Neuroscience In The News On May 2

These are articles that I found of interest relating to news about Neuroscience.  In this issue, I have highlighted articles about the brain anatomy and sensation seeking behavior, how the brain responds to reading and wisdom being measured and influenced by heart rate variability.

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 May 2, 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 April 25, 2016

Sensation Seeking Behavior Linked To Brain Anatomy

This study builds on well-established links between impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and substance abuse. Prior research indicates genes play a role in these behaviors. Other studies conclude substance use can affect brain anatomy and function over time. Scientists don't know the extent to which brain abnormalities, present prior to drug-taking, contribute to the likelihood that a person will develop a substance abuse disorder.

The strongest links occurred in brain areas related to the ability to regulate emotions and behaviour, the anterior cingulate and middle frontal gyrus. Changes in those brain structures also correlated with participants' self-reported tendency to act on impulse and with heightened use of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine.

Article Link:

• Research Links Sensation Seeking Behavior To Brain Anatomy
• Source:  www.scicasts.com
• Avram Holmes, Psychologist at Yale University

The Brain And Reading

Neuroscientists at UC Davis have come up with a way to observe brain activity during natural reading. It’s the first time researchers have been able to study the brain while reading actual texts, instead of individual words, and it’s already helping settle some ideas about just how we read.

Until now, neuroscientists have only measured brain activity as a volunteer fixes his or her attention on individual words. The signals of brain activity from functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, last for several seconds — too slow to keep up with natural reading, which processes several words a second.

Article Link:

• How Do Our Brains Respond To Reading
• Source:  www.laboratoryequipment.com
• John Henderson, Professor Of Psychology, UC Davis Center

Wisdom Influenced By The Heart

While many individuals believe such aspects are solely driven by cognitive functioning, the team notes that some behavioral scientists have suggested the heart may also play a role in wisdom.

Participants were required to take part in a series of tasks, including a social reasoning task and an attributional judgement task. As part of these tasks, subjects were required to offer their opinion on social issues they felt strongly about, from both a first- and third-person perspective.

The participants' resting heart rates were measured during each task using an electrocardiogram (ECG).

Article Link:

• Wisdom Influenced By Heart Rate Variability
• Source:  www.medicalnewstoday.com
• Professor Igor Grossman, University Of Waterloo, Canada