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This brain implant gives users prosthetic memory that can boost the brain’s short-term recall.

New research shows that the brain‘s neuroplasticity isn’t as flexible as previously thought.

One of the brain’s mysteries is how exactly it reorganizes new #information as you learn new tasks. The standard to date was to test how neurons learned new behavior one #neuron at a time.

Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh decided to try a different approach. They looked at the population of neurons to see how they worked together while #learning a new behavior. Studying the intracortical population activity in the primary motor cortex of rhesus macaques during short-term learning in a brain–computer interface (BCI) task, they were able to study the reorganization of population during learning.

Continue reading “The Limits of Neuroplasticity in the Brain” »

An interaction between aggregate alpha synuclein and ATP synthase implicated in Parkinson’s Disease.

An open-access paper published in Nature Communications sheds light on how an accumulation of α-synuclein protein in brain cells contributes to causing Parkinson’s disease. In particular, the researchers discovered how clumps of the protein damage important proteins on mitochondrial surfaces, leading to impaired energy production, swelling and bursting of the mitochondria themselves, and, ultimately, cell death [1].

Study abstract

Continue reading “Aggregate form of α-synuclein leads to cell death in Parkinson’s Disease” »

Sleep deprivation affects nearly all parts of your brain, but it is most detrimental to simple cognitive functions that we take for granted, such as memory and staying alert.

Ph.D. neuroscience candidate Shannon Odell says scientific research suggests that sleep deprivation majorly reduces cognitive performance. Studies have shown that patients have significantly reduced their thinking ability after just one night of sleep deprivation, specifically in the hippocampus, also known as the memory center.

Watch Your Brain on Blank on Facebook for more mind-expanding brain truths.

Better than coffee smile

___ A great way to learn more about our brains and minds is to look at how we can trick them—that is, to see how we react to brain teasers and visual illusions. Below are four fun optical illusio…

Never miss a talk! SUBSCRIBE to the TEDx channel: http://bit.ly/1FAg8hB

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Let me propose a hypothetical future scenario: Let’s say that we’ve since developed an advanced method of brain-to-brain (B2B) communication, to which, naturally, has become quite popular among the younger generation of that time.

How might we judge futuristic societies using our present day standards? Better yet, how might the past have judged us today and would there be a difference?

Continue reading “‘Smile, it’s the Future!’ — Emotions, Mixed Reality, and Techno-Telepathy” »

Probiotics can do more than improve your gut health. They also may indirectly enhance your brain, too.

Research shows that the gut and brain are connected, a partnership called the gut-brain axis. The two are linked through biochemical signaling between the nervous system in the digestive tract, called the enteric nervous system, and the central nervous system, which includes the brain. The primary information connection between the brain and gut is the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the body.

The gut has been called a “second brain” because it produces many of the same neurotransmitters as the brain does, like serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, all of which play a key role in regulating mood. In fact, it is estimated that 90% of serotonin is made in the digestive tract.

Continue reading “Probiotics may help boost mood and cognitive function” »

Why is no one talking about this? — “More than one-third of U.S. adults are taking prescription medications that may lead to depression, new research finds. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, warns that depression is a potential side effect of more than 200 commonly prescribed medications, including beta blockers for blood pressure, birth control pills, antacids, and painkillers.”

___ Many Americans taking common meds that may cause depression, study finds (CBS News): “More than one-third of U.S. adults are taking prescription medications that may lead to depression, new research finds. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, warns that depression is a potential.