The longstanding mystery of how selective hearing works how people can tune in to a single speaker while tuning out their crowded, noisy environs is solved this week in the journal Nature by two scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Development
Brain changes may hamper decision-Making in old age
(HealthDay) — The ability to make decisions in new situations declines with age, apparently because of changes in the brain’s white matter, a new imaging study says.
Researchers have identified a gene with a key role in neuronal survival
Spanish researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) identified the fundamental role played by the Nurr1 gene in neuron survival associated with synaptic activity. The discovery, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, allows scientists to study a new target that could help to understand the relationship between alterations in neural connections, which are known to cause early cognitive deficit, and the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
Wiring the brain
(Medical Xpress) — Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a simple mathematical model of the brain which provides a remarkably complete statistical account of the complex web of connections between various brain regions. Their findings have been published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Brain network reveals disorders
(Medical Xpress) — Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich identify a new method of unerringly detecting the presence of pathophysiological changes in the brain. The new method was developed in order to gain a mechanistic understanding of schizophrenia and other spectrum disorders, which will lead to more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatments.