Keyword: brain research

What happens in the brain when our conscious awareness of the surrounding world and of ourselves fades during general anesthesia and normal sleep? This fundamental question was studied with novel experimental designs and functional brain imaging by Finnish scientists. They succeeded in separating the specific changes related to consciousness from the more widespread overall effects, commonly misinterpreted as the neural correlates of consciousness. The effects of anesthesia and sleep on brain activity turned out to be surprisingly similar.

Researchers at the University of Turku have discovered what type of neural mechanisms are the basis for emotional responses to music. Altogether 102 research subjects listened to music that evokes emotions while their brain function was scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study was carried out in the national PET Centre.

Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Ángel García de Lucas has received Marie Curie Fellowship for the project GABARPET with the objective to gain deeper insight on the biology of schizophrenia.

A new study conducted in Turku reveals how symptoms indicating depression and anxiety are linked to brain function changes already in healthy individuals.

The European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) has nominated an original innovative clinical research article conducted at the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital as one of the three best clinical papers of the years 2019–2020. The first author of the article, Specialising Medical Doctor Iftakher Hossain, was also selected for the 3rd position of the Aesculap EANS Research Prize 2020. 

Opioids regulate the feelings of pleasure and pain in the brain. A study by the national Turku PET Centre shows that age, sex and smoking influence μ-opioid receptor density in the brain. The results of the study help to better understand the differences between individuals when it comes to neuropsychiatric disorders.

Finnish research team maps neural activity in response to watching horror movies. A study conducted by the University of Turku shows the top horror movies of the past 100 years, and how they manipulate brain activity. The findings were published in the journal Neuroimage.

A company based in Turku, PianoDuo ConFuego Company Oy, is donating €100,000 to the University of Turku. The donation will be allocated to neurological research on the impact of listening to music on the results of treating patients with brain diseases. The donation event was organised on 19 December 2019.