Word: neuronal
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...links that are emerging between movement and meaning have inspired some scientists to see the mirror-neuron system as the biological foundation on which human language is constructed. Such speculation is supported indirectly by the fact that Broca's area--a critical language center in the left hemisphere of the human brain--appears to be a close analogue of the premotor mirror region in monkeys. Broca's area, it turns out, is important for sign language as well as spoken language, and its connection to the mirror system has led Rizzolatti and U.S.C. neuroscientist Michael Arbib to propose that language...
...more severe the autism, the more depressed the activity was. The results did not surprise Dapretto. A central problem in autism, after all, is an impaired ability to understand the feelings of others, and it seems plausible, if far from proven, that a deficiency in the mirror-neuron system could be involved...
What happens biochemically, says McGaugh, is that when faced with an emotion-charged situation, such as a threat, our bodies release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Among other things, these signal the amygdala, a tiny, neuron-rich structure nestled inside the brain's medial temporal lobes, which responds by releasing another hormone, called norepinephrine. Norepinephrine does two important things. First, it kicks the body's autonomic nervous system into overdrive: the heart beats faster, respiration quickens, and the muscles tense in anticipation of a burst of physical exertion...
...field got a high-profile, scholarly boost two years ago when a study by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston - which was published in the academic journal Neuron - used FMRI technology to determine that cola drinkers subconsciously have warmer feelings for the Coca-Cola brand, and that gives Coke an edge over Pepsi, even though Pepsi performs as well as Coke in blind taste tests. Brain scanning is the field's dominant technology, but other technologies and techniques are used as well, often in conjunction with FMRIs. Magnetoencephalography (MEG), a technology that can read electrical signals pulsating from brain cells...
...thought to turn immediate experiences into long-term memories. Cortex Pharmaceuticals in Irvine, Calif., meanwhile, is testing compounds that accomplish something similar more indirectly. Those molecules amplify the response of brain chemicals called AMPA receptors, among the first players in a long biochemical cascade that takes place in the neuron as it encodes memory. The first of those ampakine molecules has been shown in a recent study to boost the attention and mental performance of healthy, sleep-deprived men. The more powerful compounds in Cortex's untested arsenal, says CEO Roger Stoll, may bolster long-term memory without inducing...