(Medical Xpress) — A group of Australian neuroscientists have been reviewing the results of many studies done over the years regarding the parts of the brain that are thought to be used in different real world scenarios and have found that many of them appear to be involved when people go into what is called a default network – more commonly known as daydreaming, or running on auto-pilot. Their findings suggest, as they write in their paper published in Nature Reviews Neurology, that the default network is tied very closely with the same areas of the brain generally thought of as those used for social skills.
Development
Study suggest that conscious perception has little to do with the primary visual cortex
From a purely intuitive point of view, it is easy to believe that our ability to actively pay attention to a target is inextricably connected with our capacity to consciously perceive it. However, this proposition remains the subject of extensive debate in the research community, and surprising new findings from a team of scientists in Japan and Europe promise to fuel the debate.
Nose spray for panic attacks?
(Medical Xpress) — Max Planck researchers have succeeded in showing in experiments on mice that the anxiolytic substance neuropeptide S (NPS) can be absorbed through the nasal mucosa and unfold its effect in the brain. Having bound to its receptors, the neuropeptide S reaches particular neurons in the brain in this way. Just four hours after the administration of the drug, the tested mice showed less anxiety. Altered neuronal activity was also measured directly in the hippocampus, an important brain structure for learning and memory. These findings confirm that neuropeptide S is a promising new drug for the treatment of patients suffering from anxiety disorders.
Finding unseen damage of traumatic brain injury
The soldier on the fringes of an explosion. The survivor of a car wreck. The football player who took yet another skull-rattling hit. Too often, only time can tell when a traumatic brain injury will leave lasting harm – there’s no good way to diagnose the damage.
Training can improve memory and increase brain activity in mild cognitive impairment
If someone has trouble remembering where the car keys or the cheese grater are, new research shows that a memory training strategy can help. Memory training can even re-engage the hippocampus, part of the brain critical for memory formation, the results suggest.