Mirror Neurons are important for imitation and emulation but also empathy. Watch this video. They also explains the enthusiasm for social networks. Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as we know it. Related posts:Were do Mirror Neurons Come From? Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Empathy Gender Differences in Empathy ..read more »

Previously we discussed the neurobiology of falling in love. But this is only the beginning, the process of attraction followed by the attachment process. This process can develop and last for a while or in some cases for ever. Biologically is falling in love the first step in pair formation. Falling in love is more accompanied by arousal and more pronounced behavior, "the madness of falling in love" as it is sometimes called. This should be distinguished but not completely from later stages of love or long lasting relationships. Moreover, falling in love is accompanied by stress reactions such as activation .....read more »

The development of the brain from sensory perception into a cognitive world or plasticity and it's advantages Related posts:Brain Blogging, The Fourty-Fifth Edition Cognitive Safety of Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression Video of Transcranial Dirrect Current Stimulation and Efficacy in Cognitive Neurorehabilitation ..read more »

When feeling down good music can cheer you up. But when depressed, I mean clinically depressed, can you enjoy music? How is music enjoyment processed by the brain and how is this influenced by depression? All participants of this study enjoyed their favorite music more than the neutral music and depressed patients didn't differ from the healthy subjects in scores for enjoyment of favorite music nor on the difference between the favorite and neutral music. On the fMRI the depressed patients showed less activation of parts of the brain: the medial orbital frontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens and the ventral striatum. .....read more »

A recent review about the relationship between exercise and mental health in the elderly discussed the results of clinical research and biological explanations for the effects of exercise on mental health. Exercise is studied in the elderly in depression, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. We've discussed the topic of exercise and depression before on this blog. The conclusion was that exercise is more effective than no treatment and that for mild to moderate depression it is efficacious and for severe depression it should be added to other treatments in the treatment program. In this more recent review on exercise and mental .....read more »

Henry Markram says the mysteries of the mind can be solved -- soon. Mental illness, memory, perception: they're made of neurons and electric signals, and he plans to find them with a supercomputer that models all the brain's 100,000,000,000,000 synapses. How can we make a brain from a super computer. In this video a theory is explained how to do it. All based on the universe. The universe has evolved to "see" itself in the brain. Interesting theory. The design secret of the brain is diversity. And other important principles to understand the brain. Related posts:How The Brain Creates Meaning The .....read more »

Very nice talk. You might think it's complicated at first but she shows you the simple tests live with kids, very well done. She shows the brain region for thinking about other people thoughts and it's development. How does this brain region develop during childhood to adulthood? Is this the cognitive side of empathy? The researchers also tried to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to influence this specific brain region, can it change peoples moral judgment? She already had telephone calls from the CIA but luckily she doesn't answer them. Be sure to see the interview at the end of the video. Sensing .....read more »

The new weekly round up at Neuroanthropology is up, again an amazing collection of interesting science posts, have a look and take your own pick or read those I especially liked: 9/11 & Collective Memory at The Prism Collective memory is clearly a social product, but individual memory also flows from social context.In this post September 11, 2001 and the recent posts after eight years are discussed This post is overtly about the continuing politics that surround 9/11, and less about remembering or reflecting on the event. Still, I would argue that it is in fact about collective memory and how the event .....read more »

The new Scientia Pro Publica at Southern Fried Science or science for the masses is up. The best round up with the best science, nature and medical writing published in the blogosphere. Posts focus on communicating science to the public. I especially liked: No more alpha male If you have heard of a concept of "alpha-male" it is because of ideas from an old book of L. David Mech, about social structure of wolf societies. "Alpha" implies competing with others and becoming top dog by winning a contest or battle. However, most wolves who lead packs achieved their position simply by mating .....read more »

On this weekly excellent round up I especially liked: Placebo Has Strength in Numbers on Mind Hacks. The term 'placebo effect' is used to refer to two things in the medical literature. The first is a statistical concept and it refers to the improvement in patients given an inactive treatment in a drug trial in comparison to those given the actual drug. The second is a psychological concept and it refers to improvement due to expectancy and belief. The brain, caught between science and ideology on Research EU about differences between women and men's brain. experiments clearly show that self-esteem and the internalisation .....read more »