Study reveals why select members of a termite community experience brain changes in anticipation of cognitive demands.
A new study reports human brain size decreased in size approximately 3,000 years ago, and the brain shrinkage parallels the expansion of collective intelligence in human societies.
Computer tomography reveals modern human brain structures only originated between 1.5 to 1.7 million years ago in African Homo populations.
Study reveals the extinction of larger animals led to an increase in the volume of the human brain, and ultimately the development of language in early humans.
A new genetic study reveals the evolution of longevity and larger brains in capuchin monkeys.
Genes found in the placenta can accurately help predict the size of a baby's brain and its cognitive development, which, depending on other factors, could predict risk factors for schizophrenia in later life.
Two new studies shed light on brain development and changes in ASD. Researchers found the development of white matter tracts in the brain was linked to the severity of autism symptoms. Additionally, larger brain size at age 3 was linked to a larger brain size later in childhood.
Study reveals a new role for serotonin in the development of the human neocortex. Serotonin acts cell-extrinsically as a growth factor for basal progenitors in the developing neocortex. Researchers report placenta-driven serotonin likely contributed to the evolutionary expansion of the neocortex in humans.
During pregnancy, the maternal environment has a dominant influence on the length of the neurogenic period and the number of upper-layer neurons produced. The study reveals a link between the maternal environment and embryonic cortical neurogenesis in-vitro.
Depression and anxiety have a profound effect on brain areas associated with memory and emotional processing. In people with depression and anxiety, researchers noted shrinkage to the hippocampus. By contrast, the amygdala increased in size.
Greater hippocampal volume is not always a reliable predictor of learning and memory ability in older adults. Faster learning was only found in older adults who had both greater hippocampal volume and more uniform white matter connections to other parts of the brain.
Reduced gray matter volume in the insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may represent a genetically conferred predispositional risk factor for alcohol use disorder.
