brain activity

Doctors' brain activity studied
01/29/2013 - 13:47

Using fMRI, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their US colleagues have studied the brain activity of doctors when treating patients. The study, which is published in Molecular Psychiatry, is an attempt to pin down the role of the therapist in the so-called placebo effect.

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Making music together connects brains
11/29/2012 - 08:03

Anyone who has ever played in an orchestra will be familiar with the phenomenon: the impulse for one’s own actions does not seem to come from one’s own mind alone, but rather seems to be controlled by the coordinated activity of the group. And indeed, interbrain networks do emerge when making music together – this has now been demonstrated by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. The scientists used electrodes to trace the brain waves of guitarists playing in duets. They also observed substantial differences in the musicians’ brain activity, depending upon whether musicians were leading or following their companion.

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Listening abilities depend on rhythms in the brain
11/15/2012 - 12:32

Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exact timing of one’s brain rhythms. This discovery that sound, brain, and behaviour are so intimately coupled will help us to learn more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

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Scientists Uncover a New Pathway that Regulates Information Processing in the Brain
11/12/2012 - 07:55

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a new pathway that appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain. Their research also offers insight into how imbalances in this pathway could contribute to cognitive abnormalities in humans.

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Making Memories: Researchers Explore the Anatomy of Recollection
11/08/2012 - 10:52

Groups of neurons in your brain are currently sending electromagnetic rhythms through established pathways in order for you to recall the answers to each question encountered. Researchers in Drexel’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems are now getting a rare look inside the brain to discover the exact pattern of activity that produces a memory.

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New Mini-sensor Measures Magnetic Field of the Brain
05/29/2012 - 06:56

Successful test at PTB of optical magnetometer with potential applications in brain imaging for neurological diagnostics and in basic research. In future a new magnetic sensor the size of a sugar cube might simplify the measurement of brain activity. In the magnetically shielded room of Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) the sensor has passed an important technical test: Spontaneous as well as stimulated magnetic fields of the brain were detected. This demonstrates the potential of the sensor for medical applications, such as, the investigation of brain currents during cognitive processes with the aim of improving neurological diagnostics.

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