Clipmarks | Brain Clips

Computer tech.

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:44:32 GMT

clipped by: photographicguy

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

Fingercams / brain scanners to make mice and multitouch displays seem archaic

The Brain Test

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:33:30 GMT

clipped by: babylane

Clip Source: web.tickle.com

Quiz: The Brain Test

Balanced-brained

That means you are able to draw on the strengths of both the right and left hemispheres of your brain, depending upon a given situation.

When you need to explain a complicated process to someone, or plan a detailed vacation, the left hemisphere of your brain, which is responsible for your ability to solve problems logically, might kick in. But if you were critiquing an art opening or coming up with an original way to file papers, the right side of your brain, which is responsible for noticing subtle details in things, might take over.

While many people have clearly dominant left- or right-brained tendencies, you are able to draw on skills from both hemispheres of your brain. This rare combination makes you a very creative and flexible thinker.

The down side to being balanced-brained is that you may sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision when the two hemispheres of your brain are competing to solve a problem in their own unique ways.

Daydreaming is good for you

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:44:34 GMT

clipped by: bjkeltz

Clip Source: www.kottke.org

Every time we slip effortlessly into a daydream, a distinct pattern of brain areas is activated, which is known as the default network. Studies show that this network is most engaged when people are performing tasks that require little conscious attention, such as routine driving on the highway or reading a tedious text. Although such mental trances are often seen as a sign of lethargy -- we are staring haplessly into space -- the cortex is actually very active during this default state, as numerous brain regions interact. Instead of responding to the outside world, the brain starts to contemplate its internal landscape. This is when new and creative connections are made between seemingly unrelated ideas.

Tags: brain, daydream, creativity, television

Chandelier Cells Unveil Human Cognition

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:25:26 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "By triggering specific chandelier cells, the authors were able to elicit a precisely timed chain of electrical events in the neocortex. Additionally, the authors found that the synaptic pathways between chandeliers and pyramid cells are incredibly strong – much stronger than has been recorded previously in other mammals. This suggests that humans do possess different types of cells, and that our higher cognition isn't due to having larger cells.

Although chandelier cells have been found in other species, they are more complex in humans. This raises the possibility that there are many things which attribute to higher cognition – different types of cells, and a complex circuitry, perhaps. This study by Tamas, et al, furthers the search for the answers to higher cognition, and more fully opens the door to questions of how our brains compare to those of other species."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

What is it that distinguishes humans from other mammals? The answer to this question lies in the neocortex – the part of the brain responsible for sensory perceptions, conscious thought, and language. Humans have a considerably larger neocortex than other mammals, making it an ideal subject for the research of higher cognition.

The authors, Tamas, et al, point to an important role in chandelier cells – so-named for their structural resemblance to an old-fashioned candlestick.

This challenging method allowed them to measure the dynamic communication lines between neurons, illustrating how neurons interact and affect one another.

Whereas previously it was thought that neurons worked in groups to affect the brain, the authors show that a single chandelier cell can trigger multiple excitatory pyramidal cells – which make up the bulk of the cortex – and cause a chain reaction throughout the brain.

The Brain Unmasked

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:37:22 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

New imaging technologies reveal the intricate architecture of the brain, creating a blueprint of its connectivity.

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is one of these twists. It uses magnetic resonance signals to track the movement of water molecules in the brain: water diffuses along the length of neural wires, called axons. Scientists can use these diffusion measurements to map the wires, creating a detailed blueprint of the brain's connectivity.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

On the next page is an animation of the wiring of a marmoset monkey.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

The marmoset brain, shown above, is about the size of a plum. By scanning a dissected brain for 24 hours, scientists were able to generate a map with a spatial resolution of 400 microns. "The image quality and resolution are much higher than we can obtain in a living subject," says Wedeen.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

pot

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:56:48 GMT

clipped by: sjpal

Clip Source: milzika.stumbleupon.com

"The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February, 2000 when researchers in Madrid announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

The Madrid study marks only the second time that THC has been administered to tumor-bearing animals; the first was a Virginia investigation 26 years ago. In both studies, the THC shrank or destroyed tumors in a majority of the test subjects.

Most Americans don't know anything about the Madrid discovery. Virtually no major U.S. newspapers carried the story, which ran only once on the AP and UPI news wires, on Feb. 29, 2000.

Plastics chemical 'harms brain function in monkeys'

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:09:27 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Plastic water bottles can now be replaced with safer alternatives. eg a glass

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Scientists have reported new evidence that low doses of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), widely used to make plastic food and drinking containers, can impair brain function in primates, extending the findings of previous research conducted in rats.

Whether the amount of BPA that leaches out of containers into food and beverages represents an environmental risk is a subject of controversy.

"Our primate model indicates that BPA could negatively affect brain function in humans," study investigator Tibor Hajszan said in a press release from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Dr Hajszan and colleagues examined the influence of continuous exposure to BPA at a daily dose representing the US Environmental Protection Agency's current reference safe daily limit (50 micrograms per kilogram) in young adult African green monkeys.

Individual brain cell recorded

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:08:39 GMT

clipped by: sdumnov

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Scientists have for the first time recorded individual brain cells in the act of summoning a spontaneous memory, revealing not only where a remembered experience is registered but also, in part, how the brain is able to recreate it.

Tags: nyt 06/09/08

U.K. Environmental Minister scorns "global warming" nonsense

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:00:25 GMT

clipped by: pkronfield
clipper's remarks: Another man with a brain of his own sees through the liberal scam.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has angered green campaigners by describing their view on climate change as a "hysterical psuedo-religion".

Mr Wilson said he believed it occurred naturally and was not man-made.

"Resources should be used to adapt to the consequences of climate change, rather than King Canute-style vainly trying to stop it," said the minister.

