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+11 +1
First case of CTE diagnosed in MMA fighter
He was only 25, but Jordan Parsons was a cage fighter, a professional mixed martial artist who on his best nights beat his opponents into submission. On his worst nights, Parsons was sent spiraling to the canvas by devastating blows to his head. Now, six months after he was struck and killed as a pedestrian by an alleged drunken driver, Parsons is the first fighter in the multibillion-dollar MMA industry to be publicly identified as having been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
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+26 +1
Cannabis may enhance night vision
New research shows that the drug makes cells in the retina more sensitive to light.
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+8 +1
Harvard Study Decrypts the Ancient Mystery of Consciousness
Neuroscientists may have pinpointed the seat of human consciousness. By Christopher Bergland. (Nov. 5, 2016)
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+30 +1
How Your Brain Decides Without You
Princeton’s Palmer Field, 1951. An autumn classic matching the unbeaten Tigers, with star tailback Dick Kazmaier—a gifted passer, runner, and punter who would capture a record number of votes to win the Heisman Trophy—against rival Dartmouth. Princeton prevailed over Big Green in the penalty-plagued game, but not without cost: Nearly a dozen players were injured, and Kazmaier himself sustained a broken nose and a concussion (yet still played a “token part”). It was a “rough game,” The New York Times described, somewhat mildly, “that led to some recrimination from both camps.” Each said the other played dirty.
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+25 +1
What our ancestors’ third eye reveals about the evolution of mammals to warm blood
French philosopher René Descartes believed that the pineal gland, a tiny button of neurons located in the depth of our brain, was the seat of the soul. By Julien Benoit.
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+34 +1
Study Links Gut Bacteria to Parkinson’s Disease
The exact cause of Parkinson’s disease isn’t known. Genetics and environment are possible factors, but now researchers say gut bacteria could contribute to the nervous system disorder. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) published a report today in the journal Cell detailing their discovery of a link between intestinal bacteria and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Changes in bacteria, or the bacteria themselves, contribute to — and may even cause — motor skill decline, the scientists concluded.
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+34 +1
The Best Drug for Quitting Smoking Can't Shake Its Suicide Stigma
One night while watching TV, Chris Kunkel decided to kill himself. “Out of nowhere, it just came over me,” Kunkel told me over the phone. He found a bottle of Tylenol PM in the medicine cabinet, swallowed the contents, and put himself to bed. Kunkel was home alone; his wife and two kids were out of town visiting family, but he was on call for work as an army IT specialist and had to stay behind.
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+35 +1
Is there such a thing as an emotional hangover? Researchers find that there is
Emotional experiences can induce physiological and internal brain states that persist for long periods of time after the emotional events have ended, a team of New York University scientists has found. This study, which appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also shows that this emotional "hangover" influences how we attend to and remember future experiences.
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+5 +1
Split brain does not lead to split consciousness
A new research study contradicts the established view that so-called split-brain patients have a split consciousness. Instead, the researchers behind the study have found strong evidence showing that despite being characterized by little to no communication between the right and left brain hemispheres, split brain does not cause two independent conscious perceivers in one brain.
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+26 +1
Brain Architecture Alters to Compensate for Depression
A study has found structural differences in the cerebral cortex of patients with depression and that these differences normalize with appropriate medication. The stud is the first to report within the context of a randomized, controlled trial, the presence of structural changes in the cerebral cortex during medication treatment for depression and the first to provide in vivo evidence for the presence of anatomical neuroplasticity in human brain.
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+27 +1
Poor Sleep in Early Childhood Linked to Later Cognitive and Behavioral Problems
A study led by a Massachusetts General Hospital pediatrician finds that children ages 3 to 7 who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have problems with attention, emotional control and peer relationships in mid-childhood. Reported online in the journal Academic Pediatrics, the study found significant differences in the responses of parents and teachers to surveys regarding executive function – which includes attention, working memory, reasoning and problem solving...
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+24 +1
How Poverty Changes the Brain
You saw the pictures in science class—a profile view of the human brain, sectioned by function. The piece at the very front, right behind where a forehead would be if the brain were actually in someone’s head, is the pre-frontal cortex. It handles problem-solving, goal-setting, and task execution. And it works with the limbic system, which is connected and sits closer to the center of the brain. The limbic system processes emotions and triggers emotional responses, in part because of its storage of long-term memory.
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+31 +1
Zapping the Brain at Certain Times Improves Memory
When researchers delivered electrical stimulation stimulation to the brain at very specific times, the participants’ memory improved. By Agata Blaszczak-Boxe.
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+28 +1
People whose 'brain age' is older than their real age more likely to die early
Doctors may be able to warn patients if they are at risk of early death by analysing their brains, British scientists have discovered. Those whose brains appeared older than their true age were more likely to die early and to be in worse physical and mental health, a study by Imperial College London found. The research found a way of predicting someone’s “brain age” that could help to spot those at risk of dying young.
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+14 +1
What causes that feeling of being watched
You feel somebody is looking at you, but you don’t know why. The explanation lies in some intriguing neuroscience and the study of a strange form of brain injury. By Tom Stafford.
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+35 +1
New mechanism behind Parkinson’s disease revealed
Researchers have identified the precise toxic mechanism at work during an overabundance of the protein alpha-synuclein in neurons—the protein is a key causative agent in the development of Parkinson’s disease.
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+25 +1
Study reveals neurological mechanism in concussions
New research examines what happens at the neuronal level during a concussion and reveals how a blow to the head causes swellings along the axon of the neuron. The new insights could help researchers to improve symptoms in patients with concussions.
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+2 +1
What causes that feeling of being watched
Something makes you turn and see someone watching you. Perhaps on a busy train, or at night, or when you’re strolling through the park. How did you know you were being watched? It can feel like an intuition which is separate from your senses, but really it demonstrates that your senses – particularly vision – can work in mysterious ways.
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+28 +1
When you split the brain, do you split the person?
The brain is perhaps the most complex machine in the Universe. It consists of two cerebral hemispheres, each with many different modules. Fortunately, all these separate parts are not autonomous agents. They are highly interconnected... By Yaïr Pinto.
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+8 +1
Why Dreaming May Be Important for Your Health
Doctors have warned for years that Americans are not getting enough sleep, with health consequences ranging from drowsy driving and irritability to an increased risk of dementia, heart disease and early death. Now, a recent study suggests that one particular type of sleep may be especially important when it comes to how the brain responds to stressful situations.
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