neuroscience

(Newser) - New research into the way vegetative brains function is challenging the way the scientific community classifies cognitively impaired patients. Recent studies show that some vegetative patients can recognize faces, acquire new memories, and imagine physical movement—all mental activities long held to be out of reach for such patients, the...

(Newser) - Stroke patients have shown lasting, "extremely promising" results, even years after suffering a brain hemorrhage, from an experimental therapy that electrically stimulates the brain. The currents help the organ rewire itself to take over for stroke-damaged sections, Newsweek reports, and study participants have improved significantly beyond what they could...

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a fever trigger in lab mice and succeeded in switching it off by removing specific hormone receptors in a tiny spot in the brain. The study is likely to lead to the development of  drugs efficiently targeted to controlling fever, Reuters reports. The trigger is one of...

(Newser) - Electric stimulation may help improve the brain function of patients in a minimally conscious state, a case study reported in Nature reveals. A 38-year-old man who was mute and barely conscious for nearly 6 years is able to name objects, perform precise movements, and eat without the aid of a...