Reflexes in Biological News

Brain music

... of the brain itself. When that soundtrack is recorded and played back -- to an emergency responder, or a firefighter -- it may sharpen their reflexes during a crisis, and calm their nerves afterward. Over the past decade, the influence of music on cognitive development, learning, and emotional ...

A little java makes it easier to jive, researcher says

... a slight detour during his doctoral-student days, when his work initially was focused on exploring possible links between caffeine intake, spinal reflexes and physical activity. Seven years later, with several studies considering the relationship between physical activity and caffeine behind him, ...

Irritating smells alert special cells, NIH-funded study finds

... information to trigeminal nerve fibers. Once stimulated, the trigeminal nerve will convey pain and burning sensations and can trigger protective reflexes such as gagging and coughing. The architecture of nasal tissue with solitary chemosensory cells on the surface and trigeminal nerve fibers just below ...

Why serotonin can cause depression and anxiety

... seem characterized by too much withdrawal and avoidance. However, the new modeling study simply suggests that we think about what happens when these reflexes failsuddenly you have to think hard to avoid things that used to be avoided reflexively You might for example consider walking down the dangerous ...

Proteins necessary for brain development found to be critical for long-term memory

... cells. The Aplysia received a series of five tail shocks, spaced 15 minutes apart. The shocks cause the animals to exhibit heightened withdrawal reflexes days and weeks after the shocks are over. When the animals are shocked, a brain chemical known as serotonin is released that promotes the ...

Stem cells found in adult hair follicles may provide alternative to embryonic stem cells

... with Brian Schmit, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University, if the grafts lead to an improvement of spinal reflexes in the injured spinal cord of mice. Dr. Sieber-Blum points out that the cells may also be useful to treat Parkinson's disease, multiple ...

How many genes does it take to learn? Lessons from sea slugs

... for at least 200 to 400 genes." Researchers studied gene expression in association with specific networks controlling feeding or defensive reflexes in the sea slug. To their surprise, they identified more than 100 genes similar to those associated with all major human neurological diseases and ...

Whiplash injuries ?are they caused by startle reflexes?

... New research published in The Journal of Physiology suggests that a cause of whiplash injuries could be startle reflexes elicited by unexpected loud sounds. Whiplash injuries most commonly result from seemingly minor low-speed rear-end collisions. The reason for the ...

Molecular trigger for Huntington's disease found

... mice with the abnormal protein, knocking out p53 corrects behavioral abnormalities that the mice otherwise display. These behaviors include abnormal reflexes such as an inhibited startle response to loud noise, which is also present in human HD patients. "In summary, our study establishes a specific ...