Latest news with #Neuroscience
Medscape
02-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Emotional Response to Music May Enhance Memory Specificity
Music that evokes an emotional response may influence the specificity of memory recall, new research suggests. Investigators found that participants who were shown a series of images of everyday items before listening to music were more likely to remember only general details of the photos if they experienced a more emotional response to the music, while those who had a moderate emotional response were more likely to recall specific details. Stephanie L. Leal, PhD 'Most people think that emotional things are better remembered, but they actually aren't. It's just parts of the memory that are affected, not the whole memory,' co-investigator Stephanie L. Leal, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), told Medscape Medical News . 'One size doesn't fit all when it comes to music and memory.' Interestingly, familiarity with a song was not associated with either general or detailed memory. 'We played the same songs for everybody, but importantly, everyone responded differently. So I think personalization and taking individual preferences into account is going to be important for interventions,' said Leal, who is also director of the Neuroscience of Memory, Mood, and Aging Laboratory at UCLA. The findings were published online on July 23 in The Journal of Neuroscience . Memory Complexities As previously reported by Medscape Medical News , previous research has shown that both music appreciation and participations are tied to improvement in executive function and memory. For this study, researchers wanted to dive into the complexities of memory, including the possible connection between music and differing aspects of memory. 'We tend to remember more of the gist of something emotional that happened and not as much of the details. So we wanted to see if music could boost certain parts of memory but not all of the parts,' she said. Many previous music studies have included older individuals, especially those with dementia. For this project, investigators chose instead to assess a younger population because they wanted to use their data as a 'baseline' before moving on to further research in groups that are older and/or have impaired conditions such as depression or Alzheimer's disease, Leal said. 'We wanted to see what happens in healthy people first and then apply it to other populations,' she said. The study included 130 healthy undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 35 years from Rice University, Houston. During the initial phase of memory formation — called the 'encoding' phase — each participant was shown 128 images of common household objects and asked to choose whether the object should be considered as an indoor or outdoor item. Participants then donned headphones and listened to 10 minutes of classical music pieces, ambient soundscapes, or silence while they filled out questionnaires about their medical history. After the music ended, participants spent about 20 minutes filling out additional questionnaires, including a rating of the music or sounds they heard on the basis of emotional arousal, positive or negative reaction, or familiarity. They then viewed a set of 192 images that included some they hadn't seen before (foils) and others that were identical (targets) or similar (lures) to the photos viewed earlier. Participants were asked to classify an image as old or new, allowing the researchers to measure target recognition — a measure of general memory — or lure discrimination — a measure of detailed memory. Big-Picture Recall General recall of the images was greater among those who experienced either low or high emotional response to music than among those who experienced moderate changes in emotional arousal ( P for both < .001). More detailed memories were reported by those who reported only a moderate emotional response to music than those who reported a low or high emotional response ( P for both < .001). There were no significant associations between memory of the images and song familiarity or whether a song was happy or sad. 'Overall, music modulated both general and detailed memory, but individual differences in emotional response were crucial — participants listened to the same music yet responded differently,' the investigators wrote. 'These findings suggest that music interventions may not uniformly enhance memory, emphasizing the need for personalized approaches in treating memory and mood impairments,' they added. The research suggests that a high emotional response may cloud details more than a moderate response. 'Yes, the idea is that if something is very emotionally arousing, maybe we don't want to remember the details associated with it. Maybe we just want to remember that general feeling or the bigger impact of that event, whether it's positive or negative,' Leal said. 'Maybe we just want to take the 'big picture' from that.' Early Days Commenting on the findings for Medscape Medical News , Daniel L. Bowling, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, noted that the study 'follows the general trend' of research that breaks down large concepts, such as memory, into specific features. Daniel L. Bowling, PhD Bowling, who is also director of the Music and Brain Health Lab at Stanford, was not involved with the current study. 