Brain Blast | Stories You’ll Love
The latest news on the brain and beyond.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we invite you to enjoy the stories that we've most adored over the last few weeks. We vow that the fascinating insights in the articles below will get your heart racing. Spread the love (and knowledge) by sharing these stories with your valentine and encouraging them to sign up for the Versus mailing list here.
Something old
The physical effects of exercise have long been known, but the mental effects are just being uncovered. After low-intensity workouts, the brains of study participants showed greater activity in the networks associated with attention. The subjects’ brains displayed more activity in the networks related to emotion processing after high-intensity workouts.
Story via Psychology Today
Something new
The ability of animals to imagine new scenarios may be key to their survival. UCSF scientists used rats to study “place cells”, neurons in the hippocampus that help animals keep track of their location. When the rats reached a fork in a maze, the activity in their brains began alternating between "place cells", indicating that they were assessing their positions and imagining potential routes.
Story via UC San Francisco
Something borrowed
Using a specialized microscope and an algorithm borrowed from Google, scientists at Janelia Research Campus created a 3D model that maps 25,000 neurons of a fly’s brain. It is the most extensive map of the fly brain in existence. With such a detailed diagram, including portions of the brain associated with functions like memory, researchers can trace important neural pathways.
Story via Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Something blue
The struggle to get a quick diagnosis can leave many feeling down. Luckily, scientists are working to overcome this issue. Through EEGs, a team of neuroscientists discovered that individuals with essential tremor have too much electrical activity in their cerebellums. Such distinct EEG results could make it easier for doctors to diagnose essential tremor in the future.
Story via Discover
A little something extra for you
Did you know that the EEG data collected by the Versus headset at its five sensor sites is comparable to that recorded by a conventional wet EEG system? Read this research paper and the rest of our case studies here. To learn more about how Versus works, click here. Or, explore the science that inspired the design of the Versus system here. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Story via Versus