Thursday, September 11, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Reacting to personal setbacks: Do you bounce back or give up?
Sometimes when people get upsetting news – such as a failing exam grade or a negative job review – they decide instantly to do better the next time. In other situations that are equally disappointing, the same people may feel inclined to just give up. How can similar setbacks produce such different reactions? It may come down to how much control we feel we have over what happened, according to new research from Rutgers University-Newark. The study, published in the journal Neuron, also finds that when these setbacks occur, the level of control we perceive may even determine which of two distinct parts of the brain will handle the crisis. "Think of the student who failed an exam," says Jamil Bhanji, a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers and one of the study's co-authors. "They might feel they wouldn't have failed if they had studied harder, studied differently – something under their control." That student, Bhanji says, resolves to try new study habits and work hard toward acing the next exam. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) used in the study showed activity in a part of the brain called the ventral striatum – which has been shown to guide goals based on prior experiences. A different student might have failed the same test, but believes it happened because the questions were unfair or the professor was mean, things that he could not control. The negative emotions produced by this uncontrollable setback may cause the student to drop the course. Overcoming those emotions and refocusing on doing well in the class may require a more complicated thought process. In cases like this, fMRI revealed that activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a part of the brain that regulates emotions in more flexible ways, is necessary to promote persistence.
- See more at: http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/reacting-personal-setbacks-do-you-bounce-back-or-give#sthash.ihi1IEXr.dpuf
Researchers unlock new mechanism in pain management September 4, 2014 | by Editor
Pain and touch sensory fibres in a neonatal dorsal root ganglion. Credit: Simon Beggs / Wellcome Images - See more at: http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/researchers-unlock-new-mechanism-pain-management#sthash.94am7x8h.dpuf
It's in the brain where we perceive the unpleasant sensations of pain, and researchers have long been examining how calcium channels in the brain and peripheral nervous system contribute to the development of chronic pain conditions. Neuroscientist Gerald Zamponi, PhD, and his team at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute have discovered a new mechanism that can reverse chronic pain. Using an animal model, their research has found that pain signals in nerve cells can be shut off by interfering with the communication of a specific enzyme with calcium channels, a group of important proteins that control nerve impulses. Their Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded study was published in the September issue of Neuron — one of the most influential journals in the field of neuroscience. Zamponi is now applying his research and partnering with the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) in Vancouver to develop a drug that could one day improve the lives of those with inflammatory pain such as arthritis, irritable bowel disease or neuropathic pain. Their approach may be able to reduce the pain associated with these conditions. Opening the door to new treatments “Chronic pain can be a debilitating condition that affects many people and is often poorly controlled by currently available treatments. Therefore, new treatment avenues are needed. Our discovery opens the door towards new treatments, and based on the data that we have so far, it is a viable strategy,” says Zamponi, the lead author of the study and senior associate dean of research at the Cumming School of Medicine.
- See more at: http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/researchers-unlock-new-mechanism-pain-management#sthash.94am7x8h.dpuf
Thursday, September 4, 2014
How Sugar Affects the Brain: Let’s Begin… When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine -- an overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more. Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation
From Invisible Illness Awareness Week...
Sometimes our "scale" of things we are grateful for is slightly different than those who don't have health issues. But IIWk "get it" when you celebrate being able to do the laundry or pump your own gas.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Research hints at why stress is more devastating for some September 2, 2014 | by Editor
Some people take stress in stride; others are done in by it. New research at Rockefeller University has identified the molecular mechanisms of this so-called stress gap in mice with very similar genetic backgrounds — a finding that could lead researchers to better understand the development of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. “Like people, each animal has unique experiences as it goes through its life. And we suspect that these life experiences can alter the expression of genes, and as a result, affect an animal’s susceptibility to stress,” says senior author Bruce McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology. “We have taken an important step toward explaining the molecular origins of this stress gap by showing that inbred mice react differently to stress, with some developing behaviors that resemble anxiety and depression, and others remaining resilient.” The results, published September 2 in Molecular Psychiatry, point toward potential new markers to aid the diagnosis of stress-related disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and a promising route to the development of new treatments for these devastating disorders. -
See more at: http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/research-hints-why-stress-more-devastating-some#sthash.jv4xN6JZ.dpuf
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