Striatum and the Pleasure of Gains

Monetary gain and high-risk tactics stimulate activity in the brain

ScienceDaily (2009-11-17) -- Monetary gain stimulates activity in the brain, Japanese researchers report. Even the mere possibility of receiving a reward is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum. ... > read full article

Predicting Behavior Better Than You Do!

Neuroscientists can predict your behavior better than you can

ScienceDaily (2010-06-23) -- In a study with implications for the advertising industry and public health organizations, neuroscientists have shown they can use brain scanning to predict whether people will use sunscreen in the next week better than the people themselves can predict whether they will do so. This is the first persuasion study in neuroscience to predict behavior change. ... > read full article

Loud Music Makes You Drink More? Would it Make You Buy More?

Loud Music Can Make You Drink More, In Less Time, In A Bar

ScienceDaily (2008-07-21) -- Commercial venues are very aware of the effects that the environment -- in this case, music -- can have on in-store traffic flow, sales volumes, product choices and consumer time spent in the immediate vicinity. A study of the effects of music levels on drinking in a bar setting has found that loud music leads to more drinking in less time. ... > read full article

Can Genes Drive Addictive Tendencies?

Can I buy you a drink? Genetics may determine sensitivity to other people's drinking behavior

ScienceDaily (2010-07-23) -- Your friend walks into a bar to meet you for happy hour. He sidles up to the bar and orders a drink -- does that make you more likely to get a drink yourself? According to new findings, genetics may determine the extent to which you are influenced by social drinking cues -- signals such as advertisements, drinks placed on a bar, and seeing other people around you drinking. ... > read full article

OCD doesn't have to result in life filled with anxiety - Baylor College of Medicine

OCD doesn't have to result in life filled with anxiety - Baylor College of Medicine

Smoking Craving Habit Not Addiction?

Smoking mind over smoking matter: Surprising new study shows cigarette cravings result from habit, not addiction

ScienceDaily (2010-07-13) -- The intensity of cravings for cigarettes has more to do with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of nicotine as an addictive chemical, according to a new study by an Israeli scientist. He hopes this research will help clinicians and health authorities develop more successful smoking cessation programs than those utilizing expensive nicotine patches or gum. ... > read full article

Baby's Brains Show Evolutionary Path

Baby brain growth mirrors changes from apes to humans

ScienceDaily (2010-07-13) -- A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution's imprint on the human brain. Scientists found that the human brain regions that grow the most during infancy and childhood are nearly identical to the brain regions with the most changes when human brains are compared to those of apes and monkeys. ... > read full article

A Solution for Treating Alzheimer's? Paro the Robotic Pup!

Photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, post-gazette.com

A robotic pet, designed to look like a baby seal and response sensors throughout its body, is being used as a therapeutic tool for Alzheimer's patients...Could this also offer therapy for children with Autism or other learning disabilities? Or help patients with PTSD or depression? Worth doing the research on! I would love to buy one of these for my ailing mom and test out the theory!!

See the videos!

Are Some in Psych Wards Not Really Insane?

This is an amazing case of a young woman who went temporarily insane (I know the feeling) from a brain infection...in this case it was correctly diagnosed and treated. But how many mental illness cases such as those with Alzheimer's (my mom included) could maybe be treated by imaging the brain tissue!! The amazing brain and its power over us!

She went mad for a month

Jan. 15: Susannah Cahalan says she inexplicably lost her mind for a short period of time and has not received a proper diagnosis. TODAY’s Meredith Vieira and NBC’s chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman talk to her about the medical mystery