Subscribe
New technology developed at UC Berkeley is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device could potentially become a cost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triage injuries in areas where access to medical care, especially medical imaging, is limited.
Tag: brain
Researchers find out why some stress is good for you
April 16, 2013:
Chronic stress is known to cause major health problems, yet acute stress is thought to improve people’s performance and health. A new study by UC Berkeley professor Daniela Kaufer shows why that is. Stress generates new nerve cells in the brain that, two weeks later, help people learn better.
Campus poised to join Obama’s BRAIN initiative
April 2, 2013:
President Barack Obama has announced a major national initiative to understand how the brain works and how it goes awry. Neuroscientist John Ngai, chemist Paul Alivisatos and chemical engineer Jay Keasling were on hand at the White House to lend support to the so-called BRAIN initiative, which Ngai termed “our moon project.”
Poor sleep in old age prevents the brain from storing memories
January 28, 2013:
The connection between poor sleep, memory loss and brain deterioration as we grow older has been elusive. But for the first time, UC Berkeley scientists have found a link between these hallmark maladies of old age. Their discovery opens the door to boosting the quality of sleep in elderly people to improve memory.
Scientists construct first map of how the brain organizes everything we see
December 19, 2012:
Our eyes may be our window to the world, but how do we make sense of the thousands of images that flood our retinas each day? UC Berkeley scientists have found that the brain is wired to put in order all the categories of objects and actions that we see. They have created the first interactive map of how the brain organizes these groupings.
Intense prep for law school admission test alters brain structure
August 22, 2012:
Intense prep courses for tests like the Law School Admission Test are popular for good reason: They can improve scores significantly. Now UC Berkeley neuroscientists have revealed the underlying result of such preparation: the brain’s neural connections change measurably, suggesting a bolstering of interconnections among reasoning areas of the brain.
Robert Knight discusses ‘brain reading’ on Canadian TV (@ 3:51 min.)
February 9, 2012:
Scientists have decoded electrical activity in the brain’s auditory system in order to predict the words a person has heard. Listen to the interview with Robert Knight on Canadian TV.
Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear
January 31, 2012:
Stroke victims or paralyzed people unable to speak may someday be able to communicate via synthesizers that decode their internal speech and play it back. That hope comes from research by UC Berkeley neuroscientists Brian Pasley and Robert Knight, who have successfully decoded brain waves to predict what a person heard.
New video of how scientists reconstruct the movies in our minds
December 21, 2011:
UC Berkeley scientists Jack Gallant and Shinji Nishimoto have wowed the world by using brain scans and computer modeling to reconstruct images of what we see when we’re watching movies. UC Berkeley broadcast manager Roxanne Makasdjian has produced a video of how they achieved this breakthrough, and where they’re headed.
Dream sleep takes sting out of painful memories
November 23, 2011:
They say time heals all wounds, and new research from UC Berkeley indicates that time spent in dream sleep can help. UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.
Is a stranger genetically wired to be trustworthy? You’ll know in 20 seconds
November 14, 2011:
There’s definitely something to be said for first impressions. New research from UC Berkeley suggests it can take just 20 seconds to detect whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being trustworthy, kind or compassionate. See if you can guess which people shown in the video have the empathy gene.
Findings offer new clues into the addicted brain
October 30, 2011:
What drives addicts to choose drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, overeating or kleptomania — despite the risks? Campus neuroscientists have pinpointed the locations in the brain where calculations are made that can result in addictive and compulsive behavior. Their astonishing findings could lead to improved treatments for many addictions and disorders.
Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind
September 22, 2011:
Imagine tapping into the mind of a coma patient, or watching one’s own dream on YouTube. With a cutting-edge blend of brain imaging and computer simulation, UC Berkeley scientists are bringing these futuristic scenarios within reach. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and computational models, researchers have succeeded in decoding and reconstructing people’s dynamic visual experiences – in this case, watching Hollywood movie trailers.
Mu-ming Poo nurtures young neuroscientists in Shanghai
August 3, 2011:
Neuroscientist Mu-ming Poo “leads a double life,” according to a piece in the journal Nature. He spends three-quarters of his time doing research on campus, but for the past decade has spent one day a week nurturing budding neuroscientists at the Institute of Neurosciences in Shanghai.
New neurons help us to remember fear
June 14, 2011:
UC Berkeley’s Daniela Kaufer and colleagues have discovered one way by which emotions such as fear affect memory. The brain’s emotional center, the amygdala, induces the hippocampus, a relay hub for memory, to generate new neurons. In a fearful situation, these newborn neurons are activated by the amygdala, providing a “blank slate” for the new fearful memory.
Study shows need to eliminate sex bias in research
April 18, 2011:
A recent study by UC Berkeley neuroscientists Emily Jacobs and Mark D’Esposito highlights the need to include female animals in research studies, since sex hormones have an impact on how females respond. The research, published April 6, showed that estrogen levels affected how women scored on memory tests.
Pulling an all-nighter can bring on euphoria and risky behavior
March 22, 2011:
A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from UC Berkeley
As we sleep, speedy brain waves boost our ability to learn
March 8, 2011:
Scientists have long puzzled over the many hours we spend in light, dreamless slumber. But a new study from UC Berkeley suggests we’re busy recharging our brain’s learning capacity during this traditionally undervalued phase of sleep, which can take up half the night.
Chinks in the brain circuitry make some more vulnerable to anxiety
February 9, 2011:
Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? UC Berkeley researchers have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.
Advance makes MRI scans more than seven times faster
January 5, 2011:
UC Berkeley physicist David Feinberg, in collaboration with physicians at the University of Minnesota, has combined two new techniques to speed MRI scans of the brain by more than a factor of 10. The faster functional MRI scans will boost the national effort to map the brain’s wiring, called the Human Connectome Project.
Our brains are wired so we can better hear ourselves speak, new study shows
December 8, 2010:
Like the mute button on the TV remote control, our brains filter out unwanted noise so we can focus on what we’re listening to. But when it comes to following our own speech, a new brain study from UC Berkeley shows that instead of one homogenous mute button, we have a network of volume settings that can selectively silence and amplify the sounds we make and hear.
Jet lagged and forgetful? It’s no coincidence
November 24, 2010:
Holiday travel can leave people cranky and tired, in part because of jet lag, the result of your body’s internal clock being out of synch with your current time zone. For chronic travelers, it’s more than a passing annoyance, however. A new study shows that chronic jet lag can cause long-term brain changes that lead to memory and learning problems for at least a month after return to a normal schedule
Phantom images stored in flexible network throughout brain
November 3, 2010:
The ability to store phantom images in our brain in order to make visual comparisons is impaired by damage to the prefrontal cortex, but intact regions of the prefrontal cortex pick up the slack in less than a second. Damage to the basal ganglia, however, causes more widespread impairment of visual working memory. New studies by UC Berkeley neuroscientists show how the prefrontal cortex flexibly picks up new functions while retaining old.
Right or left? Brain stimulation can change the hand you favor
September 27, 2010:
Each time we perform a simple task, like pushing an elevator button or reaching for a cup of coffee, the brain races to decide whether the left or right hand will do the job. But the left hand is more likely to win if a certain region of the brain receives magnetic stimulation, according to new research from UC Berkeley.
