A new study conducted at Harvard Boston Children's Hospital reveals alarming results in MR images taken of babies exposed to prolonged anesthesia exposure. The small study, presented at the 2017 Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in Washington D.C., focused on MRIs of infants who had undergone surgery for gastrointestinal issues present from birth. Image: iStock [...]
People who regularly consume sweetened drinks--whether it's the the regular, sugary variety, or the "diet" alternative--may be at greater risk for Alzheimers and dementia, according to a new MRI study. The study, entitled Sugary beverage intake and preclinical Alzheimer's disease in the community, was published last week in the Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. The [...]
A study published last month in the journal of Nature Neuroscience used MR imaging to research the changes in the brain brought about by pregnancy. The study, entitled 'Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure', discovered a reduction of gray matter regions pertaining to social cognition in the brains of pregnant women. The research was [...]
Adolescents are known for their risk taking. Health experts in privileged countries like ours cite preventable, often self-inflicted mishaps as the biggest risk to teenage well-being. But while the negative effects of peer pressure are well-known, less known are the more positive characteristics (faster learning and self exploration) attributed to the risks associated with group [...]
Dementia is on the rise, but fortunately so are solutions for preventing it. A new MRI study has linked smaller size of certain brain structures--such as hippocampi--to an increased risk for dementia. People who are aware that they may be at higher risk may then make greater efforts to fight it--strengthening the brain through cerebral exercises and [...]
Did you know there are conferences for lucid dreamers? Or dedicated post-secondary researchers on the subject, such as the folks at the Stanford Sleep Lab? People are curious about the phenomenon--the ability to come to conscious awareness in the dreaming state. Perhaps they would like to learn how to swallow fire or visit the sun, [...]
A troubling new MRI study has uncovered that there are differences in brain development between wealthy and impoverished children. The study, called Family income, parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents was published in Nature Neuroscience spring 2015. It is the largest socioeconomic MRI brain study to date; its researchers spent 3 years studying [...]
While researchers can't claim to know the source of creativity, they are indeed getting closer to understanding where it occurs in the brain. A new MRI study from Stanford University has linked the cerebellum, the region of the brain responsible with coordinating movement, to creative output. The study, entitled Pictionary-based fMRI paradigm to study the [...]
A good education begins at home, long before kindergarten, according to a new MRI study. While anecdotal evidence is in agreement (many parents have made this claim!) there has never before been a scientific study correlating early childhood reading sessions with future literary success, until now. The findings of the study, entitled Parent-Child Reading Increases [...]
Pancreatic cancer, arguably made infamous by Steve Jobs' battle with it, is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in Western countries. And, according to a new study that recommends MRI screening to catch it early, the incidence and mortality rates of this deadly disease are almost one and the same. The study, entitled Short-Term [...]