Neuroscience In The News On March 28

These are articles that I found of interest relating to news about Neuroscience.  In this issue, I have highlighted articles about March madness and mirror neurons, pain reduced by meditation and the effect of anxiety on bad decision making.

Please check out the article links below and feel free to comment with other information related to these subjects.  I enjoy learning as much as I can about the brain and passing this information on to everyone else that shares these passions.

This is for the week beginning March 28, 2016.

Please come back each week and hopefully I will have some more highlights.  Feel free to share with me ones that you have found and I may highlight those as well.

Feel free to check out the highlighted articles from March 21, 2016

March Madness and Mirror Neurons

Indeed, our brains contain mirror neurons in a number of brain areas. These brain cells fire when I see you waving at me and also when I am waving back at you. Mirror neurons pepper many brain areas that control our movements, from grasping to reaching to moving our eyes.

When we watch the players battling on the court, cutting across the defense with a no-look pass, shooting from the three-point line or blocking a shot of another player, mirror neurons make us literally feel what the player is feeling (to a milder degree, of course). Our brains are reenacting internally what we watch. It is as if we are almost playing the game ourselves.

Article Link:

• The Science Behind Our Love For March Madness
• Reported in the Washington Post on March 17, 2016

Can Meditation Reduce Pain?

A report finds when it comes to treating pain, meditation may provide drug-free relief. The study in the Journal of Neuroscience used a heated probe to inflict pain on a group of volunteers. Participants said meditation reduced the pain by as much as 24-percent. SOURCE – Journal of Neuroscience/MedDay/CBS

Article Link:

• Can Meditation Reduce Pain
• SOURCE – Journal of Neuroscience/MedDay/CBS

Anxiety And Bad Decision Making

Moghaddam and her team note that previous research investigating the effects of anxiety on the brain has primarily focused on the emotional response, such as how the brain cells of animal models respond to threatening situations.

Anxiety does not only have emotional implications for humans; it can also negatively impact everyday life, from preventing a person going to work, to interfering with personal relationships.

Article Link:

• Anxiety May Lead To Bad Decision Making
• Source:  Medical News Today
• Bita Moghaddam, Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania