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December 26, 2012
1,658 notes

izxxcp:

neurosciencestuff:

The Top 5 Neuroscience Breakthroughs of 2012

More than any year before, 2012 was the year neuroscience exploded into pop culture. From mind-controlled robot hands to cyborg animals to TV specials to triumphant books, brain breakthroughs were tearing up the airwaves and the internets. From all the thrilling neurological adventures we covered over the past year, we’ve collected five stories we want to make absolutely sure you didn’t miss.

A Roadmap of Brain Wiring

Neuroscientists like to compare the task of unraveling the brain’s connections to the frustration of untangling the cords beneath your computer desk – except that in the brain, there are hundreds of millions of cords, and at least one hundred trillion plugs. Even with our most advanced computers, some researchers were despairing of ever seeing a complete connectivity map of the human brain in our lifetimes. But thanks to a team led by Van Wedeen at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital, 2012 gave us an unexpectedly clear glimpse of our brains’ large-scale wiring patterns. As it turns out, the overall pattern isn’t so much a tangle as a fabric – an intricate, multi-layered grid of cross-hatched neural highways. What’s more, it looks like our brains share this grid pattern with many other species. We’re still a long way from decoding how most of this wiring functions, but this is a big step in the right direction.

Laser-Controlled Desire

Scientists have been stimulating rats’ pleasure centers since the 1950s – but 2012 saw the widespread adoption of a new brain-stimulation method that makes all those wires and incisions look positively crude. Researchers in the blossoming field of optogenetics develop delicate devices that control the firing of targeted groups of neurons – using only light itself. By hooking rats up to a tiny fiber-optic cable and firing lasers directly into their brains, a team led by Garret D. Stuber at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine were able to isolate specific neurochemical shifts that cause rats to feel pleasure or anxiety – and switch between them at will. This method isn’t only more precise than electrical stimulation – it’s also much less damaging to the animals.

Programmable Brain Cells

Pluripotent stem cell research took off like a rocket in 2012. After discovering that skin cells can be genetically reprogrammed into stem cells, which can in turn be reprogrammed into just about any cell in the human body, a team led by Sheng Ding at UCSF managed to engineer a working network of newborn neurons from a harvest of old skin cells. In other words, the team didn’t just convert skin cells into stem cells, then into neurons – they actually kept the batch of neurons alive and functional long enough to self-organize into a primitive neural network. In the near future, it’s likely that we’ll be treating many kinds of brain injuries by growing brand-new neurons from other kinds of cells in a patient’s own body. This is already close on the horizon for liver and heart cells – but the thought of being able to technologically shape the re-growth of a damaged brain is even more exciting.

Memories on Disc

We’ve talked a lot about how easily our brains can modify and rewrite our long-term memories of facts and scenarios. In 2012, though, researchers went Full Mad Scientist with the implications of this knowledge, and blew some mouse minds in the process. One team, led by Mark Mayford of the Scripps Research Institute, took advantage of some recently invented technology that enables scientists to record and store a mouse’s memory of a familiar place on a microchip. Mayford’s team figured out how to turn specific mouse memories on and off with the flick of a switch – but they were just getting warmed up. The researchers then proceeded to record a memory in one mouse’s brain, transfer it into another mouse’s nervous system, and activate it in conjunction with one of the second mouse’s own memories. The result was a bizarre “hybrid memory” – familiarity with a place the mouse had never visited. Well, not in the flesh, anyway.

Videos of Thoughts

Our most exciting neuroscience discovery of 2012 is also one of the most controversial. A team of researchers from the Gallant lab at UC Berkeley discovered a way to reconstruct videos of entire scenes from neural activity in a person’s visual cortex. Those on the cautionary side emphasize that activity in the visual cortex is fairly easy to decode (relatively speaking, of course) and that we’re still a long, long way from decoding videos of imaginary voyages or emotional palettes. In fact, from one perspective, this isn’t much different from converting one file format into another. On the other hand, though, these videos offer the first hints of the technological reality our children may inhabit: A world where the boundaries between the objective external world and our individual subjective experiences are gradually blurred and broken down. When it comes to transforming our relationship with our own consciousness – and those of the people around us – it doesn’t get much more profound than that.

this is all happening wake up

i remember seeing the last one on tumblr earlier this year ^_^ still my favorite

(via barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark)

Tags: PSYCHOLOGY

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November 01, 2012
344 notes
Brain Can't Empathize And Analyze At Same Time, New Study

psydoctor8:

“Before this study, from previous research, scientists already thought there were two large networks in the brain that were in tension, one called the default mode network and the other called the task positive network. However, there are different views on what drives them.

