IT鈥橲 WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
A young man who had the entire left hemisphere of his brain removed to stop chronic seizures when he was eight years old now has language skills within the normal range. The left side normally deals with language, but scans show that the man, now 22, has developed language regions in the right side, an extraordinary example of the brain鈥檚 ability to make new connections.
NOT WHILE I鈥橫 OVULATING
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Women are less trusting around the time of ovulation, says a team at Claremont Graduate University in California. Progesterone inhibits the hormone oxytocin, which helps determine how trusting we are. It makes sense for this to happen at a time when a woman has to make careful judgements about a potential mate, the team says.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
Brain death is not quite what it seems. For several days after we die, new neurons are born in the hippocampus. This seems to be a response to the lack of oxygen, which releases a range of growth-stimulating chemicals.
SENSE WITH NO FEELING
People with autism cannot empathise with others. But they still have a physiological reaction when they see others in pain. Autistic patients showed a galvanic skin response 鈥� the same reaction that makes your palms sweaty when you鈥檙e nervous 鈥� when they saw someone鈥檚 finger being stabbed with a pin. Failure to empathise must be a high-level problem with sensing emotions, the team says.
THE DRINKING BRAIN
Booze kills off brain cells, or so we鈥檙e told. But that happens only in binge drinking, says a team at the Karolinska institute in Sweden. Rats given high doses of ethanol do indeed lose brain cells in their memory regions. But new cells are born in the same areas when the doses of alcohol are lower.
DEMENTIA DIET?
Followers of the Atkins diet may be in for a cruel shock. Researchers in California and Mexico have shown an antioxidant-rich diet protects the brain from ageing. People skipping fruit and vegetables for meat may be more likely to suffer from cognitive problems as they age, they told New Scientist.
