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Infants learn while asleep Print E-mail
Written by Trevor B.   
Monday, 24 May 2010 13:03

A new study about babies has been done.  Sleeping babies learn more.  This study can help identify problems babies may have.  This type of learning isn’t found in adults.  Findings can give valuable information.  Babies learn so much from sleeping 16-18 hours a day.  Gentle tones were used in the study.  They used 1 to 2 day old infants in the study.  This research is one of the first done while asleep.  Most past studies have been done when awake.  When sleeping, it is normal for an infant’s eyelid to move.  When it doesn’t move that’s not normal.  Through this test problems can be found.  Doctors are trying to detect early signs of defects.  Some say it doesn’t work though.  Babies that don’t keep same schedule may be different.  Newborn’s sleeping patterns are different than others.  Another fact is that a baby’s brain has an easier time learning.  Babies have a greater learning ability.

Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517172254.htm

 
Language in Different Brain Regions Print E-mail
Written by Monique M.   
Thursday, 06 May 2010 11:25

        There is no single area that focuses on language in the brain. People rely on many areas of the brain to understand a sentence. The type of grammar used will activate the needed area of the brain.  This will process it and make sense of what is said.  Some languages (like English) rely on word order. This shows how parts of the sentence relate. Other languages (like Spanish) rely on inflections. Inflections are suffixes put at the end of words. Word order can change to show how subject and object relate. American Sign Language (ASL) can use both ways to show how sentence parts relate. ASL shows that the brain uses different regions to understand sentences. A signer can sign words to show the sentence order.  A signer can use body movement to show inflections. While lying in MRI machines, native signers watched videos of sentences being signed.  These machines monitored their brain activity when figuring out sentences.  The study showed that two separate areas of the brain understand the sentences.  One area understands word order sentences.  The other area understands inflection sentences.  People use different parts of the brain to understand different grammar.  The frontal cortex lets people put information in order.  This part of the brain is used for word order.  People use parts of the temporal lobe to divide information into parts.  This part of the brain is used for inflection.  The brain uses different areas that are used for processing to understand language.  This could help scientists learn how to teach language to patients with brain damage.

Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100429173005.htm

 
New Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis Print E-mail
Written by Mariah W.   
Friday, 19 February 2010 21:17

MS (Multiple Sclerosis) is a disease that attacks the immune system. The immune system is what keeps us healthy. MS attacks the fat that is around the fibers of nerves in the brain and spine.

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Chickens One-Up Humans in Ability to See Color Print E-mail
Written by Eric A.   
Monday, 08 March 2010 13:16

Some scientists say that a chicken’s eye can see better than a person’s eye. The scientists did some experiments and their result showed that the chicken’s eye saw better than the person’s eye. The results showed that chickens saw color better than people.

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Why are drivers making mistakes on roads they know? Print E-mail
Written by Colleen C.   
Friday, 19 February 2010 13:47

Scientists used 16 drivers who had not been driving for a while. They used a machine that was meant to be like driving without actually driving. The scientists watched how their brain reacted when they were on a path that they knew or did not know. They found out that your brain reacts more when you are on a path that you do not know rather than one that you do know. They found out that they made mistakes more on the path that they did know. The results were the same for both drivers who had been driving for a while, and drivers who had not been driving for a while. They want to warn the public to keep their eyes open even on a road that they think they know because unexpected things happen. They are looking to use this information in the police training courses, and to be used in road safety.

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218092800.htm

 
 

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