MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'electrodes'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:00:34 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158997&cid=t_172513_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-athletic-heart-how-it-functions%2F2011.08.24 It may seem a little formal to say this, but I would like to start by stating my goals for today’s post: Introduce the concept of the athletic heart; Touch upon the notion of sudden death of the athlete; Explain what an ECG really is, and how it may help diagnose heart disease; Review a recent study about the common ECG variant seen in athletes…Early repolarization. Intro: The adaptations of the human heart never cease to amaze me. Physical training transforms our hearts into high performance engines. Repeated sessions of interval training, combined with longer aerobic efforts, and sprinkled with adequate rest maximize our ability to keep pressure on the pedals, or run the sixth mile of the 10k at the same pace as the first, or for you swimmers, to keep getting back to the wall on th... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158997 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:00:14 +0100 5158997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615262&cid=t_172513_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FI6O2P1izyjA%2F Fetuses and newborns react preferentially to their mother’s voice. A recent study looked for the first time at what is going on in a newborn brain when hearing his mother’s voice and a stranger’s voice. Results showed that not only newborns process their mother’s voice more actively than that of a stranger but they also process it differently. Researchers looked at the brain activity in response to voices (mother and female stranger) in 16 newborn babies (mean age: 21 hours), by applying electrodes to their heads while they were sleeping. Both the mother and a female nurse (who had visited the mother several times before the birth) were asked to make the short ‘A’ vowel sound. The mother’s voice processing initially activated the left posterior temporal lobe, an area particul... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615262 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:36:55 +0100 4615262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4498274&cid=t_172513_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdeep-brain-stimulation-experts-raise-alarms-about-aggressive-marketing%2F2011.02.19 A paper published in the February issue of Health Affairs – discussed at length in an article in the New York Times – contains the sort of blunt, plain-spoken language you seldom read in academic journals. The authors, who include some of the most prominent neuroscientists and ethicists in the world, warn that manufacturers are misusing the FDA’s humanitarian device exemption to promote deep brain stimulation as a “treatment” for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In fact, they make clear that deep brain stimulation is very much an experimental procedure. Research is still at an early stage, and the risks to patients are not well defined. When suffering is severe and no other treatment has provided relief, there is value in making available an intervention like deep b... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4498274 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 20:00:39 +0100 4498274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361141&cid=t_172513_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FZ-URJT5BSII%2F The media regularly reports on findings based on neuroimaging studies, but rarely do they explain exactly what these techniques are, their benefits or what it’s like to actually participate in these types of studies. Today I’ll describe what a participant goes through when they volunteer for a cognitive neuroscience experiment using a neuroimaging technique called electroencephalography (EEG). Unfortunately, it is exceedingly common for participants to not understand how these techniques benefit previous behavioral findings. Simply stated, if I were a participant, I’d like to know why I needed to wear a weird swim cap and how it benefits the research being done. EEG is a tool regularly used to view and record the changes in brain activity involved in the various types of cognitive fu... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361141 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:08:40 +0100 4361141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031369&cid=t_172513_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FNPfq3hdmzOk%2F Neurofeedback Gains Popularity and Lab Attention (New York Times) The treatment is also gaining attention from mainstream researchers, including some former skeptics. The National Institute of Mental Health recently sponsored its first study of neurofeedback for A.D.H.D.: a randomized, controlled trial of 36 subjects. The results are to be announced Oct. 26 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In an interview in the summer, the study’s director, Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Ohio State, noted that there had been “quite a bit of improvement” in many of the children’s behavior, as reported by parents and teachers. Comment: The article provides a good overview, and points out one of the main bottlenecks for w... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031369 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:26:16 +0100 4031369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232541&cid=t_172513_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F04%2Fis-morality-a-basic-instinct%2F Many people assume that morality — our sense of what is “right” and just in this world versus what is wrong — is something we formulate through a process of time, experience and thinking. We equate morality with higher reasoning and not a base instinct like hunger or the need for shelter. New research out from the University of Toronto suggests that perhaps such thinking is wrong. In the study, the scientists examined facial movements when participants tasted unpleasant liquids and looked at photographs of disgusting objects such as dirty toilets or injuries. They compared these to their facial movements when they were subjected to unfair treatment in a laboratory game. The U of T team found that people make similar facial movements in response to both primitive ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232541 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:33:15 +0100 2232541 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1414911&cid=t_172513_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F05%2F01%2Fresearch-update-deep-brain-stimulation%2F The latest research results on deep brain stimulation (DBS) suggests it is helpful for severe, chronic depression. DBS is a simple surgical procedure that implants electrodes in parts of your brain. Once implanted, they emit tiny electrical pulses that help block the dysfunctional activity in your brain. The key to success in the procedure is for the neurosurgeon to carefully identify the right places to implant the electrodes, because if they end up in the wrong area of the brain, little benefit will be realized from the procedure (although there also appears to be minimal opportunity for harm as well). Deep brain stimulation is not a new procedure, but its use in the treatment of depression (as well as severe OCD) is. It’s been used successfully for about 20 years in the treatment... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1414911 Thu, 01 May 2008 21:30:58 +0100 1414911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1280718&cid=t_172513_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F03%2F05%2Fhack-your-brain-sure%2F Although brain hacking has been going on for nearly two decades, the folks over at Network World magazine thinks it’s some kind of “new” phenomenon. Describing experiments done on monkeys and the manipulation of video games, the reporter apparently is unaware of a little something called EEG neurofeedback. Neurofeedback has been used to treat psychiatric disorders since the early 1990s (I know first-hand, because I was involved in neurofeedback training as a grad student). Neurofeedback is a researched and proven technique for allowing people to “train their brains” to reduce common symptoms of many psychiatric disorders. Most of the research and heavy lifting with this technique has been done with ADHD, but it’s also been researched and shown to work w... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1280718 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:33:52 +0100 1280718