'This showed different levels of responses to music that were differentially related to varying types of memory that you might want to target,' Bowling said. For example, if a clinician's purpose is cognitive training, with more of an emphasis on details, 'you might want more moderate levels of [emotional] arousal. But if you want more big-picture stuff, which could be critical when asking people about their life, then higher levels of arousal may be better,' he added. He noted that because the researchers used almost a 'pretreatment,' with music used before the recall task, it would be interesting to know if using such a pretreatment before taking a test could possibly improve performance. There are interventions, some of which Bowling is involved with, that are looking at supporting arousal and attention during studying. A controlled study comparing these things and looking systematically into effects on different types of memory would be helpful, 'but we're really at the beginning of figuring all of this stuff out,' he said. Although the current study has some limitations and needs to be replicated, 'any kind of talk toward systematic effects of different musical parameters or emotional modeling starts to help us bring this into the scientific-medical realm. And that's a real strength here,' Bowling concluded.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FDA Approves Updated Label For Eli Lilly and Company (LLY)'s Amyvid To Support Alzheimer's Diagnosis
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is among the Goldman Sachs Stock Portfolio: 10 Large-Cap Stocks To Buy. On June 25, the company announced that the FDA had approved a label update for Amyvid to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. A scientist in a lab running tests on a variety of biopharmaceuticals. The florbetapir F 18 injection is used for brain imaging of patients with cognitive impairment who are being tested for Alzheimer's. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) said the new label changes will include revised guidelines to estimate plaque density and provide a new indication for patient selection. The updated label will also allow the quantification of amyloid plaque levels in conjunction with visual understanding. Moreover, the clinical studies section of the label will acknowledge that amyloid beta positron emission tomography (PET) scans had aided in assessing plaque reduction in some trials of amyloid-targeting therapies. Mark Mintun, M.D., group vice president, Neuroscience Research & Development, at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), stated the following on the development: 'Nearly 80% of Americans would prefer to know if they have an Alzheimer's diagnosis before their memory and thinking symptoms disrupt daily life, highlighting the importance of advanced diagnostic tools like amyloid PET and blood biomarker testing. The modernization of Amyvid's label is a significant step in advancing Alzheimer's care, enabling physicians to help patients make informed decisions, being evaluated for or to aid in the selection of patients who are indicated for amyloid-targeting therapy.' Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a medicine company that has pioneered life-changing discoveries for the last 150 years, helping tens of millions of patients across the globe. While we acknowledge the potential of LLY as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blankety Blank viewers in shock after learning winning contestant died after filming show
Viewers of the BBC gameshow Blankety Blank have been left in shock after learning that a winning contestant died months after filming the show. During Saturday night's episode (15 June), Nathanael Hill, a 39-year-old RAF veteran, rugby coach and PhD student from Liverpool, was triumphant in winning the show's main prize. But a memorandum message appearing after the credits rolled showed that Hill had died months after filming. The tribute read: 'Nathanael Hill 1985 – 2025.' The cause of death was not stated. The episode saw Hill match his answers with those given by a panel of six celebrities, including comedians Rob Beckett, Lucy Beaumont, Jack Dee, actor Omid Djalili, former GB athlete Dame Kelly Holmes and TV host Steph McGovern. At the beginning of the episode, Hill explained that he was studying for a PhD in neuroscience, researching chronic pain and how to cure it without the use of opioids. Hill was also a coach at the LGBT+ rugby team, Liverpool Tritons, which was formed in 2016 as Merseyside's first Inclusive men's Rugby Union team. According to the Liverpool Echo, Hill worked as an armour officer in the Royal Air Force and completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. During a stint in south and central Asia, Nathanael got injured by shrapnel from a roadside bomb. After doctors found a blood clot in his leg during the pandemic, he contracted sepsis and underwent an above-knee amputation on his leg in October 2022. He had been using a prosthetic leg. Hill had also been involved in training for triathlons and had been fundraising with the dream of joining Team GB at the 2028 LA Paralympics. He joked during a programme that his desired prize on the show was a running blade for his prosthetic leg, to which host Bradley Walsh quipped: 'I'm not sure that's in Blankety Blank's remit to give you a running blade. We can give you a toaster, or a kettle?' In the end, his prize was the Blankety Blank chequebook and pen trophy. In April, the Liverpool Tritons announced the news of Hill's death, remembering him as a 'cherished' member of the team, and a 'formidable player on the pitch and a passionate, dedicated coach off it'. They added: 'More than his achievements in the game, Nate will be remembered for his kindness, sense of humour, and the unwavering support he showed to teammates, new players, and friends alike. His loss will be felt deeply across the club and far beyond.' 'Nate brought skill, heart, and a contagious enthusiasm to everything he did. His commitment to inclusive rugby and to our community helped shape the club into what it is today.' Blankety Blank viewers paid tributes online, with one person writing on X/Twitter: 'Who knew you could get sad at the end of an episode of Blankety Blank? RIP Nathanael.' Another added: 'RIP Nathanael. Fly high.'
