Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Brain waves pattern themselves after rhythms of nature

02-15-2008 · EurekAlert!

The same rules of physics that govern molecules as they condense from gas to liquid, or freeze from liquid to solid, also apply to the activity patterns of neurons in the human brain. University of Chicago mathematician Jack Cowan will offer this and related insights on the physics of brain activity this week in Boston during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keywords: brain, waves, pattern, themselves, rhythms, nature, wave, themselve, rhythm

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Brain waves pattern themselves after rhythms of nature":

By jove, we've got it: EEG correlates of insightful problem solving
01-22-2008 · EurekAlert!
In a study published in PLoS ONE, researchers at Goldsmiths College, London, investigated brain rhythms and their dynamics while human volunteers solved verbal problems. Often, the participants reached a state of mental block and could not progress further: excessive amount of gamma brain rhythm (the same rhythm gets enhanced with selective attention) might cause this mental road block. It clearly indicates that focusing or attending too much on a topic might have a detrimental effect.
Similar news · Read more »
Zeroing in on the brain's speech 'receiver'
06-20-2007 · EurekAlert!
A particular resonance pattern in the brain's auditory processing region appears to be key to its ability to discriminate speech, researchers have found. They found that the inherent rhythm of neural activity called "theta band" specifically reacts to spoken sentences by changing its phase. The researchers also noted that the natural oscillation of this frequency provides further evidence that the brain samples speech segments about the length of a syllable.
Similar news · Read more »
Mouse vision has a rhythm all its own
08-23-2007 · EurekAlert!
In the eyes of mammals, visual information is processed on a daily schedule set within the eyes themselve -- not one dictated by the brain, according to a new report in the Aug. 24 issue of the journal Cell, a publication of Cell Press. The researchers found in mice that the eyes' normal rhythmic response to light requires only that a molecular "clock" inside the retina go on ticking.
Similar news · Read more »
On a wire or in a fiber, a wave is a wave
07-13-2007 · EurekAlert!
Around the world, students learn about the wave nature of light through the interference patterns of "Young's double-slit experiment," first performed over 200 years ago and still considered among the most beautiful physics experiments. Using an analogous experiment, researchers at Brown and Stanford have shown that a simple analytical model can describe the wave nature of surface plasmon polaritons. Their work suggests that plasmonic devices cannot easily circumvent the limitations of electromagnetic waves.
Similar news · Read more »
Brain matures a few years late in ADHD, but follows normal pattern
11-12-2007 · EurekAlert!
In youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the brain matures in a normal pattern but is delayed three years in some regions, on average, compared to youth without the disorder, MRI scans reveal. The delay in ADHD was most prominent in regions at the front of the brain’s outer mantle important for thinking and attention. Both groups showed a similar back-to-front wave of brain maturation with different areas peaking in thickness at different times.
Similar news · Read more »
Electrical activity alters language used by nerve cells
12-19-2006 · EurekAlert!
University of California, San Diego biologists have shown that the chemical language with which neurons communicate depends on the pattern of electrical activity in the developing nervous system. The findings suggest that modification of nerve activity could have potential as a treatment for a wide range of brain disorders.
Similar news · Read more »
Out-of-body experiences may be caused by arousal system disturbances in brain
03-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
Having an out-of-body experience may seem far-fetched to some, but for those with arousal system disturbances in their brains, it may not be a far off idea that they could sense they were really outside their own body watching themselves.
Similar news · Read more »
Scientists create colorful 'brainbow' images of the nervous system
10-31-2007 · EurekAlert!
By activating multiple fluorescent proteins in neurons, neuroscientists at Harvard University are imaging the brain and nervous system as never before, rendering their cells in a riotous spray of colors dubbed a "Brainbow." The technique is described in the cover story of the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature by a team led by Harvard's Jean Livet, Joshua R. Sanes, and Jeff W. Lichtman.
Similar news · Read more »
ORNL super water repellent could cause big wave in market
11-29-2007 · Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
A water repellent developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory outperforms nature at its best and could open a floodgate of commercial possibilities.
Similar news · Read more »
Degrees of Quantumness: Shades of gray in particle-wave duality
05-12-2007 · Science News Online
Light can be made to act as if it's composed of particles, waves, or something in between.
Similar news · Read more »