Dogs Have ‘Face Recognition’ Area of the Brain
Did you know that humans have at least three face-processing regions of the brain, an important trait for any social animal? A new study is showing dogs have a certain spot in their brains for human face recognition. Researchers trained six dogs to enter an MRI and remain motionless while their brains were scanned and […]
Marijuana Compound Shown to Heal Broken Bones Faster
A non-psychotrophic compound in marijuana has been shown to speed the bone healing process in rats. Cannabinoid cannabidiol, or CBD, has been shown by scientists to not only heal the bone quicker but actually make the bone tougher and less likely to break in the future. CBD’s main mechanism is anti-inflammatory. The CBD was tested […]
Tinnitus Research May Ease Sufferers
Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, has no cure, treatments are not effective, and sadly, plagues many of our returning veterans. New research, however, is shedding light on the mechanisms of tinnitus and paving the way to better treatments. Up until 20 years ago, tinnitus was thought to be located in the ear, but patients […]
Brain Energy-Imaging Biology
Even though the brain makes up about two percent of the body it consumes up to 20% of the energy needed to power through the day. Just how neurons and mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, generate energy is the latest research that employs special imaging technique to view the process. Mice helped researchers at […]
Taste Buds Dancing on a Mouse Tongue
Two thousand-the number of taste buds on the human tongue; tiny little sensors that tell us if we have salty, sweet, sour and umami flavored foods. Just how we distinguish taste is the subject of recent research at the Australian National University. With an imaging technique called intravital multiphoton microscopy, researchers used an infrared laser […]
New MRI May Help Spinal Cord Injury Repair
Spinal cord injury disrupts the signaling pathway along the spinal cord, but this activity is heard to measure with current MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) practices due to their low signal and MRI sensitivity, or lack thereof rather. A new study at Vanderbilt, however, may help identify the bio-marker at the injury site and give clues […]
Navigating With Nanoparticles-Possibilities In the Brain
The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a fortress to protect our brain. It necessarily rejects unwanted molecules that may be toxic to the brain. That protection comes at a cost. Sometimes medicines that can be beneficial cannot make it through the gate. Now researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a way that can […]
MRI-Tuning Into Slime
Exciting news from the world of imaging! MRI just might be able to discern cancer cells from non-cancer cells. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have been studying cancer cells in-vitro (in a petri dish) and in mice to see if their detection method works. They have taken advantage of particular biology, in four different types of […]
Fear-Rational or Irrational?
We all have learned to avoid things that are unpleasant. It could be that pasta dish that coincided with a bad case of the flu, or a particular place where a bad experience happened. We are “conditioned” to avoid, or fear an uncomfortable feeling. What prevents that feeling from becoming irrational? Researchers and rats at […]