Alcohol Addiction Relapse Might Be Thwarted By Turning Off Brain Trigger. Researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco have been able to identify and deactivate a brain pathway linked to memories that cause alcohol cravings in rats, a finding that may one day lead to a treatment option for people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders and other addictions.
In the study, researchers were able to prevent the addicted animals from seeking alcohol and drinking it, the equivalent of relapse. “One of the main causes of relapse is craving, triggered by the memory by certain cues – like going into a bar, or the smell or taste of alcohol,” said lead author Segev Barak, PhD, at the time a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of co-senior author Dorit Ron, PhD, a Gallo Center investigator and UCSF professor of neurology. The study, also supervised by co-senior author Patricia H. Janak, PhD, a Gallo Center investigator and UCSF professor of neurology, was published online on June 23 in Nature Neuroscience. Changes in brain activity related to eating chocolate. Introduction Early cortical representations of visual, auditory and somatosensory information (e.g.
`primary' and `secondary' areas) are in the unimodal neocortex. In contrast, the cortical representations of the chemical senses (taste and smell) are in the limbic and paralimbic cortex. This is true in primates (e.g. Tanabe et al., 1975a, b; Pritchard et al., 1986; Takagi, 1986; Price, 1990; Baylis et al., 1995; Rolls et al., 1996; Scott and Plata-Salaman, 1999) and in humans (Zatorre et al., 1992; Jones-Gotman and Zatorre, 1993; Petrides and Pandya, 1994; Faurion et al., 1999; Pritchard et al., 1999; Small et al., 1999).
Many neuroimaging studies have investigated brain activity evoked by affective stimuli, including chemosensory stimuli. To investigate brain activity related to affective changes associated with feeding, we performed successive H215O-PET scans on volunteers as they ate chocolate to beyond satiety. 10 foods to boost your brainpower - BBC Good Food. 1.
Opt for wholegrains Like everything else in your body, the brain cannot work without energy. The ability to concentrate and focus comes from the adequate, steady supply of energy - in the form of glucose in our blood to the brain. Achieve this by choosing wholegrains with a low-GI, which release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, keeping you mentally alert throughout the day. Opt for 'brown' cereals, wheatbran, granary bread and brown pasta. 2. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) cannot be made by the body and must be obtained through diet. 3. Evidence accumulated at Tufts University in the United States suggests that the consumption of blueberries may be effective in improving or delaying short term memory loss. 4. There is good evidence to suggest that lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes, could help protect against the kind of free radical damage to cells which occurs in the development of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's.
Researcher: Dopamine Not About Pleasure (Anymore) John Salamone, professor of psychology, at his office.
(Peter Morenus/UConn Photo) To John Salamone, professor of psychology and longtime researcher of the brain chemical dopamine, scientific research can be very slow-moving. “It takes a long time for things to change in science,” he says. Vitamin C can kill every virus known to mankind. Brain Food – Eat For Productivity - Stepcase Lifehack. The brain is a hungry organ, it’s cells requiring two times the amount of energy than that of other cells in the body.
To work well and efficiently throughout the day, this energy level must be kept high enough so not to cause mental stress and exhaustion. So we’ll look at simple ways to keep your brain working effectively throughout your day so your work doesn’t suffer. When the brain doesn’t become stressed it can work continuously so not to sabotage your daily workflow. For this discussion we will assume you work most of the day, morning to evening.
Breakfast It’s no secret this is the most important meal of the day. Coffee in the morning sounds like a good idea. Sugar also plays a part in the morning coffee. Fruit is an excellent source. If you’re strapped for time in the morning, as we all tend to be, a bowl of fruit is a much better energy source that will start the brain working. A cereal with fruit is a very quick and easy breakfast to kick start your day. Lunch Drink Above All.