One view proposes that one network is deployed in goal-directed tasks, and when this happens, the other one allows the mind to wander.

Another view proposes that one network engages in external attention, while the other is for internal attention.

The new study suggests a new explanation: both networks focus on external stimuli, but one is for social problems and the other is for analytical problems, and when the one concerned with one type of problem is engaged, the neural pathways for the other type are repressed.”

Competing neural processes, as we thought. Now when applied to conditions w. low empathy levels, like psychopathy or autism, it sheds light on possible conflicting, inhibiting, or inactive/atrophied neural mechanisms- and treatments.

(via nofna)

Tags: PSYCHOLOGY

Text
May 31, 2012
2 notes

Emotional group think

innerhealthwellness:

Researchers from Aalto University and Turku PET Centre have revealed how experiencing strong emotions synchronized brain activity among individual people.

http://www.psyweb.com/news/research/emotional-group-think

(via mentalhealthresource)

Tags: psychology

Link
May 27, 2012
52 notes
Science :)): Researchers Identify Key Brain Cell in Antidepressant Action

sciencenote:

Antidepressant medications such as Prozac have helped improve mood and lessen anxiety in millions of people with major depression. But scientists know surprisingly little about how these drugs work.

“There may be many different cell types whose activity you can alter to have a beneficial impact…

(Source: hhmi.com, via nofna)

Tags: psychology

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May 17, 2012
6 notes
Hey guys, the DSM5 is accepting suggestions for edits until June 15th. So get in there, read up, and tell them what you think!

(Source: fuckyeahbipolarowl)

Tags: psychology

Text
May 17, 2012
9 notes

duckstapler:

all my rambling disorganized thoughts on gender/transgenderism that no one wants to read

Read More

i don’t have a whole lot to add. just going to throw this out there: trans people generally argue that it gender is medical/TANGIBLE IN THE BRAIN to a degree based on studies that indicate such (ie. studies find transmen have brains more like men than women, according to them). i don’t find this to be a valid point because it appears we’ve given different types of brain structures with proclivities toward certain ways of acting and thinking genders rather than vice versa.

for example, a brain structure more geared toward emotional motivation and logic in a transwoman is not because of their gender, but rather they have adopted this gender because the way they think coincides more with how we’ve defined “female” than “male.” i’m under the impression that there are different types of PEOPLE (brain-personalities or brain types or whatever) rather than different types of genders, but because i agree with this i don’t even believe in gender in the first place. 9.9

Tags: GENDER PSYCHOLOGY

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May 16, 2012
364 notes
bipolarowl: from lawlessbiologist: I would like to clear up some things for the last Anon. Bipolar disorder is an actual neurochemical issue with malfunctioning neurotrainsmitters such as norepinephrine and serotonin. People are ‘born with it’, but it is usually dormant until puberty or when the person in question is faced with an extremely stressful or emotional life situation. These disorders are not ‘bullshit’ labels. They are legitimate disorders that greatly affect the lives of those who are diagnosed. Medications are prescribed to help those people cope and continue to function in society, but like most psychological medications, they are extremely flawed and hardly ever fix the problem completely without some very unpleasant side effects. If you are strong enough to cope with your disorders without medication, more power to you. But no one  should ever feel ashamed for having to take medication to keep their mental disorders from taking over their lives. You, Anon, of all people, should know how alone mentally ill people can feel in the world. Many of them think they’re freaks, just don’t belong in society, and would be better off alone where they cannot negatively affect the lives of their loved ones. Please allow me to say that no one in this world with a mental illness or disorder is a freak. You are not a monster. You are not weird, and the world would never be better off without you. There are millions out there with your same problems, fighting off the same things every day, and they feel for you. You are perfect the way you are. Nothing’s wrong with you. Never be ashamed of what you have. And Anon, shame on you for saying such things to a community that is only trying to support each other, and make their life-altering condition a little more light-hearted and easily swallowed. Bipolar Owl says: I’m posting this not only because it is informative, but also because there are warm and good and, most importantly, validating words here. I know that validation is one of the things I have most craved ever since I began coping with mental illness—or really, you know, just in life. It is something we all want, all need, all deserve. In short: thanks, lawlessbiologist! I FOUND THIS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE THE BIPOLAR AND DEPRESSION LOOK EXPRETEMYLELY DIFFERENT BEVEN THOUGH THEY CAN MANICFEST SIMILARLY

bipolarowl:

from lawlessbiologist:

