FeaturedNeurologyNeuroscience·March 13, 2022·5 min readEven Mild COVID Can Cause Brain Shrinkage and Affect Mental FunctionEven mild COVID-19 infection can lead to cognitive alterations and brain shrinkage, researchers report. The findings could help explain the brain changes that contribute to long-COVID.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·March 8, 2022·3 min readDiscovery of Novel Brain Fear Mechanisms Offers Target for Anxiety-Reducing DrugsResearchers have identified a new target in the brain that underpins the freezing response associated with anxiety and fear. The findings could provide a new drug target for anxiety-related disorders.Read More
FeaturedNeurologyNeurosciencePsychology·January 21, 2022·6 min readHow Do Tics Develop?A new study identifies a neural network that appears to be responsible for the development of tics and tic disorders. Researchers say deep brain stimulation applied to this network helps alleviate symptoms of tics.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·November 23, 2021·4 min readHow Value Decisions Are Coded Into Our BrainsPersistency allows value signals to be most efficiently coded across the brain, specifically in the retrosplenial cortex.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·November 22, 2021·4 min readInadequate Sleep Is Bad for Preteens’ BrainsInadequate sleep can harm brain organization in early adolescence, researchers report. The disorganization can have an impact on cognitive processes, including attention, memory, emotional regulation, and controlling behaviors.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·November 17, 2021·7 min readIn the Brain’s Cerebellum, a New Target for Suppressing HungerConstant hunger associated with Prader-Willi syndrome is, in part, the result of disordered signaling in the cerebellum, an area of the brain associated with motor control and learning.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscience·November 10, 2021·3 min readNew Recessive Neurodevelopmental Disorder IdentifiedResearchers have identified a new, rare neurodevelopmental disorder associated with a homozygous mutation in the PRDM13 gene. Features of the disorder included intellectual disabilities, ataxia with cerebellar hypoplasia, and delayed puberty with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·October 6, 2021·8 min readMapping the Mouse Brain, and by Extension, the Human Brain TooNew collaborative studies shed light on the organization of cells in key areas of the mouse brain and the organization of transcriptome, epigenomic, and regulatory factors that provide the brain cells with purpose and function.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscience·September 2, 2021·5 min readMany of the Fastest-Evolving Human Genes Linked to Evolutionary Changes in Brain DevelopmentAlmost half of the identified human accelerated regions of the genome appear to act as neurodevelopment enhancers, researchers say. The findings shed new light on the genetic basis of human evolution.Read More
ElectrophysiologyFeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·July 10, 2021·4 min readCell Structure Previously Associated With Disease Actually Improves Brain FunctionAxonal swelling in the Purkinje cells of mice had no detrimental impact on firing rate or the speed at which axons transmit signals. At peak firing rate, axons with swellings were less likely to fail than those without.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·May 6, 2021·4 min readThe Cerebellum May Have Played an Important Role in the Evolution of the Human BrainThe cerebellum underwent evolutionary changes that may have contributed to the development of language, culture, and tool use in humans, a new study reveals.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·April 14, 2021·4 min readStudy Maps Brain Regions Responsible For Intoxicating Effects of AlcoholThe effects of intoxication, such as slurred speech and poor coordination, are a result of the breakdown of alcohol products in the brain and not the liver.Read More