. Earth Science News .
Imaging Technique Visualizes Effects Of Stress On Human Brain

Illustration only

Philadelphia, PA (SPX) Nov 24, 2005
The holiday season is notorious for the emotional stress it evokes. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have come up with a non-invasive way to see the effects of psychological stress in an area of the brain linked to anxiety and depression.

This research has important implications for how practitioners treat the numerous long-term health consequences of chronic stress.

In the study, which is reported in the Nov.21 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect an increase in blood flow to the prefrontal cortex in individuals subjected to stress.

Further, the increase remained even when the stressor was removed, suggesting the effects of stress are more persistent than once thought.

Whereas most previous fMRI studies have relied on indirect measures of cerebral blood flow, the Penn team, led by John A. Detre, measured blood flow directly, using a technique called arterial spin labeling. The technique is non-invasive, relying on magnetically "tagging" the water molecules in subjects' blood.

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Air Force.

Related Links
University of Pennsylvania
The National Science Foundation
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

New Study Posits Evolutionary Origins Of Two Distinct Types Of Laughter
Binghamton NY (SPX) Nov 23, 2005
In an important new study from the forthcoming Quarterly Review of Biology biologists from Binghamton University explore the evolution of two distinct types of laughter � laughter which is stimulus-driven and laughter which is self-generated and strategic.







  • New Tactical Wireless Emergency Broadband Network Introduced
  • Sri Lankan Tsunami Survivors Hit By Floods
  • Pakistan Quake Survivors Prepared For Winter, Australia Claims Says
  • Focus On Levee Breaks

  • STARDEX Team Narrow Down Impact Of Global Warming On Specific Regions
  • Nature: Nearly One-Third Of US In Compliance With Kyoto Accords
  • Blair Urged To Back Binding Targets On Climate Change
  • Bush Aide Hints At US Targets On Greenhouse Gas Emissions

  • Envisat Monitors China's Largest Lake, Rivers Flooding
  • Illegal EU Timber Imports Fuel Forest Disappearance, Poverty In Poorer Countries
  • World's Forests Being Flushed Down The Toilet
  • NASA'S Icesat: One Billion Elevations Served

  • SatCon To Join GA's Superconducting DC Homopolar Motor Development Team
  • Clean Energy Changes Life Of People In Remote Regions
  • Argonne Researchers Discover Ways To Make Magnets Last Longer
  • Building a Better Hydrogen Trap

  • Poultry Flu Vaccines Need Independent Control: FAO
  • Bad News In British Columbia; Hope In Vietnam For Bird Flu
  • China Announces New Fatal Human Case Of Bird Flu
  • 21 Bird Flu Outbreaks In China This Year, Crisis To Get Worse: Official

  • New Measures Urged To Protect Dolphins And Other Friends In The Sea
  • Sapling Thrives From 2,000-Year-Old Seed
  • Pulp Mill Devastates Swans' Sanctuary In Chile
  • West African Nations Agree To Stop Jumbo Numbers Shrinking

  • 70% Of Rivers, Lakes Polluted In China
  • Major River Pollution Confirmed In NE China
  • China Admits Chemical Blast Polluted Major River, City Without Water
  • Russia Environment Officials Fear Water Pollution Following China Accident

  • Imaging Technique Visualizes Effects Of Stress On Human Brain
  • New Study Posits Evolutionary Origins Of Two Distinct Types Of Laughter
  • One, Two, Threes not A, B, Cs
  • California Scientists Double Volume Of Data In NIH Biotech Repository

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement