Search

… initiative . “Today, modern technologies are helping researchers learn more about how the brain works, what parts of the brain respond to music, and how music might help ease symptoms of … The electrical signals travel up the [qtip:auditory | related to hearing] nerve to the brain’s auditory cortex. This brain area interprets the sound into something we recognize and …

… Scientists have known that aura is caused by a disruption of electrical activity within the brain. But they hadn’t yet figured out how the aura might trigger pain. The nerve cells that drive migraine pain are known to sit outside the brain. And communication between these nerves and the brain was thought to be blocked by a … blood-brain barrier. To learn more, researchers looked at how spinal fluid flows out of the brains of mice. They found gaps in the blood-brain barrier around a bundle of nerve cells known …

… time to see a doctor. These could be signs of a condition known as dementia. Dementia is a brain disorder that most often affects the elderly. It’s caused by the failure or death of nerve … people are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, a condition that involves changes to the brain’s blood supply. Vascular dementia often arises from [qtip:stroke|When normal blood flow to … decade ago, NIH-supported scientists found a way to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of living people. Their sophisticated brain scans can spot abnormal protein clumps known …

… Exercise is important for your body and your brain at any age. A new study reveals how physical activity may slow the decline in learning and memory as you get older. Researchers looked at the brains of young and old mice. Some had access to a running wheel in their cage, while others did not. The team found changes in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. This area is important for learning and memory. Older mice that …

… But that’s what happens in a condition called aphasia. Aphasia occurs when a part of the brain that helps process language is damaged. The most common cause of aphasia is [qtip: stroke|When normal blood flow to the brain is interrupted, often due to blocked or broken blood vessels.]. But a head injury, … pathologists can help people with speech, language, and related problems to retrain their brains. Therapy may start very soon after the loss of language. “For the best outcomes, we want …

… their special senses. For researchers, “studying synesthesia allows us to think about what the brain does,” explains Dr. Krish Sathian, a neurologist at Pennsylvania State University. Scientists don’t know what happens in the brain to cause synesthesia. “There are a few explanations that have been put forward,” Sathian says. These involve the way neurons talk to each other. Neurons are the brain cells that process information from the senses. Some researchers think that people with …

… violence is about power and control,” says Dr. Eve Valera, an expert on domestic violence and brain injury at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. “It’s any type of … show that partner abuse is much more likely on days of heavy alcohol use. George studies the brain areas involved in loss of control and violence. His work has found that some people who …

… you to focus on something, such as an object or breathing. When you focus like this, your brain becomes more open to suggestion. “Focusing makes the brain more flexible,” explains Dr. Mark P. Jensen, a pain expert at the University of Washington … respond at some level to hypnosis.” Imaging studies are shedding light on what happens in the brain during hypnosis. “Hypnosis is a particularly powerful technique for changing brain …

… anesthesia doses to keep people as safe as possible. But how general anesthesia affects the brain is still not fully understood. NIH-funded researchers are studying ways to track brain activity during anesthesia. This may help them better understand anesthesia’s effects on the brain in general. It may also help them develop safer and more effective drugs. General …

… disease before symptoms start or in its early stages. Alzheimer’s disease is an age-related brain disorder that develops over many years. Toxic changes in the brain slowly destroy memory and thinking skills. The disease involves two proteins called beta-amyloid and tau. Beta-amyloid clumps into plaques, which slowly build up between brain cells. Abnormal tau collects inside brain cells and forms tangles. Researchers investigated …