Worth The Effort? Not If You’re Depressed

New research indicates that decreased cravings for pleasure may be at the root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder. The research is in contrast to the long-held notion that those suffering from depression lack the ability to enjoy rewards, rather than the desire to seek them.

By Science Daily

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How Much of Your Memory Is True?

These recent insights into memory are part of a larger about-face in neuroscience research. Until recently, long-term memories were thought to be physically etched into our brain, permanent and unchanging. Now it is becoming clear that memories are surprisingly vulnerable and highly dynamic. In the lab they can be flicked on or dimmed with a simple dose of drugs. “For a hundred years, people thought memory was wired into the brain,” Nader says. “Instead, we find it can be rewired—you can add false information to it, make it stronger, make it weaker, and possibly even make it disappear.” Nader and Brunet are not the only ones to make this observation. Other scientists probing different parts of the brain’s memory machinery are similarly finding that memory is inherently flexible.

By Kathleen McGowan (Discover Magazine)

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Can Our Senses Be Modified?

Suggested by Pocholo Peralta (Plato On-line)

Direction isn’t something humans can detect innately. Some birds can, of course, and for them it’s no less important than taste or smell are for us. In fact, lots of animals have cool, “extra” senses. Sunfish see polarized light. Loggerhead turtles feel Earth’s magnetic field. Bonnethead sharks detect subtle changes (less than a nanovolt) in small electrical fields. And other critters have heightened versions of familiar senses — bats hear frequencies outside our auditory range, and some insects see ultraviolet light.

We humans get just the five. But why? Can our senses be modified? Expanded? Given the right prosthetics, could we feel electromagnetic fields or hear ultrasound? The answers to these questions, according to researchers at a handful of labs around the world, appear to be yes.

By Sunny Bains (Wired)

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Amputee feels limb in chest

Amputees could ‘feel’ their lost arms and hands after scientists reconnected the nerves to their chests, according to a report released today.

The researchers say the experiment holds promise for providing sensation in artificial limbs.

By ABC Science

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Computers have a lot to learn from the human brain, engineers say

Computers are lauded for their speed and accuracy, but they don’t hold a candle to the human brain when it comes to tackling complex mathematical problems, Dharmendra Modha, director of cognitive computing at the IBM Almaden Research Center, said at today’s event.

By Larry Greenemeier in (60-Second Science Blog Scientific American)

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‘Mind’s eye’ influences visual perception

Letting your imagination run away with you may actually influence how you see the world. New research from Vanderbilt University has found that mental imagery –what we see with the “mind’s eye”– directly impacts our visual perception.

The School for Self Healing

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The Power of Our Mind

“The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun dissipated; when they are concentrated, they illumine.” – Swami Vivekanandha.

Our mind is an incredible power. We have abilities and powers that we are not even aware of.

By Karwite (Triond)

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