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Category: neuroscience – Page 48

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It is commonly believed that there is a mind-body problem because we can give an explanation of matter but not of the mind. But according to John Collins, we don’t understand matter either. Materialism was refuted by Newton in the 17th century, and the physicalism which has replaced it is not a substantive doctrine. There are gaps in our understanding of the mental – we still do not have a good theory of what the mind is – but after Newton, there is no ‘mind-body problem’

Minds are problematic. We don’t quite know what they are. If one has a mind, let us agree, then one is sentient and sapient, able to be self-aware and to think and reason about things. But both of these qualities are opaque, not least because they have no apparent analogy in the non-mental world. What, exactly, does one need to add to a body to get a mind? How is a thing that is merely subject to physical laws self-aware and able to think about dinosaurs and the afterlife? This conundrum is invariably depicted in terms of there being a mind-body problem. I’ll try in what follows to give you reasons to think that this label is at best misleading. There are lots of mind problems and lots of body problems, but no mind-body problem, because there is no realm of bodies in some general sense from which minds are excluded. Before you call for an intervention, let me explain.

A potted history.

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A significant advancement in knowledge of the link between cognition and genetics has been made thanks to a study led by Université de Montréal graduate students Guillaume Huguet and Thomas Renne, working under the supervision of medical geneticist Sébastien Jacquemont, an associate professor of pediatrics and a researcher at the UdeM-affiliated CHU Saint-Justine.

Published in Cell Genomics, the research explored how the copy number variation, or CNV, of certain DNA segments can influence cognitive abilities.

Analyzing the CNV of nearly 260,000 people in the general population, the scientists were able to compare each individual’s CNV and cognition to define a reference model—a kind of “map” of the effects of CNV on cognition, such as the intelligence quotient and memory—and to establish links between these CNVs and achievements within the brain, as well as in other organs and tissues.

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Common genetic variants may underlie autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia across human populations, according to a study appearing September 11th in the journal Cell Reports. In line with previous studies in Caucasians, the researchers found that Japanese individuals with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia have overlapping copy number variations (CNVs)—inter-individual variations in the number of copies of a particular gene.

“The strength of our study is the systematic head-to-head comparison of pathogenic CNVs and biological pathways between and ,” says senior study author Norio Ozaki of Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine. “Previous studies in Caucasian populations found overlap in pathogenic CNVs between the two disorders, but their analyses were limited to a small number of genes and CNV loci.”

Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia have complex inheritance patterns, with multiple genetic and environmental factors influencing disease risk. Available evidence points to genetic overlap between the two clinically distinct disorders. For example, they tend to co-occur at a higher rate than would be expected in the general population, and a large epidemiological study showed that a family history of schizophrenia in first-degree relatives is a risk factor for spectrum disorder. In particular, previous studies have revealed that these two disorders are associated with an increased burden of CNVs, and that rare CNVs in specific loci are shared risk factors for both disorders.

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In the well-known thought experiment known as the prisoner’s dilemma, one individual has to decide whether to stay silent or talk to the police about their crime based on how they anticipate an accomplice will react. RIKEN researchers have gained insights into how the brain incorporates such predictions about choices made by others into the decision-making process.

Past studies have identified brain structures and circuits involved in predicting and interpreting the behavior of others. However, it was unclear how predictions of others’ behavior influence our choices.

Hiroyuki Nakahara of the RIKEN Center for Brain Science and his team hope to uncover more about this process. “We’re especially interested in understanding how human social capabilities are realized in the human brain,” Nakahara says.

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A team of physicists and engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered a new way to measure the orientation of magnetic fields using what may be the tiniest compasses around—atoms.

The group’s findings could one day lead to a host of new quantum sensors, from devices that map out the activity of the human brain to others that could help airplanes navigate the globe. The new study, published in the journal Optica, stems from a collaboration between physicist Cindy Regal and quantum engineer Svenja Knappe.

It reveals the versatility of atoms trapped as vapors, said Regal, professor of physics and fellow at JILA, a joint research institute between CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

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People with shorter telomeres — the protective caps at the ends of their chromosomes — may have a higher risk of developing age-related brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, and late-life depression (typically diagnosed at age 60 or older). This finding comes from a preliminary study set to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2025, a leading global event for stroke and brain health research, taking place in Los Angeles from February 5–7, 2025.

Telomere length in white blood cells (leukocytes), known as leukocyte telomere length, is a well-established marker of biological aging. As people age, telomeres naturally shorten, reducing their ability to protect chromosomes, which accelerates cellular aging and increases vulnerability to age-related diseases. While telomere length is partly determined by genetics, ancestry, and gender, it is also influenced by lifestyle factors and environmental stressors such as diet, exercise, and pollution.

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