New research has discovered that a neural circuit may explain procrastination. Scientists were able to disrupt this connection using a drug. The brain avoids unpleasant tasks even if they promise reward, according to a recent study. The reason you decide to postpone household chores and spend your time browsing social media could be explained by the workings of a brain circuit. Recent research has identified a neural connection responsible for delaying the start of activities associated with unpleasant experiences, even when these activities offer a clear reward.

This will help scientists to understand the basic principles by which signals travel through the brain at the neural level and lead to behaviour and learning. An organism's nervous system, including the brain, is made up of neurons that are connected to each other via synapses. Information in the form of chemicals passes from one neuron to another through these contact points. The map of the 3016 neurons that make up the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster's brain, and the detailed circuitry of neural pathways within it, is known as a'connectome'. This is the largest complete brain connectome ever to have been mapped.

Researchers have found that genetically and pharmacologically restoring the normal activity of the brain circuit improved anorexia, opening the possibility of developing a treatment strategy for affected individuals in the future. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Louisiana State University and collaborating institutions has discovered that abnormal activity in a particular brain circuit underlies anorexia in an animal model of the condition. Genetically and pharmacologically restoring the normal activity of the brain circuit improved the condition, opening the possibility of developing a treatment strategy for affected individuals in the future. Anorexia has no approved treatment, and the underlying causes is unclear. The study was recently published in Nature Neuroscience.

Scientists have discovered a brain circuit that boosts maths skills in children and could even be targeted to improve learning. The circuit triggers an area near the back of the head known as the IPS (intraparietal sulcus), which is involved in processing figures, and is linked to the hippocampus where memories are stored. Before children can learn to add and subtract, they must learn which abstract symbol, like '4' or '6', represents which quantity, a skill also known as'number sense'. Experts know the IPS plays a role in number processing but the circuits involved in learning number sense had remained a mystery until now. Lead author Dr Hyesang Chang, of Stanford University, California, said: 'Mathematical skill development relies on number sense, the ability to discriminate between quantities.

The elemental constituent functions of human minds are not yet known, and the paths to identifying these basic "cognitive acts" are constrained at each end by biology and behavior. A coherent architecture derived bottom-up from brain circuits is proffered. We posit principles and pose questions about architectures, their composition, and their applicability to a described range of formidable tasks, with the primary intent of aiding in setting guideposts and challenges for ongoing architecture studies.

Scientists have found a way to control the human brain using a protein lurking inside a creature known as'vampire fish' that has lived on Earth for hundreds of millions of years. US scientists used a protein from a lamprey, which is an ancient lineage of jawless fish similar to eel, to turn off brain circuits associated with addiction, anxiety and depression. Researchers took a gene from the protein, called parapinopsin, and found they were able to control it in the way neurons communicate with each other. Parapinopsin also responds to light, allowing scientists use beams of light to turn off the circuit or reactivate it alter reward behaviors - which could lead to brain implants to deliver treatment. Those suffering with addiction, anxiety and depression may have often wished if they could just turn off their brain and the latest discover could soon make that happen.

Motivation to learn new things and engage with life declines with age due to falling activity in a brain circuit that weighs costs and benefits, a study on mice suggested. US experts have been studying'striosomes' -- clusters of cells in the basal ganglia, a brain area linked to habit formation, movement control, emotion and addiction. They team found that striosomes are key to the decision making process when dealing with'approach-avoidance conflict' -- when a choice has both pros and cons. For example, one such thorny problem might be whether or not to take a new job that pays better, but would also call for a move away from family and friends. Working with mice, the researchers found that striosomal activity is correlated to the evaluation of costs and benefits -- but that this activity diminishes with age.

A brain circuit that controls the compulsive drinking of alcohol has been discovered in mice, offering a hope of one day finding a cure for alcoholism in humans. Scientists have long sought to understand why some people are prone to develop drinking problems while others are not. The team's discovery in mice, if translated to humans, may provide doctors a way to reveal whether someone is likely to become a compulsive drinking later in life. Alcoholism is a chronic brain disease in which an individual drinks compulsively -- often accompanied by negative emotions. Whereas previous studies have focused on examining the brain after a drinking disorder develops, the researchers from the Salk Institute in California set out to prove that brain circuits can make some people more likely to be alcoholics.

If you are trying to lose weight, inviting friends round for a dinner party might be a good idea. Dining with other people could make someone eat less, a scientific study suggests. That is because the same part of the brain involved in social engagement also controls food cravings. A study tested this theory in mice, whose brains work in a similar way to those of humans. When scientists stimulated their social brain cells the animals were less interested in consuming a high-calorie treat.

A gene therapy treatment for Parkinson's disease appears to relieve symptoms by rewiring the brain circuits involved in movement. People with Parkinson's disease have tremors and muscle stiffness that are caused by overstimulation of a brain area called the subthalamic nucleus, which is responsible for coordinating the brain's motor regions. In a trial published in 2011, researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York found that a gene therapy designed to turn down the activity of the subthalamic nucleus improved motor control for people with Parkinson's. Though the treatment reduced Parkinson's symptoms for at least a year, it was unclear how. To find out, the researchers have since used PET scans to compare the brains of 15 people who received the gene therapy with 20 who received a placebo.