Why do the harsh sounds emitted by alarms or human shrieks grab our attention? What is going on in the brain when it detects these frequencies? Neuroscientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Switzerland, have... Continue Reading →
Light touch plays a critical role in everyday tasks, such as picking up a glass or playing a musical instrument. The sensation is also an essential part of the body's protective defense system, alerting us to objects in our environment... Continue Reading →
A team of scientists in Korea and the United States have invented a device that can control neural circuits using a tiny brain implant controlled by a smartphone. Researchers, publishing in Nature Biomedical Engineering, believe the device can speed up efforts... Continue Reading →
Weight gain occurs when an individual’s energy intake exceeds their energy expenditure — in other words, when calories in exceed calories out. What is less well understood is the fact that, on average, nearly half of the body’s energy is... Continue Reading →
What if scientists could manipulate your brain so that a traumatic memory lost its emotional power over your psyche? Steve Ramirez, a Boston University neuroscientist fascinated by memory, believes that a small structure in the brain could hold the keys... Continue Reading →
Acute pain, e.g. hitting your leg against a sharp object, causes an abrupt, unpleasant feeling. In this way, we learn from painful experiences to avoid future harmful situations. This is called "threat learning" and helps animals and humans to survive.... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have made a surprising discovery: during fetal development, a particular immune cell seems to play a key role in determining the male or female characteristics of the brain. “This a... Continue Reading →
Nerve cells in the brain region planum temporale have more synapses in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere – which is vital for rapid processing of auditory speech, according to the report published by researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum... Continue Reading →