Free Malaysia Today
14-06-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Tailored mindfulness techniques could ease different kinds of anxiety
The researchers suggest that different kinds of mindfulness practices might be helpful for different kinds of anxiety. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : Mindfulness has its roots in traditional meditation techniques. It involves embracing the present moment and accepting it as it is, without judgment. You breathe, feel and observe your thoughts, without trying to change them. Once seen as a spiritual practice, it has now gained legitimacy in the therapeutic field. And with good reason: it has proven its effectiveness in tackling anxiety and stress. But mindfulness doesn't work in the same way for everyone. So why does it work better for some people? And above all, how can we adapt this practice to each individual? This is the subject of a study published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Reviews. Its authors suggest adjusting the form of mindfulness practiced according to the type of anxiety experienced. The results are based on solid data and confirm what many people feel, without always being able to explain it. 'A lot of research has shown that mindfulness can reduce anxiety symptoms,' explained study co-author, Resh Gupta, a postdoctoral research associate with the Mindfulness Science & Practice research cluster at Washington University in Saint Louis, quoted in a news release. 'We all experience anxiety, but it can manifest in many different ways. It's a tough problem to pin down.' Tailored techniques to meet different needs To find out more, the researchers explored how the brain works, in particular what is known as cognitive control. This function helps us stay focused, resist distractions and make choices in line with one's intentions. Anxiety, however, scrambles this mechanism. It invades the mind, upsetting priorities and complicating decision-making. Conversely, mindfulness can reinforce this ability to stay on course. Moreover, certain techniques are more suited to different profiles. Focused attention mindfulness meditation, for example, enables people experiencing a lot of anxious thoughts to focus on an anchor point such as breathing. 'You keep bringing your attention back to that anchor every time your mind wanders. Instead of focusing on the worry, you're focusing on the present moment experience,' the researcher explained. Other people experience anxiety in a more physical way, with rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms and tightness in the chest. For them, an approach called open monitoring seems more beneficial. It involves observing and welcoming everything that arises, without judgment or rejection. It's a way of making peace with our inner turmoil, rather than fighting it. This research is part of a wider dynamic, supported by the Mindfulness Science and Practice cluster, which also organises events open to all. 'We're dedicated to helping the WashU and greater St Louis community get access to tools to learn about mindfulness science and practice,' said Resh Gupta. For Todd Braver, professor of psychological and neurological sciences at the University of Washington, and co-author of the study, offering a variety of options is essential. 'People have different options they can choose from, so it becomes easier to find one that best fits your particular temperament, concerns, or current situation,' he said. Gone is the one-size-fits-all model. The future of mindfulness promises to be more flexible, more personalised, with an approach that's in tune with each individual, transforming an age-old practice into an everyday tool.
Bloomberg
02-06-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
Neuralink Rival Paradromics Tests Brain Implant in First Human
Takeaways NEW Paradromics Inc., a brain implant company and rival to Elon Musk's Neuralink, tested its device in its first human patient last month. Neurosurgeon Matthew Willsey put a chip smaller than a penny on the patient's brain while the person was undergoing surgery for epilepsy and left it there for 10 to 15 minutes. Needles half the diameter of a human hair poked into the brain tissue, aiming to pick up electrical signals from individual neurons.
