THEPSYCHOLOGYTURKEY

It is well known that people who have lived through traumatic events like sexual assault, domestic abuse, or violent combat can experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including terrifying flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the incident. But what exactly happens in the brains of PTSD patients as they recall these traumatic events? Are they remembered the same way as, say, the loss of a beloved pet -- or, for that matter, a relaxing walk on the beach? http://dlvr.it/SzXt6v

Researchers have succeeded in restoring lost brain function in mouse models of stroke using small molecules that in the future could potentially be developed into a stroke recovery therapy. http://dlvr.it/SzXMCX

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze specialized brain MRI scans of adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers found significant differences in nine brain white matter tracts in individuals with ADHD. http://dlvr.it/SzXLz2

With little insight into the impact of a lack of sleep on risky decision-making at the neuroimaging level, researchers found a 24-hour period of sleep deprivation significantly impacted individuals' decision-making processes by dampening neural responses to the outcomes of their choices. http://dlvr.it/SzWZJk

Scientists describe how they identified a molecule that may trigger over-consumption of comfort foods after a threatening event. http://dlvr.it/SzWYy0

New research links soccer heading -- where players hit the ball with their head -- to a measurable decline in the microstructure and function of the brain over a two-year period. http://dlvr.it/SzV6Nj

The evolution of higher cognitive functions in humans has so far mostly been linked to the expansion of the neocortex. Researchers are increasingly realizing, however, that the 'little brain' or cerebellum also expanded during evolution and probably contributes to the capacities unique to humans. A research team has now generated comprehensive genetic maps of the development of cells in the cerebella of human, mouse and opossum. Comparisons of these maps reveal both ancestral and species-specific cellular and molecular characteristics of cerebellum development. http://dlvr.it/SzTqL4

Investigators revealed how genetic changes in certain types of brain cells may contribute to the inflammatory response seen in Alzheimer's disease. http://dlvr.it/SzTR17

Damage to the body's peripheral nerves can cause pain and movement disorders. Researchers have recently investigated how damaged nerves can regenerate better. They found that fat tissue strongly supports the Schwann cells needed for repair during the healing process. http://dlvr.it/SzS13j

Researchers discovered a mechanism for repairing damaged nerves during peripheral neuropathy in mice, wherein the protein Mitf orchestrates nerve repair after both trauma-induced and chronic nerve damage conditions, like Charcot Marie Tooth disease. Their findings may inspire novel therapeutics that bolster repair function and heal peripheral neuropathy -- even in hereditary and developmental cases. http://dlvr.it/SzS0tp

Experiences of discrimination and acculturation are known to have a detrimental effect on a person's health. For pregnant women, these painful experiences can also affect the brain circuitry of their children, a new study finds. These effects, the researchers say, are separate from those caused by general stress and depression. The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. http://dlvr.it/SzQTjB

Researchers have discovered that a part of the brain associated with working memory and multisensory integration may also play an important role in how the brain processes social cues. Previous research has shown that neurons in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) integrate faces and voices -- but new research shows that neurons in the VLPFC play a role in processing both the identity of the 'speaker' and the expression conveyed by facial gestures and vocalizations. http://dlvr.it/SzQTTQ

A researcher contends that the understanding of AI is muddled by linguistics: That while indeed intelligent, AI cannot be intelligent in the way that humans are, even though 'it can lie and BS like its maker.' http://dlvr.it/SzPS4D

Hospital MRI scanners, using 3 Tesla magnets, provide poor spatial resolution in brain imaging. More recent 7T MRIs are better but used mainly in the rare research lab. Scientists have now supercharged the standard 7T scanner to improve the resolution by nearly a factor of 10 -- a 50-times improvement over standard 3T MRIs. The NexGen 7T can track signals through the brain and perhaps tie functional changes to brain maladies. http://dlvr.it/SzPFXq

Facemap uses a mouse's facial movements to predict brain activity, bringing researchers one step closer to understanding brain-wide signals driven by spontaneous behaviors. http://dlvr.it/SzLffK

Researchers have found that a form of cholesterol known as cholesteryl esters builds up in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's-like disease, and that clearing out the cholesteryl esters helps prevent brain damage and behavioral changes. http://dlvr.it/SzLTQm

Using a specialized device that translates images into sound, neuroscientists showed that people who are blind recognized basic faces using the part of the brain known as the fusiform face area, a region that is crucial for the processing of faces in sighted people. http://dlvr.it/SzLTFt

What is the mechanism that allows our brains to incorporate new information about the world, and form memories? New work by a team of neuroscientists shows that learning occurs through the continuous formation of new connectivity patterns between specific engram cells in different regions of the brain. http://dlvr.it/SzH384

Faced with images that break the expected pattern, like a do not enter sign where a stop sign is expected, how does the brain react and learn compared to being shown images which match what was predicted? That was the question a team set out to answer. A long-standing theory suggests the brain learns a predictive model of the world and its internal predictions are updated when incoming sensory data proves them wrong. http://dlvr.it/SzF7Zq

Psychologists are using EEG to research what games reveal about our ability to cooperate. http://dlvr.it/SzBtYt