A new University of Florida study indicates that a promising brain-imaging technique could improve diagnosis for the millions of people affected by movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), researchers found they could distinguish among different movement disorder diagnoses with a high degree of accuracy, a result that could help clinicians … Read more

Creativity has been valued throughout human history. It has been called “the skill of the future” and is widely recognized as essential for adapting to uncertainty and solving new problems. Research also suggests that creative tendencies—closely related to the personality trait openness to experience—are linked to long-term well-being and health outcomes (Turiano, Spiro, & Mroczek, … Read more

Summary: Long-held assumptions that the enteric nervous system (ENS) finishes its development before birth are being overturned. New research shows that ENS development continues after birth in both mice and human tissues, and reveals a significant population of enteric neurons that arise from the mesoderm. This discovery reshapes our understanding of gut maturation, aging, and … Read more

Standing at the front of the church delivering my father’s eulogy, I felt both exposed and empowered. The experience was larger than myself. The vulnerability I felt was not a defense mechanism but an expression of authenticity. Why do many of us only reveal our vulnerable side during life’s most extreme moments? Vulnerability strengthens relationships … Read more

Mindfulness Training Boosts Performance with Noninvasive Brain–Computer Interfaces Summary: Eight sessions of mindfulness-based attention training helped participants gain a clear advantage in controlling noninvasive brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), reducing the time needed to reach proficiency compared with participants who received no meditation training. Source: Carnegie Mellon University Overview: A brain–computer interface (BCI) lets a person control … Read more

Summary: A new study led by UCL shows that socioeconomic factors — including education, occupation and wealth — influence the risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia in later life, and also affect the likelihood of recovery. Following 8,442 adults aged 50 and over in England for 10 years, researchers report that people with higher … Read more

Summary: Neurons in mice lacking normal SETD1A function show shorter, stunted branches. Turning off the gene LSD1 reverses the harmful effects of SETD1A deficiency, restoring axon growth and improving working memory. Pharmacological inhibition of LSD1 corrected both the cellular defects and the behavioral memory deficits seen in this schizophrenia model. Source: Zuckerman Institute at Columbia … Read more

There is nothing more practical than a sound theory. That maxim is particularly true of positive psychology and its practical applications. Chris Peterson defined positive psychology as “the scientific study of what goes right in life” and of what makes “life most worth living” (2006, p.4). Focusing on what is already strong in people and … Read more

Case Western Reserve researcher presents findings that could free patients from ventilators, even years after injury. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a two-step treatment that restores function to the muscles that control breathing—even after those muscles have been paralyzed for more than a year. The work offers renewed hope that people with … Read more

Summary: Researchers at Harvard report that social recognition is regulated by oxytocin-sensitive neurons within a specific region of the hippocampus. Source: Harvard. How do we tell one person from another? How do we separate friend from foe or reward from threat? How does the brain parse subtle cues so we know that Susan is not … Read more