I would like to clear up some things for the last Anon. Bipolar disorder is an actual neurochemical issue with malfunctioning neurotrainsmitters such as norepinephrine and serotonin. People are ‘born with it’, but it is usually dormant until puberty or when the person in question is faced with an extremely stressful or emotional life situation. These disorders are not ‘bullshit’ labels. They are legitimate disorders that greatly affect the lives of those who are diagnosed. Medications are prescribed to help those people cope and continue to function in society, but like most psychological medications, they are extremely flawed and hardly ever fix the problem completely without some very unpleasant side effects. If you are strong enough to cope with your disorders without medication, more power to you. But no one  should ever feel ashamed for having to take medication to keep their mental disorders from taking over their lives. You, Anon, of all people, should know how alone mentally ill people can feel in the world. Many of them think they’re freaks, just don’t belong in society, and would be better off alone where they cannot negatively affect the lives of their loved ones. Please allow me to say that no one in this world with a mental illness or disorder is a freak. You are not a monster. You are not weird, and the world would never be better off without you. There are millions out there with your same problems, fighting off the same things every day, and they feel for you. You are perfect the way you are. Nothing’s wrong with you. Never be ashamed of what you have. And Anon, shame on you for saying such things to a community that is only trying to support each other, and make their life-altering condition a little more light-hearted and easily swallowed.

Bipolar Owl says: I’m posting this not only because it is informative, but also because there are warm and good and, most importantly, validating words here. I know that validation is one of the things I have most craved ever since I began coping with mental illness—or really, you know, just in life. It is something we all want, all need, all deserve. In short: thanks, lawlessbiologist!

I FOUND THIS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE THE BIPOLAR AND DEPRESSION LOOK EXPRETEMYLELY DIFFERENT BEVEN THOUGH THEY CAN MANICFEST SIMILARLY

Tags: MANICFEST OH MY GOD INTERESTING INTERNET PISSED MYSELF PSYCHOLOGY submission

Link
May 03, 2012
143 notes
Emotion reversed in left-handers' brains

sciencenote:

“We predicted this hemispheric reversal because we observed that people tend to use different hands to perform approach- and avoidance-related actions,” says Casasanto. Approach actions are often performed with the dominant hand, and avoidance actions with the non-dominant hand.

“Approach motivation is computed by the hemisphere that controls the right hand in right-handers, and by the hemisphere that controls the left hand in left-handers,” says Casasanto. “We don’t think this is a coincidence. Neural circuits for motivation may be functionally related to circuits that control hand actions — emotion may be built upon neural circuits for action, in evolutionary or developmental time.”

Implications for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders

…..” The discovery that approach motivation reverses with handedness may lead to safer, more effective neural therapies for left-handers, according to Brookshire, “it’s something we’re investigating now.”

(Source: thesciencenotebooks, via nofna)

Tags: psychology

Link
January 23, 2012
444 notes
Are you on my wavelength?

You know how when you feel like you really connect with someone, you say you are on the same wavelength? When brain cells want to connect with each other, they synchronize their activity,” Colgin explains. “The cells literally tune into each other’s wavelength. We investigated how gamma waves in particular were involved in communication across cell groups in the hippocampus. What we found could be described as a radio-like system inside the brain. The lower frequencies are used to transmit memories of past experiences, and the higher frequencies are used to convey what is happening where you are right now. [via]

I knew most of this but the last bit was some really cool info

(Source: psydoctor8, via nofna)

