Index for 2004
December 2004
Maintaining physical activity linked to less cognitive decline in older men
Cigarette smoking exacerbates alcohol-induced brain damage
Early learning leaves lasting changes in brain
How the brain is wired for faces
How the brain recognizes a face
Third language area in brain identified
November 2004
What happens in the brain when we remember our own past?
Alcoholics can have deficits in visuoperception and frontal executive function despite sobriety
Prenatal alcohol exposure has effects far beyond fetal alcohol syndrome
New brain cells develop during alcohol abstinence
Chronic back pain shrinks 'thinking parts' of the brain
Impaired neuromotor function following cancer treatment can improve
Finding supports theory that autism results from failure of brain areas to work together
Some people are 'immune' to exercise
Tone language translates to perfect pitch
October 2004
High blood pressure affects cognitive function in young and old
Tea may protect against Alzheimer’s
Inflammation associated with higher risk of age-related cognitive impairment
Promise for helping adults with dyslexia
More evidence that learning is consolidated during sleep
Children process words by sound while adults process by meaning
Breathing problems during sleep may affect mental development in infants and young children
MRI shows brain changes underlying language deficits in autism
Learning languages increases gray matter density
Cognitive benefit of estrogen minimal for the highly educated?
Prenatal exposure to solvents associated with negative cognitive effects
Brain circuit crucial for memory consolidation identified
Conference papers:
New insights into hormone therapy highlight when estrogen best aids brain
Testosterone deprivation makes men forget
Anxiety good for memory recall, bad for solving complex problems
Calorie restriction leads to some brain benefits but not others in mice
Development of working memory with age
Can't place a name to the face you just saw?
Lead exposure may affect recovery from brain injury
Physically fit children appear to do better in classroom
Elderly experience long-term cognitive decline after surgery
September 2004
Mood affects eyewitness accuracy and reasoning
New technique sheds light on autobiographical memory
Effect of expectations on older adults’ memory performance
Walking may protect elderly from dementia
Physical activity associated with better mental functioning in older women
Drinking too much alcohol, and not enough, increases risk of cognitive impairment
Why cardiac arrest may hinder ability to learn certain tasks
Cognitive function of alcohol abuse patients may influence treatment outcome
Dyslexia doesn't have a universal biological cause
Another clue to the evolution of the human brain
Evidence animals remember in the same way humans do
August 2004
Tests for working memory capacity more limited than thought
More support for the benefits of blueberries
Estrogen effect on memory influenced by stress
Dyslexics have less gray matter in the brain's language centers
Growing up in a chaotic home may impair child's cognitive development
Effect of prematurity on brain worse for boys
New radiation therapy of brain tumors in children spares cognitive functions
New hope for children with fetal alcohol syndrome
Possible benefits of alcohol in reducing cognitive decline
July 2004
Intelligence based on the volume of gray matter in certain brain regions
Social status influences brain structure
Time really does fly when you’re busy
Early music instruction raises child’s IQ
Preschool storytelling ability linked to later mathematical ability
Children outperform adults in memory study
Saving the most vulnerable brain cells in stroke
Imaging reveals a biological basis for autism
New tool to image brain function at the cellular level
Closing in on the genes involved in context learning
June 2004
'Imagination' helps older people remember to comply with medical advice
Stress reactions no guarantee of authenticity
Being fluent in two languages may help keep the brain sharper for longer
Learning a second language may not be as laborious as believed
Some brains age more rapidly than others
Estrogen-alone hormone therapy could increase risk of dementia in older women
Estrogen boosts memory in men with prostate cancer
Cognitive dysfunction found in women with breast cancer prior to treatment
Brain development and puberty may be key factors in learning disorders
Alzheimer's may leave some forms of memory intact
More support for social skill theory of brain evolution
May 2004
Diabetics at significantly higher risk for Alzheimer's disease
Confirmation: boys have more literacy problems than girls
Impact of iron deficiency in infancy continues into adolescence
More on effects of sleep loss and fatigue on memory and learning
Memories of crime stories influenced by racial stereotypes
Confirmation that a memory code is held in many different regions
Role of hippocampus in long term memory
Seeing the formation of a memory
Hippocampus and subiculum both critical for short-term memory
Small world networks key to working memory
April 2004
Even moderate iron deficiency affects cognitive performance
How we retrieve distant memories
Why working memory capacity is so limited
Brain signal predicts working memory capacity
Brain region involved in insight localized
Low vitamin B12 compounding factor with Alzheimer's gene
Alzheimer's drug improves cognition in MS patients
Brain damage found among heavy social drinkers
Lower temperatures improve outcomes after bypass surgery
March 2004
Music with exercise boosts mental performance
Photos facilitate "recovery" of false memories
Environmental damage to brains of children
U.N. prescribes nutrient-fortified foods
Vital role in brain development for the nutrient choline
Light drinking during pregnancy may lead to learning and memory deficits in adolescents
Deficits associated with prenatal alcohol exposure can be seen as early as infancy
Prenatal exposure to secondhand smoke increases risk of developmental delay
Pre-term labor drug sensitizes brain to pesticide injury
Visuospatial tasks during trauma may reduce intrusive memories
Losing consciousness helps prevent PTSD
Brain exercises" improves substance-abuse treatment response
Different brain regions for arousing and non-arousing words
Brain prefers 'automatic pilot' during learning
Memories are harder to forget than recently thought
Norepinephrine important in retrieving memories
February 2004
Mentally, sleep may be as active a state as waking state
More on what goes on during sleep
Brain regions that process reality and illusion identified
Reading verbs activates motor cortex areas
Exercise improves attention and decision-making among seniors
More light shed on memory encoding
Could memory performance and spatial learning be genetically based?
Special training may help people with autism recognize faces
Even small amounts of alcohol or anesthetics may damage the developing brain
More support that high cholesterol is a risk factor for cognitive impairment
More complex brain may have pre-dated Homo genus
January 2004
Now definite? Memories are consolidated during sleep
Training improves working memory capacity
International survey finds Ecstasy use affects long-term memory
Risk for lowered cognitive performance greater in people at high risk for stroke
Exercise may counteract bad effect of high-fat diet on memory
Abilities Required for Success in School Don't Differ Greatly From Those Required in the Real World
Forgetting may sometimes be an active process
More evidence for active forgetting
Gene may be key to evolution of larger human brain
Gene essential for development of normal brain connections discovered
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