NEURO

A SIGHT THAT STOOD OUT TO JUDSON BREWER DURING HIS FIRST TRIP TO PARIS WITH HIS WIFE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO: THE TOURISTS. Brewer, a psychiatrist who studies behavioral change, noticed visitors snapping photographs, posting on social media, and then spending the rest of their time checking their phones for likes and comments instead of enjoying the Louvre Museum. So, what’s going on there? It turns out that talking about ourselves is rewarding – much like eating a cupcake makes us happy or smoking a cigarette helps us destress. This cyclical pattern of reward-based habit is about as primitive as it gets for humans, explained Brewer, who was in Dallas recently to speak during the  Center for BrainHealth ’s annual lecture series. For example, let’s talk about those cupcakes. We see food that looks good, and our brain says, ‘Calories! Survival!’ So, we eat the food, and our brain remembers how good it made us feel and uses the same process to deal with emotions like being bored or sa

The common myth that Anne Boleyn tried to speak after her untimely demise at the hands of her executioner may have scientific evidence behind it. Researchers explore how consciousness may remain intact for a period of time after death, and what that may mean for medical sciences. from Neuroscience News Updates http://bit.ly/2IUWd5b

Using a combination of movie clips and neuroimaging, researchers find people have positive biases to those they feel are more like them, even if they are unable to see the person's face. from Neuroscience News Updates http://bit.ly/2L5na99

Melanocyte stem cells from human hair follicles that carry CD34 have the ability to turn into glial cells. The CD34+ stem cells can regenerate myelin, both on neurons and in mouse models with a genetic defect that prevents the formation of healthy myelin sheaths. The findings could have positive implications for the treatment of demyelinating diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. from Neuroscience News Updates http://bit.ly/2IFBfYN

Meda et al. show that in chronic pain states, mediodorsal thalamic (MD) inputs to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) undergo pathway-specific changes. As a result, MD-ACC inputs suppress the activity of many subcortically projecting ACC neurons, thereby driving negative pain-related affect. from journals http://bit.ly/2GyBC3M

For some, insomnia may be caused by failing to neutralize emotional distress. Researchers speculate the sleep disorder could be caused by brain circuits that regulate emotion. from Neuroscience News Updates http://bit.ly/2Gz5qNH

UF Health will be heavily involved in the AAN Annual Meeting, a week-long event that will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The gathering “offers innovative, unique, and creative experiences throughout the week served up in exciting and inspirational formats to fuel your mind, body, and spirit.” American Academy of Neurology 2019 Annual Meeting (May 4-10) Saturday, May 4: C28 – “Evaluation and Diagnosis of Sleep Disordered Breathing” (Michael Jaffee) 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5: Session S2.005, “Functional Reorganization of the Language Network During Recovery from Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Longitudinal fMRI Study” (Brian Coffey, Brian Edlow, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.) Poster 1.8-037, “Dorsal GPi/GPe DBS Induced Dyskinesia” (Ahmad El Kouzi and Wissam Deeb) Poster 1.1-023 , “Impact of Educational Inequality on the Incidence of Post-stroke Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment – Application of the Previous Study on Stratified Education-adjusted Mo