A research group from Graz is investigating the complex interaction between the intestine and the brain. In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the team has gained new insights into how intestinal bacteria, the immune system and obesity can lead to mental illnesses. Continue reading “How intestinal bacteria can cause depression”
Tests commonly used to examine creativity rarely relate to daily life, which is why they have only limited suitability for exploring creative processes in everyday situations. Researchers from Graz and Cologne have now developed special test tasks for soccer players that can also be applied in a neuroscience laboratory. Continue reading “Creativity in soccer now measurable”
The search for specific therapies for multiple sclerosis has prompted an international research group to investigate how immune cells can cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger inflammatory processes in nerve tissue. The results obtained by the Center for Brain Research in Vienna show that the development of this inflammatory disease is dominated by two types […] Continue reading “How immune cells cross the blood-brain barrier”
An interdisciplinary research group in Graz looked for biomarkers that could already provide indications during the first year of life of developmental disorders such as fragile X syndrome, which are still detected (too) late. The researchers analysed early-childhood vocalisation and movement patterns of children with a definite diagnosis. Continue reading “Shortening the path to diagnosis”
With the support of the FWF, a group of researchers from Innsbruck examined 100 test subjects in a sleep laboratory and achieved widespread recognition for their collection of standard values for healthy sleep. While even healthy individuals move about more than expected while sleeping, muscle twitching during dreams can be a harbinger of neurodegenerative diseases. Continue reading “How much twitching is normal during sleep?”
The ability to recognize the thoughts, desires, and intentions of others is known in scientific circles as “Theory of Mind.” The psychologist and Schrödinger Fellow Matthias Schurz explores this human mind-reading phenomenon at Oxford University by investigating the workings of the brain. Continue reading “Oxford – venerable and cutting-edge”