Brain/Neurological News

Drinking may not improve thinking

Think that a drink or two a day help keep your mind sharp into older age? Researchers from the United Kingdom may have poked a hole into that idea.

Gene therapy cures brain disease

Scientists have managed to halt a rare and fatal brain disease with an experimental gene therapy technique using a deactivated version of the Aids virus, a study showed.

Brain comes alive with music

Research in monkeys suggests that humans' ability to perceive music may have been developed through the ability of animals to communicate with one another using vocalisations.

Surf the web, save your brain

Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age.

Consciousness is the brains Wi-Fi

New research suggests that it is your consciousness that resolves dilemmas by serving as the brain's Wi-Fi network, mediating competing requests from different parts of the body.

Beer for brain injury?

People who suffer a traumatic brain injury from a car crash or other mishap are more apt to survive if they had been drinking at the time of the injury, according to a study.

Tone-deaf are wired wrong

New research suggests that if you're one of the unlucky people who is tone-deaf, it turns out your brain may have a wiring problem.

Success teaches more than failure

If you've ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers may have explained why: brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail.

Brain death - when is it over?

The defence team of the men who attacked Andries Pieters blame doctors for his death, saying they decided to switch off his life-support machines. Why did they make this call?

Every blow to head needs attention

The death of actress Natasha Richardson riveted people's attention to the issue of brain injury and raised important questions about what to do if this happens a loved one.