Tag

Brain Imaging

All articles tagged with #brain imaging

health-and-science15 days ago•2 min saved

Frequent Blinking in Toddlers May Signal Stronger Cognitive Flexibility

A new study suggests that frequent spontaneous eye-blinking in children aged 3 to 6 is a reliable indicator of high cognitive flexibility and healthy brain development. Researchers found that children who blink more often perform better on tasks requiring rule-switching, a key skill for impulse control and academic success. This simple, non-invasive marker could help parents and educators monitor executive function without expensive brain scans.

via AOL.com|

#brain-imaging #child-behavior #cognitive-development

science15 days ago•3 min saved

Frequent Blinking in Toddlers May Signal Stronger Cognitive Flexibility

A Japanese study of 113 preschoolers found that higher spontaneous eye-blink rates correlate with better performance on cognitive flexibility tasks and increased activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Researchers suggest blink rate could serve as a simple, non-invasive marker for tracking executive function development in children aged 3 to 6.

via New York Post|

#brain-imaging #child-development #cognitive-flexibility

health-and-medicine17 days ago•7 min saved

Dopamine disruption linked to long COVID brain fog and fatigue

CAMH researchers used PET brain imaging to find reduced markers of dopamine neuron health across striatal regions in people with long COVID, indicating loss of dopamine-releasing neurons that tracks with fatigue, reduced motivation, slower movement, and memory difficulties; the findings point to a dopamine-centered mechanism and could guide new treatments, with a planned clinical trial to test dopamine-boosting approaches alongside inflammation-focused work.

via ScienceDaily|

#brain-imaging #clinical-trial #dopamine

neuroscience19 days ago•19 min saved

Brain patterns linked to IQ may actually reflect socioeconomic privilege, study finds

A large analysis using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study shows a child’s neighborhood and socioeconomic background strongly shape brain development and function, more so than many traditional cognitive or health factors. Patterns previously associated with IQ largely mirrored socioeconomic status and stress-related factors; after removing SES effects, IQ–brain associations largely disappeared. Multivariate models trained only on higher-SES data failed to predict IQ in lower-SES groups, indicating shortcut learning rather than a true biological signature of intelligence. SES explained roughly 16% of brain variation, underscoring environmental influences and suggesting future work on sleep and stress reduction in under-resourced communities.

via PsyPost|

#brain-imaging #iq #neurodevelopment

science21 days ago•19 min saved

IQ Paradox in ADHD: Smarter Children May Show More Impulsivity

A large ADHD study of 5,138 children found that while higher overall IQ is linked to fewer ADHD symptoms, its components tell a more complex story: higher verbal IQ is associated with less inattention but greater impulsivity, and higher performance IQ shows a nonlinear, age-dependent relationship with impulsivity (lower in early childhood, rising again in adolescence). Brain imaging connected verbal IQ to a larger rostral anterior cingulate cortex and showed a nonlinear association between performance IQ and brain surface area. Segmenting the sample by functional impairment revealed three groups where high IQ did not eliminate social or academic problems. As an observational study, the findings show associations, not causation, and researchers call for ADHD-focused brain imaging and further work to understand how intelligence and impulsivity interact across development.

via PsyPost|

#adhd #brain-imaging #impulsivity

health1 month ago•14 min saved

Sugar-rationed childhood linked to lower anxiety and depression decades later, UK study finds

A UK Biobank study of 46,448 people born between 1951 and 1956 found that longer exposure to sugar rationing during the first 1,000 days of life was associated with lower hazards of anxiety and depression in adulthood, with brain gray-matter differences observed on MRI. The association persisted for anxiety after accounting for later-life sugar intake, while the depression link weakened, and the study remains observational and not causal; effects were stronger in women.

via News-Medical|

#anxiety #brain-imaging #depression

science1 month ago•51 min saved

Common Brain Network Disruptions Link Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry compared resting-state fMRI from 89 people with schizophrenia, 57 with bipolar I disorder, and 45 healthy controls, finding reduced coordination among distant brain regions in both patient groups—more widespread changes in schizophrenia. This suggests overlapping patterns of brain-network disruption between the two conditions, though not a single wiring fault; results cannot diagnose individuals yet and highlight the need for larger, longitudinal research.

via Yahoo|

#bipolar-disorder #brain-imaging #mental-health

science1 month ago•11 min saved

Psychedelics reshape brain networks, revealing an 'embedded' sense of self

A Nature study with 62 healthy adults shows psilocybin reorganizes brain networks across rest, mindfulness-like states, music, and cloud-watching, reducing the usual separation between self and world and revealing an 'embeddedness' signature that correlates with next-day positive changes. Using MRI/EEG and machine-learning mapped patterns, the research highlights context’s role in psychedelic experiences while noting limitations: participants were healthy volunteers, study was open-label and lacked a placebo, and results may not generalize to patients.

