Neuroscience
From this month's APA Monitor:
Phantom pain and the brain
An actual touch, or an imaginary one? It’s all the same to (some parts of) your brain
By Sadie F. Dingfelder
Monitor Staff
The APA Monitor
January 2007
Print version: page 22
Scientists have long conceptualized the part of the brain known as the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) as where it first registers touch sensations. Prick your finger and S1 springs into action, sending raw information about the injury’s location to higher brain areas for further interpretation, according to most neuroscience textbooks.
Those textbooks may need new editions. S1 doesn’t simply catalogue physical sensations: It also registers sensory illusions that are generated elsewhere in the brain, according to a recent study in PLOS Biology (Vol. 4, No. 3, pages 459–466). In fact, as far as S1 is concerned, there’s no difference between a real or imaginary touch, says lead author Felix Blankenburg, PhD, a neuroscience researcher at University College London (UCL). Other researchers, including David Ress, PhD, a neuroscience professor at Brown University, are finding similar results in S1’s cousin, the primary visual cortex.
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
- A New Penile Homunculus?
Homunculus image from Reinhard Blutner. Leave it to those wacky writers at LiveScience.com to come up with a sure-to-click headline: Study: Circumcision Removes Most Sensitive Parts By Ker Than, LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 15 June 2007 12:53 pm...
- Wartime Traumatic Brain Injuries (tbis)
From the June 2007 APA Monitor: A long road back With so many service members affected by traumatic brain injuries, neuropsychologists are ramping up diagnosis and treatment By Christopher Munsey Monitor staff Print version: page 34 Traumatic brain injury...
- Hippocampus And Early-life Memories
The November issue of The APA Monitor includes a short piece about a recent talk by Dr. Lynn Nadel discussing advances in research related to the hippocampus and memory: Why we can't remember when... The hippocampus's role in memory may help explain...
- Predicting Stimuli From Fmri Data
Though the headline and subhead they use are unfortunately over-dramatic, this from the BBC:'Thoughts read' via brain scans The researchers monitored activity in the brain. Scientists say they have been able to monitor people's thoughts via...
- Sarcasm And The Brain: Look At The Right Prefrontal Cortex
From The APA Monitor:It's no joke: Study identifies brain circuitry involved in our grasp of sarcasm The APA Monitor May 2005 Print version: page 13 A study in May's Neuropsychology (Vol. 19, No. 2) finds the right prefrontal cortex--a brain...
Neuroscience
Primary Somatosensory Cortex: New Research
From this month's APA Monitor:
Phantom pain and the brain
An actual touch, or an imaginary one? It’s all the same to (some parts of) your brain
By Sadie F. Dingfelder
Monitor Staff
The APA Monitor
January 2007
Print version: page 22
Scientists have long conceptualized the part of the brain known as the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) as where it first registers touch sensations. Prick your finger and S1 springs into action, sending raw information about the injury’s location to higher brain areas for further interpretation, according to most neuroscience textbooks.
Those textbooks may need new editions. S1 doesn’t simply catalogue physical sensations: It also registers sensory illusions that are generated elsewhere in the brain, according to a recent study in PLOS Biology (Vol. 4, No. 3, pages 459–466). In fact, as far as S1 is concerned, there’s no difference between a real or imaginary touch, says lead author Felix Blankenburg, PhD, a neuroscience researcher at University College London (UCL). Other researchers, including David Ress, PhD, a neuroscience professor at Brown University, are finding similar results in S1’s cousin, the primary visual cortex.
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
- A New Penile Homunculus?
Homunculus image from Reinhard Blutner. Leave it to those wacky writers at LiveScience.com to come up with a sure-to-click headline: Study: Circumcision Removes Most Sensitive Parts By Ker Than, LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 15 June 2007 12:53 pm...
- Wartime Traumatic Brain Injuries (tbis)
From the June 2007 APA Monitor: A long road back With so many service members affected by traumatic brain injuries, neuropsychologists are ramping up diagnosis and treatment By Christopher Munsey Monitor staff Print version: page 34 Traumatic brain injury...
- Hippocampus And Early-life Memories
The November issue of The APA Monitor includes a short piece about a recent talk by Dr. Lynn Nadel discussing advances in research related to the hippocampus and memory: Why we can't remember when... The hippocampus's role in memory may help explain...
- Predicting Stimuli From Fmri Data
Though the headline and subhead they use are unfortunately over-dramatic, this from the BBC:'Thoughts read' via brain scans The researchers monitored activity in the brain. Scientists say they have been able to monitor people's thoughts via...
- Sarcasm And The Brain: Look At The Right Prefrontal Cortex
From The APA Monitor:It's no joke: Study identifies brain circuitry involved in our grasp of sarcasm The APA Monitor May 2005 Print version: page 13 A study in May's Neuropsychology (Vol. 19, No. 2) finds the right prefrontal cortex--a brain...