Differences in brain may explain why people turn psychopaths

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Telepathy is no longer a myth, for researchers from the University of Southampton have shown that people can communication with each other through the power of thought alone. Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) can be used for capturing brain signals and translating them into commands that allow humans to control devices like computers, robots, rehabilitation technology, and virtual reality environments just by thinking about various actions.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - McGill University researchers in Canada have shown that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation. Describing a study they conducted in the Journal of Neuroscience, they say that its significance lies in the fact that it identifies the molecular differences between spaced training (distributed over time) and massed training (at very short intervals), shedding light on brain function and guiding learning and training principles.

August 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It's a well-known fact: people eat not only because they are hungry, but also because the food just simply tastes too good to ignore. Now, a new study has helped explain how leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue, influences that motivation to eat.

July 31st, 2009 LONDON - Differences in how male and female brains process visual information could be a legacy of our hunter-gatherer past, according to a recent study. In a visual task, carried out by Helen Stancey at Hammersmith & West London College, men and women used a laser pointer to mark the midpoint of lines on a piece of paper within hands-reach and again beyond hands-reach.

July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If you've ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers can explain why. Brain cells seem to learn only when we do something right and not when we fail.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - Closing your eyes while listening to scary music makes it scarier, say researchers. A group of neuroscientists claim to have discovered that a brain centre involved in sensing emotion and fear called the amygdala kicks into action when volunteers listen to scary music with eyes closed, reports New Scientist.

July 3rd, 2009 LONDON - It's not just laugh that is contagious, fear too falls in the same category, claim researchers. What's more, the smell of fear is real, the boffins said.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers from University of Edinburgh have found certain neurological differences that can support the existence of various subtypes of dyslexia. These differences can be linked to different language difficulties within the dyslexic group.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Conducting a new imaging research, scientists have explained why sleep deprivation affects some people more than others. Researchers observed that people who are genetically vulnerable to sleep loss showed reduced brain activity after staying awake all night, while those who are genetically resilient showed expanded brain activity.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alcohol can get to a person's head in just six minutes after taking a drink, according to researchers in Heidelberg. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), the scientists have shown that only six minutes after consuming an amount of alcohol-equivalent to three glasses of beer or two glasses of wine, which leads to a blood alcohol level of 0.05 to 0.06 percent-can cause changes in the brain cells.

June 7th, 2009 LONDON - From now onwards it will be possible to feel someone's pain, literally - thanks to the efforts of scientists who have for the first time discovered a way to measure the true depth of a person's suffering. Up till now, the only major way of assessing pain is to ask people what they are feeling.

May 4th, 2009 LONDON - Do you often get angry? Well, then, blame your genes, says a new study. German researchers say that a gene called DARPP-32 may help explain why some people fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, while others can remain calm.

April 14th, 2009 LONDON - A developing foetus can enter a dream sleep-like state weeks before the first rapid eye movements are seen, according to a discovery by neuroscientists and mathematicians. The first rapid eye movements are discernible during the seventh month of foetal development.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - Video games have long been shown in the bad light, but a new study has something positive to say about them-they improve eyesight. The new research led by Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester has shown that action video games such as first-person-shooter games improves the ability to discern fine differences in contrast by 58 percent.

March 4th, 2009 LONDON - Terminally ill British reality TV star Jade Goody underwent a surgery Monday after her cancer rampaged uncontrollably throughout her body and even hit her brain. The disease, which started in her cervix last year, has already been found in her liver, groin and bowel, reports thesun.co.uk.