09/17/2009 - 6:58am

Do Brains Shrink With Age?

Many scientists believed that as we age, our brains get smaller. But a new study has shown that “healthy” brains  show very little deterioration and that only when people experience cognitive decline is there significant shrinking of their brains.

The study was conducted at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and its results suggest that studies done until now simply did not exclude people who were already experiencing cognitive decline.

09/16/2009 - 4:41am

Sport Advantage- Players' Skill and Brains

We can all agree that professional sportsmen are better at their particular sport than you or I. Is it because of intense practice or are they simply born with better skills? Or is there perhaps something else at work there?

Swiss and British researchers have been looking into this matter and have come up with some interesting insights.

Any sport that involves moving objects (like tennis), requires three levels of response for timing:

09/09/2009 - 3:53am

Male Brains and Female Brains: Nature or Nurture?

Scientists have established that there are definitely anatomical differences between male and female brains. Are these differences caused by male/female behavior or do these differences cause the male/female behavior?

Using sophisticated MRI scanning, Peg Nopoulos, Jessica Wood and colleagues at the University of Iowa have been trying to shed light on the nature vs. nurture conundrum.

09/06/2009 - 5:37am

Moderate Drinking May Actually Be Helpful to the Brain

According to an analysis of several studies that was published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, people over 60 who consume moderate amounts of alcohol have  reduced  risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
 
15 studies that followed more than 28,000 subjects for at least two years were analyzed for the publication. Male drinkers reduced their risk for dementia by 45 % as compared to non-drinkers and women by 27%.