Monthly Archives: September 2014

Recruitment of extra neural resources may allow people to maintain normal cognition despite amyloid-beta plaques. Previous fMRI studies have reported such hyperactivation, but it has been unclear whether such increases represent compensation or aberrant overexcitation. In this study, Elman and … Continue reading →

The population aged 65 and older is expected to double between 2010 and 2050, making factors that affect this population of increasing importance. Of particular concern are the neurological diseases and disorders typically associated with advanced age, such as Alzheimer’s … Continue reading →

The lateral habenula is a well-known regulator of monaminergic areas in the brain. It is activated by negatively-valenced events and its hyperactivity is associated with depression. In this study, Shabel and colleagues report that GABA is co-released in the lateral … Continue reading →

According to the authors of this review, “Bipolar disorder is associated with high mortality, and people with this disorder on average may die 10-20 years earlier than the general population. This excess and premature mortality continues to occur despite a … Continue reading →

Bipolar disorder shares genetic components with other psychiatric disorders. To help understand the etiology of this disorder, Song and colleagues studied the familial aggregation of bipolar disorder and the co-aggregation with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, drug abuse, … Continue reading →

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1575007/robin-williams-had-traits-person-likely-commit-suicide Robin Williams had the traits of a person likely to commit suicide “Actor who hanged himself had the traits: white, middle-aged male in late stages of career, a depressed substance abuser who sought treatment”     ………………… PUBLISHED : Sunday, … Continue reading →

“Successful memory involves not only remembering information over time but also keeping memories distinct and less confusable. The computational process for making representations of similar input patterns more distinct from each other has been referred to as “pattern separation.” Although … Continue reading →

Substantial correlational evidence suggests that prefrontal regions are critical to honest and dishonest behavior, but causal evidence specifying the nature of this involvement remains absent. In this study, Zhu and colleagues found that lesions of the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex … Continue reading →