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amygdala

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·April 5, 2022·3 min read

Genetic ‘Hotspots’ That Speed up and Slow Down Brain Aging Could Provide New Targets for Alzheimer’s Drugs

15 newly discovered "hotspots" in the genome that either speed up or slow down brain aging could be new targets for the development of Alzheimer's medications and therapies for other brain disorders.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 3, 2022·4 min read

Midbrain Projection to the Basolateral Amygdala Encodes Anxiety-Like Behaviors

A ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron circuit that projects to the basolateral amygdala selectively controls anxiety-like behaviors, but not depression-like behaviors.

This shows the amygdala highlighted in a brain scan

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·March 25, 2022·6 min read

Amygdala Overgrowth in Babies Who Later Develop Autism

Overgrowth of the amygdala at 6 - 12 months is an early indicator of autism diagnosis later in childhood and could be used as an early diagnostic for ASD in children.

This is a cartoon of a scared looking man running

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 24, 2022·4 min read

Brand-New Brain Pathway to Fear Discovered

The sensory cortex, not the amygdala, is responsible for storing fear memories from past experiences, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·March 19, 2022·4 min read

How the Action of the Eye Triggers Brain Waves to Help Remember Socially Important Information

A new study uncovers how the amygdala reacts and triggers memory-making activity when the eyes come to rest on a face versus another object or image.

This shows a graph and the location of the amygdala in the brain

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 14, 2022·3 min read

Loneliness Has a Different Neural Basis Than Social Anxiety

People with social anxiety have increased amygdala activity during social decision making, and reduced activity in the nucleus accumbens during social feedback. Those who are lonely did not experience the same alterations as those with social anxiety, suggesting loneliness is a unique condition.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 10, 2022·4 min read

Brain Region Associated With Feeling Full After Eating Identified

Researchers have identified a brain region and neural circuitry that mediates satiation.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 10, 2022·6 min read

Amygdala Changes in Autistic Individuals Linked to Anxiety

Autistic children with traditional anxiety had significantly greater amygdala volume than children without ASD. Those with autism-distinct anxiety had significantly lower amygdala volume.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 8, 2022·4 min read

Newly Discovered Effect of Hyperthyroidism on Brain

Hyperthyroidism causes the amygdala and hippocampus to shrink when hormone levels are high, but when hormone levels subside, symptoms reduce and the brain areas resume their normal size.

This shows a growth chart, brain scans, and the faces of females at different ages from childhood to old age

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 1, 2022·4 min read

Growth Charts for the Brain Help to Understand Mental Illness

Researchers have developed new brain growth charts that provide reference models for brain development and aging across the entire lifespan.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·October 29, 2021·4 min read

Brain Circuitry for Both Positive and Negative Valence Affected by Trauma

The severity of PTSD symptoms was associated with fewer risky choices and increased activation of the amygdala. Decreased activity in the ventral striatum, an area of the brain associated with processing positive valence such as reward, predicted more severe PTSD symptoms 14 months post trauma.