(Press-News.org) London, 15 June 2011 - Inhibitory control can be boosted with a mild form of brain stimulation, according to a study published in the June 2011 issue of Neuroimage, Elsevier's Journal of Brain Function. The study's findings indicate that non-invasive intervention can greatly improve patients' inhibitory control. Conducted by a research team led by Dr Chi-Hung Juan of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University in Taiwan, the research was sponsored by the National Science Council in Taiwan, the UK Medical Research Council, the Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award, and a Fulbright Award.
The study demonstrates that when a weak electrical current is applied over the front of participants' scalps for ten minutes, it greatly improved their ability to process responses – effectively jumpstarting the brain's ability to control impulsivity. The treatment has the potential to serve as a non invasive treatment for patients with conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette's syndrome, drug addictions, or violent impulsivity.
Professor Chi-Hung Juan who led the research team noted, "The findings that electrical stimulation to the brain can improve control of their behavioral urges not only provide further understanding of the neural basis of inhibitory control but also suggest a possible therapeutic intervention method for clinical populations, such as those with drug additions or ADHD, in the future".
###
Notes to editors
Modulating inhibitory control with direct current stimulation of the superior medial frontal cortex. NeuroImage (2011). Tzu-Yu Hsu, Lin-Yuan Tseng, Jia-Xin Yu, Wen-Jui Kuo, Daisy L... Hung, Ovid J.L. Tzeng, Vincent Walsh, Neil G. Muggleton and Chi-Hung Juan.
doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.03.059
About Neuroimage
NeuroImage, a Journal of Brain Function, provides a vehicle for communicating important advances, using imaging and modelling techniques to study structure-function relationships in the brain. The focus of NeuroImage is on brain systems; however, we are happy to consider papers dealing with structure and function at the microscopic level; if they inform the systems level. The main criterion, on which papers are judged, is to what extent does the scientific contribution advance our understanding of the mechanisms of brain function and how this function depends upon its structure and architecture. These mechanisms may operate in health and disease; therefore, NeuroImage welcomes clinical neuroscience papers that are framed to address mechanisms explicitly. The journal publishes original research articles, papers on methods or modelling, theory and position papers that describe the use of imaging approaches to studying the brain.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close
to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of
science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
END
PHILADELPHIA—New engineering research at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrates that polaritons have increased coupling strength when confined to nanoscale semiconductors. This represents a promising advance in the field of photonics: smaller and faster circuits that use light rather than electricity.
The research was conducted by assistant professor Ritesh Agarwal, postdoctoral fellow Lambert van Vugt and graduate student Brian Piccione of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. Chang-Hee Cho and Pavan ...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The first organisms to emerge after an ancient worldwide glaciation likely evolved hardy survival skills, arming themselves with tough exteriors to weather a frozen climate.
Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Smith College have discovered hundreds of microscopic fossils in rocks dating back nearly 710 million years, around the time when the planet emerged from a global glaciation, or "Snowball Earth," event. The fossils are remnants of tiny, amoeba-like organisms that likely survived the harsh post-glacial environment by building armor and ...
Palo Alto, CA— Although scientists have been able to sequence the genomes of many organisms, they still lack a context for associating the proteins encoded in genes with specific biological processes. To better understand the genetics underlying plant physiology and ecology—especially in regard to photosynthesis—a team of researchers including Carnegie's Arthur Grossman identified a list of proteins encoded in the genomes of plants and green algae, but not in the genomes of organisms that don't generate energy through photosynthesis. Their work will be published June 17 ...
SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2011 -- Sing it with us: What lives in the rainforest, under a tree?
Spongiforma squarepantsii, a new species of mushroom almost as strange as its cartoon namesake.
Its discovery in the forests of Borneo, says San Francisco State University researcher Dennis Desjardin, suggests that even some of the most charismatic characters in the fungal kingdom are yet to be identified.
Shaped like a sea sponge, S. squarepantsii was found in 2010 in the Lambir Hills in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is bright orange—although it can turn purple when sprinkled with ...
The three awards in the categories of photovoltaics, PV production technology and solar thermal technology were presented for the fourth time. The winners were chosen by a jury of experts from research, science, industry and specialist media from a total of 128 international applicants. In their evaluation, the jury paid particular attention to the technological degree of innovation, the benefits for industry, environment and society as well as the economic viability of the products.
"The global market leader in the realisation of photovoltaic systems presents the ...
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Results of a small, observational study conducted at the University at Buffalo suggest that liraglutide, an injectable medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, also helps type 1 diabetics on insulin achieve optimal control of their blood glucose levels.
If the findings are confirmed in a larger, prospective, randomized study now being planned by the UB researchers, they could mean the first significant, new treatment for type 1 diabetes since insulin was discovered and made available in the 1920s.
The research has been published online ahead of print ...
PITTSBURGH—Small genetic mutations that add up over time could create an evolutionary express lane that leads to the rapid development of new traits, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin at Madison have found.
The team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that slight changes in segments of DNA known as transcriptional enhancers—which determine the when, where, and how much in gene production—can activate dormant genetic imperfections. These alterations awaken specific genes to low-level activity, ...
According to The Centers for Disease Control, the number of asthma cases in the U.S. is rising. New statistics show that nearly 1 in 12 Americans were diagnosed with Asthma by 2009 and that the number of people diagnosed with asthma in the U.S. grew by 4.3 million between 2001 and 2009. Sanjay Patel, M.D., a board-certified allergy and asthma specialist in Indiana at Medical Specialists says that despite improvements in outdoor air quality and decreased smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, asthma is still increasing.
Dr. Patel says he is particularly concerned with ...
VERNON – A long-term study verifies multi-paddock grazing improves vegetation, soil health and animal production relative to continuous grazing in large-scale ranches, according to Texas AgriLife Research scientists.
The study measured the impacts on vegetation and soils achieved by commercial ranchers who adapted management practices in response to changing circumstances to achieve desirable outcomes, said Dr. Richard Teague, AgriLife Research rangeland ecology and management scientist in Vernon.
At the ranch scale, when multi-paddock grazing is managed to give best ...
A new Baylor University study has found that sunlight decreases the toxicity of golden algae, which kills millions of fish in the southern United States every year.
While golden algae is primarily a coastal species, it has been found in Texas rivers and lakes, including Lake Whitney and Lake Waco in Central Texas, and Lake Granbury in North Texas. Experts believe that several environmental factors influence toxin production, but new research from Baylor scientists shows that sunlight is a key component in the magnitude and duration of the toxicity of the algae to fish. ...
