A week’s worth of New York Times newspapers contains more information and knowledge than the average person in medieval times saw in their entire life. In our current golden age of technology, we as human beings have come to embrace the notion of computers, and the idea that information is a commodity that must be available immediately. Products on the market in the technology sector are increasingly complex in scope and connectivity, and give us unprecedented access to an enormous yet speedily growing body of information. Nowhere is this trend more glaringly apparent than the recent developments in mobile phone technology. Read more →

Listening to music activates a network of brain regions associated with memory, motor functioning and emotional processing. Certain tunes can spark an individual to recall the lyrics of a song, even if they have not heard the song for several years. A certain song can help to recall a certain memory o time in your life in vivid detail. Music is found to enhance emotional and cognitive functioning, decrease the perception of pain and increase endurance during athletic endeavors. Music makes virtually everything more pleasurable from sitting in the dentist’s chair to waiting in line at the grocery store. Read more →

Right now, I have hundreds of songs on my mp3 player. I listen to everything from heavy metal when I run, to classical when I need to relax, to jazz when I am cooking. I listen to Broadway show tunes, movie soundtracks, and classic rock, depending on my mood. I also have tracks of nursery rhymes and Sesame Street favorites for my kids. So what does this say about me?

According to research being released by Professor Adrian North of Heriot Watt University, my musical tastes say a lot about my personality. Read more →

Welcome to the thirty-seventh edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we try to uncover the neuropathology of Asperger’s syndrome, correlate sleep disturbances with chronic fatigue syndrome, link OCD to specific neuroanatomy, and discuss several brain fitness techniques.

Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective. If you were left out, just leave a comment with your blog entry. You can check our archive for every edition. Read more →

Music not only soothes the savage beast; it heals the critically ill.

A study in Critical Care Medicine evaluated the mechanisms of music-induced relaxation in critically ill patients. The researchers measured blood pressure and heart rate, brain electrical activity, serum levels of stress hormones and cytokines, requirements for sedative drugs, and level of sedation before and after an hour of listening to piano sonatas through headphones. Read more →