Mr Wilson said he refused to "blindly accept" the need to make significant changes to the economy to stop climate change.

The minister said he accepted climate change can occur, but does not believe the cause has been identified.

"Reasoned debate must replace the scaremongering of the green climate alarmists."

It is the latest clash between Mr Wilson and green groups since his appointment as environment minister in June.

Tags: global warming, loony left

Walter Reed or Walter Reed?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:34:45 GMT

clipped by: cptenaud
clipper's remarks: Story continued.

Clip Source: www.vetvoice.com

Editor's note: This is a guest post from Brian McGough. This story is both ridiculous and weird. . .but it needs to be out there. --Brandon

In October of 2003 I was wounded in Iraq when the vehicle I was riding in was struck by shrapnel from an IED. After being airlifted away from the attack site I went to Baghdad for emergency brain surgery to remove shrapnel from my skull. After I was stabilized, I was sent to Germany to begin my recovery. When I was deemed recovered enough to return to the states I was flown into Andrews Air Force base and loaded on a bus to go to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington DC.

This is what Walter Reed Medical Center looks like:

But it wasn't my Walter Reed. It was Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, Ca.

Tags: ooops, wrong, place

"Walking to the Moon" - A woman wakes from a coma

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:31:04 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "A woman wakes from a coma, its cause unknown.
She refuses to see her family; she does not say why.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, she becomes stronger.
Now she will walk.
Where? "

Clip Source: www.penguin.com.au

Clip Source: www.mindhacks.com

ABC Radio National's All in the Mind recently broadcast a gripping programme on patients in the coma-like persistent vegetative state (PVS) and how new brain imaging techniques might be able to identify people who are conscious but unable to communicate with the outside world.

Clip Source: www.penguin.com.au

A woman wakes from a coma, its cause unknown.
She refuses to see her family; she does not say why.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, she becomes stronger.
Now she will walk.
Where?

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A woman thought to be in a persistent vegetative state, unresponsive and unconscious to herself and the world, is asked to play a game of 'mental' tennis. Extraordinarily, brain scans reveal she can. In Australia, new ethical guidelines govern the care of people in this devastating situation. Besides new technologies and terminologies -- what prospects for those living frozen lives?

Listen Now - 30082008 |Download Audio - 30082008

Zen training speeds the mind's return after distraction, brain scans reveal

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:32:01 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Can you hear the sound of one hand clapping ?
Yes, but keep on clapping, it does not distract me at all...

Clip Source: thezenfrog.files.wordpress.com

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Experienced Zen meditators can clear their minds of distractions more quickly than novices, according to a new brain imaging study.

After being interrupted by a word-recognition task, experienced meditators' brains returned faster to their pre-interruption condition, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine found.

Giuseppe Pagnoni, PhD, Emory assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and co-workers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine changes in blood flow in the brain when people meditating were interrupted by stimuli designed to mimic the appearance of spontaneous thoughts.

The study compared 12 people from the Atlanta area with more than three years of daily practice in Zen meditation with 12 others who had never practiced meditation.

"This suggests that the regular practice of meditation may enhance the capacity to limit the influence of distracting thoughts.

Tags: meditation, neuroscience

Brain, Rememering is like Reliving

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:09:19 GMT

clipped by: singer
clipper's remarks: interesting, what was theoretical is now biologically shown- research about alzheimers and more will be helped by this in future studies.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

For the Brain, Remembering Is Like Reliving

“It’s astounding to see this in a single trial; the phenomenon is strong, and we were listening in the right place,” said the senior author, Dr. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Tel Aviv.

Dr. Fried said in a phone interview that the single neurons recorded firing most furiously during the film clips were not acting on their own; they were, like all such cells, part of a circuit responding to the videos, including thousands, perhaps millions, of other cells.

Tags: health, brain, mind, memories, memory, alzheimers, neuroscience

Brain and Creativity Institute

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:24:53 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: The mission of the Brain and Creativity Institute is to gather new knowledge about the human emotions, decision-making, memory, and communication, from a neurological perspective, and to apply this knowledge to the solution of problems in the biomedical and sociocultural arenas.

Clip Source: www.usc.edu

The Brain and Creativity Institute was founded by Antonio Damasio and Hanna Damasio in 2006. Since ancient times, thinkers and scientists have sought to explain how we perceive, interpret, and shape our existence. However, until very recently, researchers interested in these questions have had to rely entirely on conjecture or indirect evidence. Now, recent technological advances in brain imaging and fresh insights into the functioning of the human brain at the level of systems, cells and molecules, provide extraordinary new opportunities for uncovering the neurological underpinnings for a large array of mental functions – from emotion and decision-making to innovation and creativity.

It is also apparent that emotion, decision-making, memory and communication, are central to our most fundamental socio-cultural endeavors

The Institute is a groundbreaking effort to make use of important new discoveries from the mind and brain sciences and confront pressing issues of our time.

Tags: brain and creativity, antonio damasio

'Some concern' still tied to chemical found in plastics

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:53:50 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

'Some concern' still tied to chemical found in plastics

A government agency Wednesday said there's "some concern" that a controversial ingredient in plastic alters behavior and development of the brain and prostate gland in children and babies, both before and after birth.

The National Toxicology Program's final ruling on bisphenol A, or BPA, contradicts a Food and Drug Administration report issued two weeks ago.

The toxicology program rates its concerns on a five-point scale, from "negligible" to "serious," based on the strength of scientific evidence. It expressed "some concern" — a middle level — that BPA affects development at levels to which people are exposed everyday. The program has "minimal" concern — its second-lowest level — that BPA affects the breast or causes early puberty in girls and "negligible" concern that it causes birth defects, fetal or newborn death or reproductive problems in adults.

Tags: health