The ability to control dreams may help us unravel the mystery of consciousness
We spend around six years of our lives dreaming – that's 2,190 days or 52,560 hours. Although we can be aware of the perceptions and emotions we experience in our dreams, we are not conscious in the...
View ArticleScientists find way to predict who is likely to wake up during surgery
Measuring certain kinds of brain activity may help doctors track and predict how patients will react to anaesthesia before going under for surgery, our research has found.
View ArticleBrain study suggests consciousness a matter of optimal degree of...
(Medical Xpress)—A team of European researchers has found evidence that suggests that human consciousness is a state where the neural network that makes up the brain operates at an optimal degree of...
View ArticleWhat makes us conscious?
Do you think that the machine you are reading this story on, right now, has a feeling of "what it is like" to be in its state?
View ArticleHow the brain produces consciousness in 'time slices'
EPFL scientists propose a new way of understanding of how the brain processes unconscious information into our consciousness. According to the model, consciousness arises only in time intervals of up...
View ArticleStudy shows complex ideas can enter consciousness automatically
It's difficult to look at pictures of cars shown on a computer and then keep yourself from saying "car" inside your head the next time one shows up on the screen—even when someone tells you to avoid...
View ArticleAbnormal brain interactions harm consciousness
Over the past few years, a great amount of scientific research has shown that even when the brain is "at rest" it still works. The brains of healthy people are organized into regions displaying similar...
View ArticleStudy finds moderate sedation more effective than general anesthesia for TAVR...
A new study finds the use of moderate sedation, in which patients do not need a breathing tube, leads to better clinical outcomes as compared to general anesthesia for patients undergoing transcatheter...
View ArticleBrain scans reveal hidden consciousness in patients
A standard brain scanning technique is showing promise for helping doctors distinguish between patients in a vegetative state and those with hidden signs of consciousness.
View ArticleChanging our understanding of consciousness
Measuring and defining consciousness has been an ongoing challenge for neuroscientists, philosophers and psychologists for centuries. The concept of levels of consciousness is mostly theoretical,...
View ArticleStudy shows explicit judgments may differ from implicit beliefs regarding...
(Medical Xpress)—A pair of researchers at Harvard University has found that our conscious attitudes may differ significantly from those that reside in our subconscious mind when it comes to...
View ArticleScientists use ultrasound to jump-start a man's brain after coma
A 25-year-old man recovering from a coma has made remarkable progress following a treatment at UCLA to jump-start his brain using ultrasound. The technique uses sonic stimulation to excite the neurons...
View ArticlePsychopaths feel fear but see no danger
Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Radboud University Nijmegen found proof that psychopathic individuals can feel fear, but have trouble in the automatic detection and responsivity to...
View ArticleScientific evidence reveals that the brain perceives taste with all senses
The phrase "it looks so good you can almost taste it" may actually be scientifically proven based on the findings of a new study by Stony Brook University researchers that explored how the brain...
View ArticleRecovery from brain injury and better sleep go hand in hand
After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), people also experience major sleep problems, including changes in their sleep-wake cycle. A new study shows that recovering from these two conditions occurs in...
View ArticleLess is more: Exposure to stimuli for overcoming phobia
A team of investigators, led by Bradley S. Peterson, MD, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and Paul Siegel, PhD, associate professor of psychology at...
View ArticleHow does brain functional connectivity change from the awake to unconscious...
A new study examined how brain functional connectivity patterns change over the continuum from wakefulness to being in an anesthesia-induced state of unconsciousness. The results, which demonstrate...
View ArticleWords can sound 'round' or 'sharp' without us realizing it
Our tendency to match specific sounds with specific shapes, even abstract shapes, is so fundamental that it guides perception before we are consciously aware of it, according to new research in...
View ArticleCan Alzheimer's disease steal one's consciousness?
Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been characterized as a "complete loss of self." Early on when memory begins to fade, the victim has difficulty recalling names, their grocery list or where they put their...
View ArticleConscious sedation is a safe alternative to general anesthesia for heart...
UCLA scientists have found that conscious sedation—a type of anesthesia in which patients remain awake but are sleepy and pain-free—is a safe and viable option to general anesthesia for people...
View ArticleFirst evidence for higher state of consciousness found
Scientific evidence of a 'higher' state of consciousness has been found in a study led by the University of Sussex.
View ArticleCould fixing the body clock help people regain consciousness?
For people with severe brain injuries, researchers have found that the rhythm of daily fluctuations in body temperature is related to their level of consciousness, according to a preliminary study...
View ArticlefMRI, EEG may detect consciousness in patients with acute, severe traumatic...
The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) may be able to identify ICU patients with severe traumatic brain injuries who have a level of consciousness not...
View ArticleStudy examines drowning-induced brain injury in children
A new study indicates that children who develop brain injury due to non-fatal drowning often experience severe motor deficits but maintain relatively intact perceptual and cognitive capabilities.
View ArticleSurgeons study 'awake aneurysm surgery' for better outcomes
In a first time study published in the August edition of the Journal of Neurosurgery, Saint Louis University surgeons and researchers report that the use of conscious sedation - also called "awake...
View ArticleYour neurons register familiar faces, whether you notice them or not
When people see an image of a person they recognize—the famous tennis player Roger Federer or actress Halle Berry, for instance—particular cells light up in the brain. Now, researchers reporting in...
View ArticleAfter 15 years in a vegetative state, nerve stimulation restores consciousness
A 35-year-old man who had been in a vegetative state for 15 years after a car accident has shown signs of consciousness after neurosurgeons implanted a vagus nerve stimulator into his chest. The...
View ArticleDoes your back feel stiff? Well, it may not actually be stiff, study finds
"My back feels so stiff!" We often hear our friends say.
View ArticleWhat if consciousness is not what drives the human mind?
Everyone knows what it feels like to have consciousness: it's that self-evident sense of personal awareness, which gives us a feeling of ownership and control over the thoughts, emotions and...
View ArticleStudy looks to flag awareness in anaesthetized patients
For every 1,000 patients undergoing surgery and receiving general anaesthesia, one or two will wake up during the procedure, unable to move, speak or otherwise indicate to doctors they are conscious...
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