A new study suggests that age-associated improvements in the ability to consider the preferences of others are linked with maturation of a brain region involved in self control. The findings, published by Cell Press in the March 8 issue of the journal Neuron, may help to explain why young children often struggle to control selfish impulses, even when they know better, and could impact educational strategies designed to promote successful social behavior.
Development
Deafening affects vocal nerve cells within hours
Portions of a songbird’s brain that control how it sings have been shown to decay within 24 hours of the animal losing its hearing.
New brain imaging and computer modeling predicts autistic brain activity and behavior
New research from Carnegie Mellon University’s Marcel Just provides an explanation for some of autism’s mysteries from social and communication disorders to restricted interests and gives scientists clear targets for developing intervention and treatment therapies.
Is aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury cost effective?
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated that aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury, which includes invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) and decompressive craniectomy, produces better patient outcomes than less aggressive measures and is cost-effective in patients no matter their ageeven in patients 80 years of age. These important findings can be found in the article “Is aggressive treatment of traumatic brain injury cost-effective? Clinical article,” by Robert Whitmore and colleagues, published online March 6 in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Researchers gain new insight into prefrontal cortex activity
The brain has a remarkable ability to learn new cognitive tasks while maintaining previously acquired knowledge about various functions necessary for everyday life. But exactly how new information is incorporated into brain systems that control cognitive functions has remained a mystery.