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Maria Fabrizio for NPR

Recent research published in the journal PNAS hints at how the human brain is uniquely able to recognize and enjoy music. Timing in your brain is nearly everything.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Too much TV and chill could reduce brain power over time
Posted on December 7, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Raoul Minsart/Masterfile/Corbis

Young adults who watch at least three hours of TV a day might end up with less cognitive function by middle age, a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry finds. That’s especially true if they’re sedentary couch potatoes.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: The brain’s GPS may also help us map our memories
Posted on November 9, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders, Uncategorized | | Add comment |

TongRO Images/Corbis

Brain cells that track our location also can track time and distance, a new study published in the journal Neuron finds. This could explain how the brain uses place and time to organize memories throughout our lives.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Scaring people can make them healthier, but it isn’t always the way to go
Posted on November 4, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson5-6, ND Lesson5-7, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Matilde Campodonico/AP

Fear campaigns can motivate people to quit smoking or eat less. But fearmongering can go too far. When is scaring for health’s sake acceptable, and when is it distasteful?

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Could depression be caused by an infection?
Posted on October 30, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Katherine Streeter for NPR

Infection and autoimmune activity result in inflammation. And psychiatric researchers now suspect that inflammation may play a role in some cases of depression and other mental illnesses.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Nature vs Nurture: Cloning your dog, for a mere $100,000
Posted on September 30, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Edmund D. Fountain for NPR

The Duponts in Louisiana loved their mutt Melvin so much they jumped at the chance to replicate him. Melvin is gone now, but he’s left behind two clones, Ken and Henry.

Read more at NPR.org.

1 Tutor + 1 Student = Better Math Scores + Less Fear
Posted on September 11, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

Math anxiety is much like other fears, say scientists who scanned the brains of third-graders. Fortunately, new research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, indicates that one-on-one tutoring soothed the fear circuit in anxious kids’ brains and improved performance, too.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Bedtime stories for young brains
Posted on August 18, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Getty Images

It’s been known for awhile that reading to a young child is associated with good outcomes, including language development and school success. But what remains unknown is the mechanism for these outcomes. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examines the unexpectedly complex interactions that happen in the brain when you put a small child on your lap and open a picture book.

Read more at NYTimes.com.

News & Views: When rehab might help an addict – but insurance won’t cover it
Posted on August 17, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson5-6, ND Lesson5-7, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Ben Allen/WITF. Cris and Valerie Fiore hold one of their favorite pictures of their sons Anthony (with the dark hair) and Nick. Anthony died from a heroin overdose in May 2014 at the age of 24.

Federal law requires insurance firms to cover treatment for addiction as they do treatment for other diseases. But because addiction treatment is so different from treatment for other medical issues, it’s hard to figure out exactly what equal treatment looks like, and some families say that drug users aren’t getting the care they need.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: More evidence that music eases pain, anxiety after surgery
Posted on August 13, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson3-1, ND Unit3, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

Most studies of music’s ability to ease pain have been small. But an analysis pooling the best research, published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet, builds a strong case, doctors say that a dose of music reduces the need for painkillers.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Is football worth the brain-injury risk? For some, the answer is no.
Posted on August 12, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

When he killed himself at 50, former NFL player Dave Duerson’s brain showed serious damage, likely from hits during his football career. His son now questions the gamble of playing the game.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: States haven’t embraced later school start time for teens
Posted on August 10, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit4, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

Last year the nation’s pediatricians said middle and high schoolers shouldn’t start school before 8:30 a.m., so they can get much-needed sleep. But almost all schools start before that, the CDC finds.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Testing video games as treatments for mental illness
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Lorenzo Gritti for NPR

Dozens of games and apps claim to improve your memory or make you smarter or reduce stress. But do they really? In October 2014, 75 scientists signed a letter to the brain training industry, criticizing companies for exaggerating claims and preying on the anxieties of customers. Now game developers say the next step is clinically valid poof of cognitive gains, and one developer (also a neuroscientist) is looking for the best proof he can get — FDA approval — and he’ll start with his game NeuroRacer which already has results published in the journal Nature.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Disgust Diet: Can you train your brain to recoil at high-calorie foods?
Posted on August 7, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: MD Lesson3-3, MD Lesson3-4, MD Unit3, ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Flickr

