Author: Tom Patriot

Predicting Autism: Study Links Infant Brain Connections to Diagnoses at Age 2

Tom Patriot

Summary: Researchers use MRI data from six month old babies to show how brain regions connect and synchronize. By using neuroimaging, they were able to predict which infants were at higher risk of developing autism and would be diagnosed with ASD by 2 years of age. Source: UNC. For the first time, autism researchers used MRIs of six-month olds to show how brain regions are connected and synchronized, and then predict which babies at high risk of developing autism would be diagnosed with the condition at age two. A previous…

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Retinal Cells ‘Go With the Flow’ to Assess Own Motion Through Space

Tom Patriot

Summary: A new study reveals how specialized cells in the retina sense motion. Source: Brown. Think of the way that a long flat highway seems to widen out around you from a single point on the horizon, while in the rear-view mirror everything narrows back to a single point behind you. Or think of the way that when a spaceship in a movie accelerates to its “warp” or “hyper” speed, the illusion is conveyed by the stars turning into streaks that zip radially outward off the screen. That’s how a…

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Does Consuming Low Fat Dairy Increase Parkinson’s Risk?

Tom Patriot

Summary: According to researchers, people who consumed at least three servings of low fat dairy a day were had a 34% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Source: AAN. Consuming at least three servings of low-fat dairy a day is associated with a greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to consuming less than one serving a day, according to a large study published in the June 7, 2017, online issue of Neurology. In addition, drinking more than one serving of low-fat or skim milk per day is associated with a…

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How Neurons Use Crowdsourcing to Make Decisions

Tom Patriot

Summary: Researchers investigate how neurons work together to help us make decisions. Source: Santa Fe Institute. How do we make decisions? Or rather, how do our neurons make decisions for us? Do individual neurons have a strong say or is the voice in the neural collective? One way to think about this question is to ask how many of my neurons you would have to observe to read my mind. If you can predict I am about to say the word “grandma” by watching one of my neurons then we…

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