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[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Contrary to the widely held notion, the brain does not have the ability to rewire itself to compensate for the loss of sight, an amputation or stroke, for example, neuroscientists say. They argue that the notion that the brain, in response to injury or deficit, can reorganise itself and repurpose particular regions for new functions, is fundamentally flawed, despite being commonly cited in scientific textbooks. Instead, what is occurring in such scenarios is merely that one's brain is being trained to utilise already existing but latent abilities, the researchers write in an article in the journal eLife. "The idea that our brain has an amazing ability to rewire and reorganise itself is an appealing one. It gives us hope and fascination, especially when we hear extraordinary stories of blind individuals developing almost superhuman echolocation abilities, for example, or stroke survivors miraculously regaining motor abilities they thought they had l...

[ad_1] According to a study published in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, older people who have little social interaction with others may be more likely to experience loss of overall brain volume and in areas of the brain affected by dementia. The study does not prove that social isolation causes brain shrinkage; it only shows an association. “Social isolation is a growing problem for older adults,” said study author Toshiharu Ninomiya, MD, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. “These results suggest that providing support for people to help them start and maintain their connections to others may be beneficial for preventing brain atrophy and the development of dementia.” The study involved 8,896 people with an average age of 73 who did not have dementia. They had MRI brain scans and health exams. To determine social contact, people were asked one question: How often are you in contact with relatives or f...

[ad_1] According to a study, sufficient sleep is needed to benefit long-term in brain power from exercise. There may be little point in working out if you’re tired and not sleeping well, a study suggests. Exercise is known to do wonders for cognitive skills but research from University College London shows that getting less than six hours sleep a night could wipe away most of those brain gains. A study of almost 9,000 middle-aged people found that people who exercised regularly had stronger minds over a 10-year study period. However, people who exercised but got insufficient sleep saw a quicker decline in cognitive ability than their well-rested peers. People sleeping less than six hours a night, even if they exercised, had similar attention, memory and learning ability to those who did not get any exercise, effectively wiping out any benefit from being active. Physical activity has other health benefits, but with regards to the brain the effect is negligible when compared...