If you like reading news from the world of neuroscience in this newsletter each month, you might want to take a look at our blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. We use those to give more frequent updates on brain research, share fun facts and tips, and occasionally even give products away. There’s a lot happening around Posit Science, and every week I learn something surprising. For example, last week, I learned both that our exercises are being used in an exciting study across the European Union and that room color choices can affect creativity and productivity.

Warm regards,

Jeff Zimman, Chairman

Making Memories Sing
Researchers found that musicians have stronger auditory processing and working memory than non-musicians in a study of 37 adults, aged 45 to 65, at Northwestern University. Drawing on decades of musical training, the musicians had sharper hearing and thinking skills than their non-musician peers and researchers believe are at lower risk for impediments of aging. Learn more.

Your Brain On—and Off—Chronic Pain
In a recent study, brain images showed that people with chronic pain have brains that are “thinner and less densely packed” in many areas. But at least one of these brain areas—the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—can return to normal once the pain is gone. That’s great news, since this part of the brain is critical for mood, social judgment, and more. Learn more.

A Fine Line for Sleep and Cognitive Function
We’ve known for a long time that too little sleep can impair cognitive function. As reported on our blog, the effects of too little sleep range from worse performance at school or work to weight gain. But it turns out that too much sleep might affect your brain too—by the equivalent of 4 to 7 years of cognitive aging. In fact, in a recent study of people aged 45 to 69, people who increased their sleep to over 8 hours a night fared worse than those who slept too little. Learn more.

Erasing Bad Memories
Researchers have discovered how to erase traumatic memories—in marine snails, at least. Does this mean that we’ll someday be able to erase specific memories in humans? The lead researcher, UCLA professor David Glanzman, says yes. Find out more.

Is the Value of Wine All in Your Head?
As it turns out, it’s hard to tell an expensive wine from a cheaper wine by its taste. A recent 600-person study showed that in blind taste tests, people were no better at choosing the more expensive wine than if they’d been randomly guessing. So why do people often think expensive wines taste better? It may be all in the orbitofrontal cortex—a part of the brain that’s excited by the higher price. Learn more.

“Generation Alzheimer’s”
The Alzheimer’s Association recently released a website and report titled “Generation Alzheimer’s: The Defining Disease of the Baby Boomers.” If you’re interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s and what it means for the aging boomer population, check it out!

Belly Bacteria and the Brain
The bacteria in your intestines may have played a part in the person you are today. A new study shows that normal gut bacteria impacts brain development in a specific “critical period” of infancy and childhood. Rats raised without this bacteria were less anxious, among other differences. Read more.

Autism May Show in the Brain Before Age 2
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that around age 1-2, children with autism have brains that are about 5-10% bigger than the brains of children without autism. The extra growth stops then, though. What does this suggest for ongoing research into autism? Find out.

Book of the Month
Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality (2011)
Patricia S. Churchland
In Braintrust, Patricia Churchland, a pioneer in the emerging field of neurophilosophy, examines the biology of the brain to find the roots of morality. She argues that moral values derive from the human impulse to preserve people allied to them, beginning with their children and reaching out from there. According to Churchland, creating these allies is facilitated by oxytocin, a brain (and body) chemical that allows for trust by inhibiting the stress response. Whether you agree with Churchland or not, Braintrust provides an interesting and carefully researched perspective on the roots of moral values and behavior. Buy from Amazon >>