Fragile period of childhood brain development could underlie epilepsy
A form of partial epilepsy associated with auditory and other sensory hallucinations has been linked to the disruption of brain development during early childhood, according to a study led by...
View ArticleNeural response to electrical currents isn’t localized, as previously believed
For more than a century, scientists have been using electrical stimulation to explore and treat the human brain. The technique has helped identify regions responsible for specific neural functions —...
View ArticleIn Milliseconds, Brain Zips From Thought To Speech
An unusual experiment is offering some tantalizing clues about what goes on in the brain before we speak. The study found that it takes about half a second to transform something we think into...
View ArticleFinding the seat of language?
A team of Harvard and University of California, San Diego (UCSD), researchers report having pinpointed an area of the brain where three essential components of language — word identification, grammar,...
View ArticleIt’s all in the cortex
Common wisdom says that domestic partners shouldn’t go to bed angry if they want to foster successful relationships. But new research from a psychologist at Harvard University suggests that brain...
View ArticleAlzheimer’s-associated protein may be part of the innate immune system
Amyloid-beta protein – the primary constituent of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients – may be part of the body’s first-line system to defend against infection. In their...
View ArticleAround the Schools: Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard University students have launched the first collegiate Sarah Jane Brain Club, to explore issues surrounding pediatric traumatic brain injury, at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “We at...
View ArticlePost-traumatic stress
The diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder has come a long way since the 1970s, with research now showing it is both more common and more treatable than once thought. While early...
View ArticleBuilding a better brain
What does Whoopi Goldberg have to do with neuroscience? A lot, says Jeff Brown, co-author with Mark Fenske of “The Winner’s Brain.” Goldberg, an Oscar-winning actress and now the frank and hilarious...
View ArticleExercise, calorie restrictions can rejuvenate older synapses
Harvard researchers have uncovered a mechanism in mice through which caloric restriction and exercise delay some of the debilitating effects of aging by rejuvenating the connections between nerves and...
View ArticleWhat’s right for me?
Scientists at Harvard University have found that humans can make difficult moral decisions using the same brain circuits as those used in making more mundane choices related to money and food. These...
View ArticleMajor moral decisions use general-purpose brain circuits to manage uncertainty
Harvard researchers have found that humans can make difficult moral decisions using the same brain circuits as those used in more mundane choices related to money and food. These circuits, also found...
View ArticleThinking like an octopus
If you were an octopus, would you view the world from eight different points of view? Nine? The answer may depend on how many brains an octopus has, or, to say it another way, whether the robust...
View ArticlePromising therapy for stroke patients
A noninvasive electric stimulation technique administered to both sides of the brain can help stroke patients who have lost motor skills in their hands and arms, according to a new study led by...
View ArticleEarly marijuana use a bigger problem
Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital have shown that those who start using marijuana at a young age are more impaired on tests of cognitive function than those who start smoking at a later...
View ArticleNARSAD awards $720,000 to Harvard researchers
Twelve from Harvard are among 214 researchers named NARSAD Young Investigators. Young Investigators represent a new generation of researchers who will pioneer breakthroughs in mental health research....
View ArticleEight weeks to a better brain
Participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. In a study that will appear...
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Harnessing your creative brain
There are creative geniuses, and then there are the rest of us. We’re the ones Shelley Carson wants to help. Carson, an affiliate with Harvard’s Psychology Department and a lecturer at the Harvard...
View ArticleWeb-crawling the brain
The brain is a black box. A complex circuitry of neurons fires information through channels, much like the inner workings of a computer chip. But while computer processors are regimented with the deft...
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Brain navigation
The brain of a mouse measures only 1 cubic centimeter in volume. But when neuroscientists at Harvard’s Center for Brain Science slice it thinly and take high-resolution micrographs of each slice, that...
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