Researchers discover gene that stimulates growth of new brain cells in adults

hippocampus

Increased length of the hippocampus dentate gyrus (DG) for overexpressed TLX gene vs. control group.

City of Hope researchers have found that over-expressing a specific gene could prompt growth in adults of new neurons in the hippocampus, where learning and memory are regulated.

 

 

Continue reading… “Researchers discover gene that stimulates growth of new brain cells in adults”

How our brains put the present in the past by rewriting our memories

birthday

Our brains edit our memories with new information by updating our past memories.

Try thinking about your fifth birthday when your mom was carrying the cake. Can you remember what her face looked like? You are not alone if you have a hard time imagining the way she looked then rather than how she looks now.

 

 

Continue reading… “How our brains put the present in the past by rewriting our memories”

London taxi drivers’ brains grow to navigate London’s streets

taxis

Memorizing 25,000 city streets balloons the hippocampus.

Streets in Manhattan are arranged in a user-friendly grid.  Twenty dministrative districts, or arrondissements, form a clockwise spiral around the Seine in Paris. London is a different story. A map of its streets looks more like a tangle of yarn that a preschooler glued to construction paper than a metropolis designed with architectural foresight. Yet London’s taxi drivers navigate the smoggy snarl with ease, instantaneously calculating the swiftest route between any two points.

Continue reading… “London taxi drivers’ brains grow to navigate London’s streets”

Air pollution can lead to brain damage and depression

air pollution

The negative effects of air pollution may have some unexpected consequences.

The effects of air pollution on the human body has turned up a grim laundry-list of associated ills in study after study.  Air pollution increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and lung disease.  And now, according to the latest research, it may actually be doing harm to our brains as well, ultimately leading to learning problems and even depression.

Binge Drinking Destroys Long Term Memory Even in Young Adults

binge-drinking

Heavy alcohol consumption makes it more difficult to build new memories.

Binge drinking not only makes you forget what you did the night before but also the day before that – and the day before that, a study suggests.  Researchers have found that a big night out destroys long term memory even in young adults.

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