Tags: psychology

Photo
December 12, 2011
352 notes
ideasandopinions: Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown. In the first functional MRI brain scan study to investigate the impact of physical abuse and domestic violence on children, scientists at UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, found that exposure to family violence was associated with increased brain activity in two specific brain areas (the anterior insula and the amygdala) when children viewed pictures of angry faces. Previous fMRI studies that scanned the brains of soldiers exposed to violent combat situations have shown the same pattern of heightened activation in these two areas of the brain, which are associated with threat detection. The authors suggest that both maltreated children and soldiers may have adapted to be ‘hyper-aware’ of danger in their environment. However, the anterior insula and amygdala are also areas of the brain implicated in anxiety disorders. Neural adaptation in these regions may help explain why children exposed to family violence are at greater risk of developing anxiety problems later in life. Dr Eamon McCrory, lead author from the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences and the Anna Freud Centre, said: “We are only now beginning to understand how child abuse influences functioning of the brain’s emotional systems. This research is important because it provides our first clues as to how regions in the child’s brain may adapt to early experiences of abuse in the home”. Dr McCrory added: “All the children studied were healthy and none were suffering from a mental health problem. What we have shown is that exposure to family violence is associated with altered brain functioning in the absence of psychiatric symptoms and that these alterations may represent an underlying neural risk factor. We suggest these changes may be adaptive for the child in the short term but may increase longer term risk” In the study, which is published in the journal Current Biology, 43 children had their brains scanned using an fMRI scanner. 20 children who had been exposed to documented violence at home were compared with 23 matched peers who had not experienced family violence. The average age of the maltreated children was 12 years old and they had all been referred to local social services in London. When the children were in the scanner they were presented with pictures of male and female faces showing sad, calm or angry expressions. The children had only to decide if the face was male or female – processing the emotion on the face was incidental. As described, the children who had been exposed to violence at home showed increased brain activity in the anterior insula and amygdala in response to the angry faces. Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre and professor of psychology at UCL, said: “Dr McCrory’s groundbreaking research has undoubtedly taken us an important step closer to understanding the devastation which exposing children to violence can leave in its wake. His exciting findings confirm the traumatic effects these experiences have on brain development. Professor Fonagy added: “The report should energize clinicians and social workers to double their efforts to safeguard children from violence. By helping us understand the consequences of maltreatment the findings also offer fresh inspiration for the development of effective treatment strategies to protect children from the consequences of maltreatment.” Dr McCrory said: “Even though we know that maltreatment represents one of the most potent environmental risk factors associated with anxiety and depression, relatively little is known how such adversity ‘gets under the skin’ and increases a child’s later vulnerability.” “The next step for us is to try and understand how stable these changes are. Not every child exposed to family violence will go on to develop a mental health problem; many bounce back and lead successful lives. We want to know much more about those mechanisms that help some children become resilient.”

ideasandopinions:

Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers

Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown.

In the first functional MRI brain scan study to investigate the impact of physical abuse and domestic violence on children, scientists at UCL in collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre, found that exposure to family violence was associated with increased brain activity in two specific brain areas (the anterior insula and the amygdala) when children viewed pictures of angry faces.

Previous fMRI studies that scanned the brains of soldiers exposed to violent combat situations have shown the same pattern of heightened activation in these two areas of the brain, which are associated with threat detection. The authors suggest that both maltreated children and soldiers may have adapted to be ‘hyper-aware’ of danger in their environment.

However, the anterior insula and amygdala are also areas of the brain implicated in anxiety disorders. Neural adaptation in these regions may help explain why children exposed to family violence are at greater risk of developing anxiety problems later in life.

Dr Eamon McCrory, lead author from the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences and the Anna Freud Centre, said: “We are only now beginning to understand how child abuse influences functioning of the brain’s emotional systems. This research is important because it provides our first clues as to how regions in the child’s brain may adapt to early experiences of abuse in the home”.

Dr McCrory added: “All the children studied were healthy and none were suffering from a mental health problem. What we have shown is that exposure to family violence is associated with altered brain functioning in the absence of psychiatric symptoms and that these alterations may represent an underlying neural risk factor. We suggest these changes may be adaptive for the child in the short term but may increase longer term risk”

In the study, which is published in the journal Current Biology, 43 children had their brains scanned using an fMRI scanner. 20 children who had been exposed to documented violence at home were compared with 23 matched peers who had not experienced family violence. The average age of the maltreated children was 12 years old and they had all been referred to local social services in London.

When the children were in the scanner they were presented with pictures of male and female faces showing sad, calm or angry expressions. The children had only to decide if the face was male or female – processing the emotion on the face was incidental. As described, the children who had been exposed to violence at home showed increased brain activity in the anterior insula and amygdala in response to the angry faces.

Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre and professor of psychology at UCL, said: “Dr McCrory’s groundbreaking research has undoubtedly taken us an important step closer to understanding the devastation which exposing children to violence can leave in its wake. His exciting findings confirm the traumatic effects these experiences have on brain development.

Professor Fonagy added: “The report should energize clinicians and social workers to double their efforts to safeguard children from violence. By helping us understand the consequences of maltreatment the findings also offer fresh inspiration for the development of effective treatment strategies to protect children from the consequences of maltreatment.”

Dr McCrory said: “Even though we know that maltreatment represents one of the most potent environmental risk factors associated with anxiety and depression, relatively little is known how such adversity ‘gets under the skin’ and increases a child’s later vulnerability.”

“The next step for us is to try and understand how stable these changes are. Not every child exposed to family violence will go on to develop a mental health problem; many bounce back and lead successful lives. We want to know much more about those mechanisms that help some children become resilient.”

(Source: proletarianinstinct, via nekomimiclay)

Tags: psychology