via theconversation.com|

#brain-imaging #embeddedness #neuroscience

science1 month ago•24 min saved

MRI reveals enduring brain changes in both long COVID patients and recovered individuals

A small multimodal MRI study (47 adults) found lasting brain tissue and neurochemical changes in people with long COVID and those who recovered, compared with never-infected controls. Using myelin-sensitive imaging, diffusion MRI, and MR spectroscopy, researchers observed elevated myelin signals in several regions for both groups, with distinct patterns (higher signals in brainstem and cerebellum for the recovered group; higher signals in the precentral gyrus and middle temporal gyrus for long COVID). Diffusion reductions were noted in various regions, and neurochemical shifts differed (long COVID: higher N-acetyl-aspartate; recovered: higher glutamine). Some myelin measures correlated with physical and cognitive impairment. However, the study is small and cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causality or track changes over time; larger longitudinal work is needed to determine whether these changes are permanent or reversible.

via PsyPost|

#brain-imaging #long-covid #mri

science2 months ago•37 min saved

Long COVID linked to dopamine nerve loss in the brain

A new eBioMedicine study finds long COVID patients show an average 18% reduction in dopamine-releasing nerve terminals in the striatum, measured by VMAT2 binding, with lower dopamine cell density correlating with apathy, slower motor speed, and memory issues; blood biomarkers did not reflect these brain changes. The authors suggest dopamine-enhancing treatments could help some patients, but note the study’s small, associative design and call for larger, longitudinal research to confirm causality and guide therapy.

via psypost.org|

#brain-imaging #dopamine #long-covid

science3 months ago•9 min saved

Low-Dopamine Teens Drive the ‘Youth Peak’ in Substance Use, Study Finds

A longitudinal study of over 800 youths tracked for up to nine years finds that early experimentation with alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine is driven by a low baseline dopamine system rather than excess dopamine. Using brain tissue iron as a proxy for dopamine, researchers identified a distinct “youth-peak” group whose low dopamine levels predicted increased substance use in early adolescence that sharply declined as dopamine networks matured into adulthood. This challenges the idea that higher dopamine drives teen risk, suggesting most teen experimentation is a normal, temporary phase, and highlighting potential prevention approaches that channel risk-taking into healthy outlets; the study also notes digital environments may provide a modern alternative reward channel.

via Neuroscience News|

#adolescence #brain-imaging #dopamine

science4 months ago•6 min saved

Teen Cannabis Use Linked to Disrupted Brain Reward Development

A Brown University-led study with 81 adolescents (14–17) found that repeated cannabis use, especially high-potency products, correlates with lower brain tissue iron in dopamine-rich regions, signaling disrupted maturation of the dopamine system and reward processing. This first-of-its-kind MRI work suggests reduced dopamine-related neurophysiology in teens who use cannabis and highlights potential increased addiction vulnerability, warranting longitudinal follow-up to assess long-term outcomes.

via Neuroscience News|

#adolescence #brain-imaging #cannabis

technology4 months ago•7 min saved

Metamaterial MRI Antenna Delivers Sharper Eye and Brain Imaging on Existing Scanners

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and Rostock University Medical Center unveiled a metamaterial-based MRI antenna that strengthens signals from deep tissues, enabling higher-resolution images of the eye and occipital brain regions and potentially shorter scan times without new equipment. Tested at 7.0 Tesla on volunteers, the compact antenna can be adapted to different body parts, may help reduce heating near implants, and could enhance MRI-guided therapies; larger clinical studies are planned and the approach targets broader organ imaging in the future.

via SciTechDaily|

#brain-imaging #eye-imaging #medical-imaging

science5 months ago•35 min saved

Midlife clues reveal Alzheimer’s may start decades before memory loss

A Mayo Clinic study finds Alzheimer’s-related changes can begin in people’s late 50s, decades before memory problems, outlining a two-phase timeline where amyloid buildup appears first, followed by other biomarkers and cognitive changes as people age, with blood and imaging signals peaking later. The research warns that averages don’t predict an individual's onset and suggests earlier, smarter screening and planning, while noting limitations in population diversity and the need for clearer clinical guidelines.

via Earth.com|

#aging #alzheimers #amyloid-beta

health5 months ago•7 min saved

Brain scans identify a severe ADHD subtype defined by emotional dysregulation

A JAMA Psychiatry study of 1,154 brain scans finds three ADHD biotypes—predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive/impulsive, and a severe, emotionally dysregulated subtype with widespread brain changes—pushing for biologically grounded ADHD definitions beyond current symptom criteria. While promising for targeted diagnosis and treatment, brain imaging remains impractical for routine clinical use, and clinicians note variable treatment responses, underscoring the need for tailored approaches.

via The Washington Post|

#adhd #brain-imaging #dsm-5