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Neuroscience Research Australia

Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) is a leader in brain and nervous system research. Our goal is to prevent, treat and cure brain and nervous system diseases, disorders and injuries through medical research.

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Displaying 21 - 37 of 37 articles

The curious want to know more and can remember more. Flickr/Wagner T Cassimiro Aranha

Curiosity changes the brain to boost memory and learning

The more curious we are about a topic, the easier it is to remember not only information about that topic, but also other unrelated information shown at the same time. A study published today in Neuron…
The risk of Alzheimer’s increases with age. Shutterstock

Explainer: what is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease causes progressive damage to the brain, resulting in problems with memory, cognition, social engagement, and, ultimately, a person’s ability to care for themselves. Alzheimer’s is the…
Feel the pain – but is it real or are you faking it?

It’s harder to fake a sickie if the doctor’s a machine

A computer system has been developed that can tell whether facial expressions of pain are real or fake – with possible implications for those of us who fake the occasional “sickie”. A study, published…
Phantom limb pain may be a thing of the past for amputees, thanks to research out today. Jiuck/Flickr (cropped)

Phantom menace: augmented reality eases missing limb pain

Many amputees experience pain in their missing limbs, but allowing them to “see” their missing limbs in action through augmented reality technology may help alleviate this phantom limb pain (PLP), a case…
Research shows that our memories are not direct representations of past occurrences. Flickr/kharied

The instability of memory: how your brain edits your recollections

Memory is an essential part of our existence. Who we are, what we know and what we think can all be derived from our ability to remember. How reliable, though, are our memories? A study, published in the…
While a flinch, or a grimace may provide us with clues, ultimately we only know that someone’s in pain if they tell us. the italian voice/Flickr

Understanding pain: can the brain provide all the answers?

We now know that there’s much more to pain than simply what is happening in the painful body part, and attention has turned to the role of the brain. But not even this mysterious organ can tell us everything…
Animal-based therapies have a positive effect but having them visit nursing homes has a number of drawbacks. Duane Keys

Robotic animals may help some people with dementia

Late-stage dementia is characterised by increasing agitation that can be distressing for the person with the illness and their carers. So, researchers are investigating whether robots disguised as animals…
The ability to daydream offers us tremendous flexibility in our daily lives. Nennie T/Flickr

Daydream believer: why your brain is wired to wander

We are usually told that daydreaming is a waste of time and mental power, but the ability to daydream offers us tremendous flexibility in our daily lives. The frequency with which we daydream suggests…
Fake or real? A simple question with a tricky answer. dhammza

Fake finger illusion pokes holes in body ownership

It may seem silly to ask yourself if your index finger is part of your body, but that question is actually perfectly reasonable in neuroscience research - and has led to important insights into key brain…
Memories of emotionally-dense events are formed in great detail, allowing them to be remembered extremely vividly, Julie Falk

Making a mark on the brain - how emotion colours memories

All memories aren’t created equal. Whether you remember an event the next day, week or year, depends on a number of factors, the most important one of which is the emotion associated with it. Emotional…
A person with schizophrenia can experience bouts of disordered thinking that can distort their sense of reality, according to the Department of Health. http://www.flickr.com/photos/methad/

Scientists unpack testosterone’s role in schizophrenia

Testosterone may trigger a brain chemical process linked to schizophrenia but the same sex hormone can also improve cognitive thinking skills in men with the disorder, two new studies show. Scientists…
New research could help reclassify common psychiatric disorders that are related to the brain. AAP

Large genetic study paves way for new treatment of mental illness

Scientists have linked common genetic markers with major psychiatric disorders including autism and schizophrenia, in the largest ever genetic study of psychiatric illness. The study findings, published…
Consumers of research should not be satisfied with statements that “X is effective”, or “Y has an effect”. Gwenae l Piaser

Why hypothesis and significance tests ask the wrong questions

Empirical science needs data. But all data are subject to random variation, and random variation obscures patterns in data. So statistical methods are used to make inferences about the true patterns or…
The majority of people who have obstructive sleep apnoea are unaware they have the disorder. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is obstructive sleep apnoea?

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder, where the upper airway repeatedly collapses during sleep. During an obstructive breathing event, someone with OSA continues…
Muhammed Ali, Michael J Fox, former pope John Paul II and Yasser Arafat all suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Ali by Ludie Cochrane/Flickr; all others AAP.

Explainer: what is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease was not always known by this name. Almost 200 years ago in 1817, when English doctor James Parkinson first described the disease, he called it Shaking Palsy. But Parkinson’s disease…
Encephalitis lethargica seemed to take over its victims’ mind with neurologic and psychiatric changes. Finizio

A viral infection of the mind? The curious case of encephalitis lethargica

Encephalitis lethargica, an infectious disorder that only once appeared in epidemic form (1916-1926), is largely forgotten now. But this curious illness provided significant insights into brain function…
Current regulations do not require dummies to be placed in the rear seat during crash tests. AAP

Protecting people in cars: are we forgetting the back seat?

Since the introduction of the seatbelt into motor vehicles over 40 years ago, there have been major gains in protection to occupants in automotive crashes. This progress has not been observed in the rear…

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