Found Links: Traumatic Stress, Brain Injury Research, Related Military News

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• Blood protein triggers scars in the brain after injury | EurekaAlert release -- Clip: "A protein called fibrinogen that is known to help form blood clots also triggers scar formation in the brain and spinal cord, according to new research in the April 28 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers found that fibrinogen carries a dormant factor that activates when it enters the brain after an injury, prompting brain cells to form a scar. Scars in the brain or spinal cord can block connections between nerve cells and often keep injury patients from reaching full recovery."
  
  
• It pays to remember what made you sad | New Scientist
  
  
• Pentagon: Boost Training With Computer-Troop Mind Meld | Wired -- Clip: "The Pentagon is looking to better train its troops — by scanning their minds as they play video games. Adaptive, mind-reading computer systems have been a work-in-progress among military agencies for at least a decade. In 2000, far-out research agency Darpa launched “Augmented Cognition,” a program that sought to develop computers that used EEG scans to adjust how they displayed information — visually, orally, or otherwise — to avoid overtaxing one realm of a troop’s cognition."
  
  
• A brain-recording device that melts into place | PhysOrg.com -- Clip: "...the ultrathin flexible implants, made partly from silk, can record brain activity more faithfully than thicker implants embedded with similar electronics. ...In people with epilepsy, the arrays could be used to detect when seizures first begin, and deliver pulses to shut the seizures down. In people with spinal cord injuries, the technology has promise for reading complex signals in the brain that direct movement, and routing those signals to healthy muscles or prosthetic devices."
  
  
• Placebo effect beats God, Prozac | SF Chronicle -- An intense opinion piece with lots of interesting data and ideas to consider.
  
  
• Aging: The Secret Life of the Middle-Aged Brain | Huffington Post -- A few tips and clearing up of myths.
  
  
• The Conversation: Brain research brings wonders and worries | Sacramento Bee -- Important read. Intro clip: "What ethical concerns will arise from new technology and medicine that can reveal our thoughts and enhance our brains?"

In educational interest, article(s) quoted from extensively.


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