BiotechMashup

Neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex can predict whether an individual will still be upset on the day after a conflict with his or her partner, according to new research. The findings point to the brain region's role in emotion regulation, and suggest that greater activity in this area might lead to improvement in day-to-day mood.

(Harvard University) Scientists at Harvard University have found that honest people show no additional neural activity when telling the truth. However, dishonest people display activation in the brain regions associated with attention and control, even when telling the truth. In this new study, participants were given the opportunity to lie to gain money and their brain activity was examined using fMRI.

Background

by Lucy Alba-Ferrara, Markus Hausmann, Rachel L. Mitchell, Susanne Weis

A new study suggests that the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is a brain region that may help people to control their emotional reactions to negative facial expressions from their romantic partners.

Being born and raised in a major urban area is associated with greater lifetime risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Until now, the biology for these associations had not been described. A new study shows that two distinct brain regions that regulate emotion and stress are affected by city living.

(Harvard University) In a scientific first that potentially could shed new light on how signals travel in the brain, how learning alters neural pathways, and might lead to speedier drug development, scientists at Harvard have created genetically-altered neurons that light up as they fire.

(University of Houston) Working to better predict general patterns of evolution, a University of Houston biologist and his team have discovered some surprising things about gene mutations that might one day make it possible to predict the progression of chronic disease. Timothy Cooper describes the findings in the June 3 issue of Science. A study from Harvard University that used a different experimental system, yet found a very similar result, will be published in the same issue.

After exposure to extreme life stresses, what distinguishes the individuals who do and do not develop post-traumatic stress disorder? A new study suggests that it has something to do with the way that we control the activity of the prefrontal cortex, a brain region thought to orchestrate our thoughts and actions.