In a new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a psychologist says there could be a simple way to make calorie-packed foods like French fries or ice cream seem unappealing, even a bit disgusting. Others are less sure.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: The autism-GI link: Inflammatory bowel disease found more prevalent in ASD patients
Posted on August 6, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Source

Reports from parents and a growing number of studies over the past 10 to 15 years suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially more severe ASD, are prone to gastrointestinal disorders. In a new study in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Disease, researchers crunched three large databases to create what they believe is the largest study to date of the link between autism spectrum disorder and inflammatory bowel disease.

Read more at ChildrensHospital.org.

News & Views: Science headlines, can you trust them?
Posted on August 4, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: MD Final Project, MD Unit5, Metabolic Disease, ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Zoran Ivanovich/iStockphoto

The path from scientific discovery to media sound bite can be perilous, says commentator Tania Lombrozo, and it should be traversed with care. Take for example how the media is covering a recent paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease about the risks and benefits of coffee consumption.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Neuroscientists are looking for ways to decrease prejudice
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit4, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Mary McLain/NPR

You are probably at least a little bit racist and sexist and homophobic. Most of us are. And before you get offended, try taking one of the popular Implicit Association Tests. They measure people’s unconscious prejudice. These tests find that most people trust men or women, white people over minorities, and straight people over queer people.

So, what are we to do? Scientists are working on ways to train our brains away from deeply held prejudices — including hacking your subconscious while you sleep. Yes, it sounds like a scam, but the results, published in the journal Science, show that it’s possible.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Scientists discover a 6th taste, and it’s quite a disgusting mouthful
Posted on August 3, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: MD Lesson1-5, MD Unit1, Metabolic Disease, ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-4, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Francisco Seco/AP

To the ranks of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, researchers have added a sixth: “oleogustus,” or the taste for fat. But nutrition scientist Rick Mattes says it’s far from delicious. Found in rancid food, it’s often an unpleasant warning. The finding was announced in the journal Chemical Senses last month.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: The placebo effect works even when you know you are taking a placebo
Posted on July 28, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit3, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Okawa Somchai/Shutterstock

The placebo effect is already known to be pretty bizarre, but a new study has ramped up the weirdness factor. Researchers have found that people can be trained to believe in a placebo so much, it still works even when they’re told it isn’t real medicine.

Read more at iflscience.com.

News & Views: Can ‘sleeping on it’ really be the best way to solve a problem?
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson4-1, ND Lesson4-2, ND Lesson4-3, ND Lesson4-4, ND Unit4, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Karramba Production/Shutterstock

Have you ever struggled to finish a level of Candy Crush or complete a Sudoku puzzle in the evening but breezed through it the following morning? The reason may please anyone who’s been told they spend too much time in bed asleep. A new study suggests that ‘sleeping on it’ can improve problem solving.

Read more at iflscience.com.

News & Views: The Gene for Sweet: Why we don’t all taste sugar the same way
Posted on July 27, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: MD Unit1, Metabolic Disease, ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-4, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Ryan Kellman/NPR

We know that a gene can determine how strongly we experience bitter flavors. Scientists wanted to know if this was also true for sweet. Their study shows genetics may affect our taste for sugar, too.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: A scientists deploys light and sound to reveal the brain
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-3, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Geoff Story/Courtesy of Washington University in St. Louis

Try to look inside the brain and you’re not going to get very far. But photoacoustic imaging may be a solution for the shortcomings of conventional imaging. It uses lasers to make the brain sing.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: How walking in nature changes the brain
Posted on July 24, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Getty Images

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that may improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.

Read more at NYTimes.com.

News & Views: A teenager develops a test that can diagnose Alzheimer’s before symptoms
Posted on July 23, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson2-5, ND Unit2, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

sfam_photo/Shutterstock

A teenager from the U.K. has designed what could be a minimally invasive test that offers an early Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Grammar school student Krtin Nithiyanandam from Surrey is one of 90 regional finalists in the 2015 Google Science Fair.

Read more at iflscience.com.

