Monthly Archives: May 2011

Why loneliness is hazardous to your health In an increasing number of research studies, scientists have documented potentially unhealthy changes in the cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems of chronically lonely people. This may help explain the observation that socially isolated … Continue reading →

TMS and aging: effects on action and object naming Word-retrieval difficulties are commonly seen in healthy aging. Interestingly, it has been found that there is an improved ability to name pictures after the administration of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation … Continue reading →

The structural basis of inter-individual differences in human behavior and cognition. Inter-individual variability in perception, thought and action is frequently treated as a source of ‘noise’ in scientific investigations and discarded by averaging data from a group of participants. However, … Continue reading →

The medial temporal lobe and the attributes of memory. Neuroimaging and lesion studies have seemed to converge on the idea that the hippocampus selectively supports recollection. The authors review research in this area, including data from neuroanatomy and neurophysiology indicating … Continue reading →

The long shadow cast by childhood physical and mental problems on adult life Psychological and physical health problems in childhood were associated with long-term impact on adult socioeconomic status. Psychological health disorders during childhood were found to be more important … Continue reading →

The antidepressant fluoxetine enhances motor recovery in stroke patients: Early prescription of fluoxetine with physiotherapy enhanced motor recovery in patients with ischaemic stroke and moderate to severe motor deficit. This may be due to the previously observed ability of antidepressants … Continue reading →

Temporally Specified Genetic Ablation of Neurogenesis Impairs Cognitive Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury Significant spontaneous recovery occurs after essentially all forms of serious brain injury, but the mechanisms underlying this recovery are not clear. Given that many forms of brain … Continue reading →

Structural basis for the role of inhibition in facilitating adult brain plasticity. Although inhibition has been implicated in mediating plasticity in the adult brain, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Chen and colleagues show that experience drives structural remodeling of superficial … Continue reading →

Sleep strengthens memories Memories in human subjects were reactivated by presenting associated odor cues either during slow-wave sleep or wakefulness. The experimental design also tested memory stability. Reactivation during slow-wave sleep stabilized the memories, increasing their resistance to interference. Reactivation … Continue reading →

Revising the definition of depression: implications for future research Holtzheimer and Mayberg propose that the current concept of depression is misguiding basic and clinical research. The redefinition that they are suggesting includes a focus on a more narrowly defined set … Continue reading →