Science News: Our Weekly Picks from Around the Web

Music training benefits babies’ brains
“Early musical training benefits children even before they can walk or talk, says the first-ever study of its kind.”
www.khaleejtimes.com (05/13/2012)

Journey to the centre of the brain
“Researchers have a goal so ambitious it is almost unthinkable – learning how all 85 billion neurons in the human brain are wired up.” The Sydney Morning Herald reports of Harvard University Neuroscientist Dr. Jeff Lichtman’s Connectome Project.
www.smh.com.au (05/10/2012)

Reducing brain activity improves memory after cognitive decline
“A study led by a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist suggests a potential new therapeutic approach for improving memory and interrupting disease progression in patients with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.”
esciencenews.com (05/10/2012)

Why We Talk About Ourselves: The Brain Likes It
“Science has now proved what kindergarten teachers, reality-show fans and Catholic priests discover anew every day: humans can’t help talking about themselves. It just feels too good.”
healthland.time.com (05/08/2012)

Study finds psychopaths have distinct brain structure
“Scientists who scanned the brains of men convicted of murder, rape and violent assaults have found the strongest evidence yet that psychopaths have structural abnormalities in their brains.”
www.chicagotribune.com (05/07/2012)