Author Archive
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How Schizophrenia Develops: Major Clues Discovered
Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue. The researcher...
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Feeling Sleepy Is All In Your Genes
Genes responsible for our 24 hour body clock influence not only the timing of sleep, but also appear to be central to the actual restorative process of sleep, according to research published in BMC Neuroscience. The study ident...
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Prefrontal decision making
The role of the prefrontal cortex in decision making is today placed on a solid scientific foundation. But for the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMF), it is still uncertain whether it plays a role in decision making under unc...
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Dreaming: New issue
A new issue of Dreaming is out, covering topics such as dreaming and physical health, insomnia and dream content, and personality types.
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Brain stem may be key to consciousness:
From MindHacks An article in this week’s Science News discusses whether the brain stem may play a more central role in consciousness than it’s usually given credit for. It focuses on children with hydranencephaly, a...
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Gorillas heads race to extinction
According to the Red List of Threatened Species for 2007, gorillas, orangutans, and corals are among the plants and animals which are sliding closer to extinction. You can read more about this at BBC.
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The biology of sleep
Medscape is running a special topic edition on the biology of sleep. The articles include papers on the management of insomnia; the relationship between passive sleeping and sleep disturbance during pregnancy; and the effects o...
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Initiative: Decade of the Mind
Dear all! I would draw your attention to the letter ‘A Proposal for a Decade of the Mind Initiative‘ by JAMES S. ALBUS, GEORGE A. BEKEY, JOHN H. HOLLAND, NANCY G. KANWISHER, JEFFREY L. KRICHMAR, MORTIMER MISHKIN, ...
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Science: special issue on social cognition
Science is running a special edition on social cognition this week. It contains papers on the evolution of social cognition Living in Societies – Caroline Ash, Gilbert Chin, Elizabeth Pennisi, and Andrew Sugden All Togeth...
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Forgetting the fear
There are some memories one would rather forget. This is especially true for people who suffer from phobias or from post-traumatic stress disorder. Some memories can decrease and even disappear through a process called extincti...