News & Views: Could boredom cause addiction?
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson5-1, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Emily Strange

Mice given even brief opportunities to solve puzzles are less likely to become addicted to cocaine, a study has found. The research adds to an increasing body of work suggesting that addiction is in large part a reaction to living in an intellectually and emotionally unsatisfying environment, and indicates that intellectual stimulation could be more lasting than has been realized.

Read more at iflscience.com.

News & Views: Younger adults with Alzheimer’s are key to drug search
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson2-5, ND Unit2, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Courtesy of Tal Cohen

A very rare genetic mutation causes some people to develop Alzheimer’s in their 30s. It also makes these people the ideal candidates for tests of potential Alzheimer’s drugs.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Prozac in the yogurt aisle: Can ‘good’ bacteria chill us out?
Posted on July 22, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

In recent years, a body of research has shown that beneficial microbes play a critical role in how our bodies work. And it turns out there’s a lot of communication between our gut and our brain.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Genetic tweaks are restoring hearing in animals, raising hopes for people
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-4, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Roy Scott/Ikon Images/Corbis

The latest accomplishment for gene therapy involves mice with inherited deafness. Meanwhile, the drugmaker Novartis is conducting the first trial of gene therapy for people with hearing loss.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Trying to remember multiple things may be the best way to forget them
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders, Uncategorized | | Add comment |

Leigh Wells/Ikon Images/Getty Images

When you have to remember many things at once, you might try to juggle all those to-do items in your head simultaneously. But new scientific research published in the journal Nature suggests there might be a better approach.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Scientists say they can read your mind, and prove it with pictures
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Source

Scientists say they can now download signals from your brain — and translate them back into a picture that you saw. The images aren’t crystal clear, but you can make out what’s going on.

Listen to the story at NPR.org.

News & Views: What the textbooks don’t tell you about Phineas Gage
Posted on July 6, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Lesson1-1, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Photograph by Jack Wilgus of a daguerreotype of Phineas Gage in the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.

Thanks to painstaking historical analysis of primary sources (by Malcolm Macmillan and Matthew Lena) – much of it published between 2000 and 2010 – and the discovery during the same time period of new photographic evidence of post-accident Gage (see image, right), it is now believed that Gage made a remarkable recovery from his terrible injuries. He ultimately emigrated to Chile where he worked as a horse-coach driver, controlling six horses at once and dealing politely with non-English speaking passengers. The latest simulations of his injury help explain his rehabilitation – it’s thought the iron rod passed through his left frontal lobe only, leaving his right lobe fully intact.

Read more at BPS Research Digest.

News & Views: How your brain remembers where you parked the car
Posted on July 2, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

David Williams/Illustration Works/Corbis

When people saw photos that linked a famous person with a famous place, it changed the behavior of certain neurons in their brains. And it changed their memories, too.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: Can the bacteria in your gut explain your mood?
Posted on June 23, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Source

The rich array of microbiota in our intestines can tell us more than you might think.

Read more at NYTimes.com.

News & Views: Gut bacteria might guide the workings of our minds
Posted on by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Illustration by Benjamin Arthur for NPR

Anxious mice calm down when they get an infusion of gut microbes from mellow mice. That has scientists wondering if gut microbes play a role in the human brain, too. Research on that is only just beginning. But it’s intriguing to think there could be a real truth to the phrase “gut feelings.”

Listen to the story, read more, and watch a video at NPR.org.

News & Views: More evidence that parents’ ages could influence autism risk
Posted on June 22, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

iStockphoto

A large, international study found that kids born to older parents had higher rates of autism. Having a teen mom or parents with a large gap between their ages also increased the autism odds.

Read more at NPR.org.

News & Views: When it comes to depression, serotonin isn’t the whole story
Posted on June 15, 2015 by Katherine Malanson | Categories: ND Final Project, ND Unit1, ND Unit3, ND Unit5, Neurological Disorders | | Add comment |

Paul S. Howell/Getty Images

The antidepressant Prozac selectively targets the chemical serotonin. When the drug was introduced in the 1980s, it helped solidify the idea in many minds that depression was the result of a chemical imbalance. But the real story is far more complicated.

Read more at NPR.org.