neuroscience | TechieTonics

Selfies Linked to Mental Disorders

April 26, 2014December 20, 2022 Wa'd Abuzurayk

We all have this annoying high school facebook friend who posts selfies more regularly than we tend to check our facebook accounts. Well, this old friend is no longer labeled as just annoying, as scientists are exploring tagging this behavior as a mental disorder. Scientists interested in this subject are describing this common obsession with selfies as a compulsive behavior that could be linked to narcissism, addiction and mental illness.Narcissists chase satisfaction from vanity, or others’ recognition of their looks or mental characteristics (Wikipedia)- this definition seems to somewhat fit…

Learning Changes Brain Cell Connectivity

March 1, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

A new discovery has been achieved in the world of neurology. Scientists have made progress in better understanding what happens inside our brains when we learn or remember information. According to the University of British Columbia research team, molecular changes are observed in the brain when one learns or remembers. Such changes occur in the brain’s chemistry as fatty acids attach to delta-catenin (a protein important for normal cognitive development- Wikipedia) upon learning new things, which ultimately alters brain cell connectivity coupled with learning and memory. The study was conducted…

Neurofeedback And Brain Power

February 10, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

The advanced brain imaging technology magnetoencephalography (MEG) could be the next big thing in the world of neurology and rehabilitation. “MEG is a new technology that measures the very faint magnetic fields that emanate from the head as a result of brain activity”- PBS.org . MEG measures and captures magnetic fields generated by nerve cell circuits in the brain at a matchless time resolution. This gives us the ability to observe brain activity as it happens, according to Dr. Sylvain Baillet, acting Director of the Brain Imaging Centre at The…

Cognitive Abilities in The Ageing Brain

February 1, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

“Imagine someone who knows two people’s birthdays and can recall them almost perfectly. Would you really want to say that person has a better memory than a person who knows the birthdays of 2000 people, but can ‘only’ match the right person to the right birthday nine times out of ten?” This question was part of Dr. Michael Ramscar’s argument to explain his new study which refutes a previously accepted idea regarding the young and the old brains. While it was widely accepted that older brains decline in cognitive function…

Pain Sensitivity and the Brain

January 19, 2014May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

The grey matter of the brain is a major component of the central nervous system which includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control- Wikipedia. While grey matter is known to include “regions of the brain involved in muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control”-Wikipedia, it is now thought to be involved in our sense of pain. A recent study conducted by scientists at Wake Forest…

Sleeping Can Prevent Brain Tissue Damages

January 2, 2014May 31, 2014 Neha Shukla

In one of the article we have discussed how during sleep human brain cleans itself from toxins which if not removed can cause certain brain disorders. In a recent study, researchers have found that a healthy person deprived of sleep for just one night shows increase in molecules like NSE and S-100B in the blood concentration. These molecules are exclusively found in the brain and an increase accumulation of these in blood indicates that insufficient sleep results in brain tissue damage.

Video Games Helps In Boosting Grey Matter Of The Brain

December 27, 2013May 31, 2014 Neha Shukla

There is good news for all the folks who are addicted to video games and find it difficult to leave it. Researchers in a recent study found that playing video games could actually help in boosting the performance of the brain. They found that the person playing video games on an average of 30 minutes daily for 2 months have shown an increase in the grey matter of the brain areas involved in controlling the spatial consciousness, memory, and critical thinking.

Link Between Brain Development And Poverty Found

December 15, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

(SES) refers to socio-economic status households. It is known amongst education and health professionals in the field of child development that early years’ experiences have a huge effect on children’s ability to acquire developmental milestones. Such experiences are greatly associated with family lifestyle and conditions. A new study found a connection between the child’s brain development and family income. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who proved that families living with incomes under 200 percent of the federal poverty line have less gray matter in their…

Electrical Stimulation Provokes The Will to Persevere

December 9, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

I am sure that we have all heard stories of people who lead a fight with death, and won the fight against all odds. Such stories are no longer told for mere inspiration to hold on to life and declare war on hardships. It is now in fact being studied from a scientific point of view. A group of scientists believe that they may have discovered the brain part responsible for the “will to persevere”. The anterior midcingulate cortex has always been believed to play a role in emotions, pain…

Synaesthesia is More Common in People with Autism

December 5, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

A new study suggests that people with autism are more likely to have synaesthesia. As explained in my previous article, Synesthesia is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway- News-medical.net The study was carried out by a team of scientists led by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University. The research team started their work from the assumption that both people with Synaesthesia and those with autism have atypical…

Dendrites Effectively Act As Mini Neural Computers

October 30, 2013May 31, 2014 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers have lately discovered an additional role of dendrites the branching extensions of neurons. Before the study, dendrites were considered as the receptive parts of a neuron, meaning, responsible for transmitting information from sense organs and carrying impulses to different muscles in the body. It is because of this tendency, they are also termed as electrical transmitters of the body. However, the recent research postulates dendrites additional ability to process information, hence increasing the brain’s computing power. This insinuates brain has a huge processing power relatively. Period. Dendrite’s Study The…

Delayed Gratification: Self Discipline and Neurology

October 26, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

While logical explanation would refer certain everyday behaviours to discipline and upbringing, scientists have managed to associate such “discipline” to the brain’s ability to function properly. In a recent research, scientists lead by Dr. Mathias Pessiglione suggested that a person’s refusal of an immediate small reward in order to receive a delayed one that is more valuable is a process that occurs in the hippocampus- the part of limbic system responsible for consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory.*1 “Indeed, this structure has long been considered as essential for…

Get Brainwashed, Get Some Sleep

October 20, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

A recent study has managed to unlock an important mystery of brain chemistry during sleep. The said study published in Science Magazine found that the brain cleans itself from toxins while a person sleeps. The research team suggested that inability to get rid of toxins may be related to certain brain disorders.

The Mental Workspace Discovered

September 21, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

Do you have a big imagination? Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Or are you almost always daydreaming? If you ever wondered about where you get all those ideas/imagery from, then wonder no more. Your question has been recently answered by a group of scientists. In their paper, lead author Alex Schlegel and his colleagues explain that the previously theorized widespread neural network required for human imagination is actually real. Schlegel and his team found evidence for what they called a “mental workspace”. The study was done…

Is Your Limbic System Acting Out?

August 28, 2013May 31, 2014 Wa'd Abuzurayk

We have all had our days when one wrong word by an unfortunate converser turns our alarms on, causing an adult-life simulation of a temper tantrum. Neuroscientists believe that we can partially blame our limbic system for this. As complex as it is as a neurological system, the Limbic system is considered to be the “primitive” brain. Not because of its’ structure, but because of its’ function. The limbic system is called “primitive” for its role in producing the age-old fight, flight or fright reactions. In other words, it regulates…