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Chinese Academy of Science

·May 13, 2025·4 min read

Social Status Shapes Addiction Risk Through Dopamine Circuitry

A new study reveals how social rank influences addiction vulnerability by altering dopamine pathways in the brain. Low-ranking male mice showed stronger reward signals and weaker control circuits, making them more prone to seek methamphetamine, while high-ranking mice had better balance and resistance.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 8, 2025·4 min read

How Brain Signals Shape Its Protective Waste Disposal Network

The brain’s meningeal lymphatic system plays a key role in clearing waste and transporting immune cells, but until now, how it develops was unclear. Using zebrafish and advanced imaging, researchers revealed that neural activity regulates this system by influencing specialized glial cells that release Vegfc, a key growth factor.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·April 4, 2025·4 min read

Autism-Linked Gene Alters Face Perception in Dogs

A new study shows that Beagle dogs with mutations in the autism-linked Shank3 gene exhibit face processing abnormalities similar to those seen in humans with ASD. Using behavioral tests, eye-tracking, and brain recordings, researchers found that these dogs paid less attention to faces—especially the eye region—and showed delays in brain responses to facial cues.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·January 7, 2025·4 min read

Unlocking Spinal Cord Regeneration: Astrocytes Lead the Way

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are challenging to treat due to the limited regenerative capacity of the central nervous system. A new study reveals that while ependymal cells in the spinal cord show minimal repair potential, astrocytes can transdifferentiate into oligodendrocytes, aiding in remyelination.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 14, 2024·4 min read

Humans Can Detect Quick Chemical Changes in Smells with Each Sniff

Human olfactory perception, traditionally viewed as slow, can actually detect rapid changes within a single sniff, as shown by new research. Using a precise sniff-triggered device, researchers presented different odors in close succession and found that participants could distinguish between them with only a 60-millisecond delay. This challenges the notion that our sense of smell is limited in speed, revealing a temporal sensitivity similar to visual perception.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 4, 2024·4 min read

Study Validates Impulsivity as a Stable, Measurable Personality Trait

A new study confirms impulsivity as a stable and measurable personality trait. Using data from 1,676 participants, researchers identified a general impulsivity factor, I, which effectively predicts impulsive behaviors. They developed the Adjustable Impulsivity Scale (AIMS) for precise measurement. Findings enhance understanding and measurement of impulsivity.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·May 25, 2024·3 min read

Aging Reduces Sensitivity to Heat Pain but Not Pressure Pain

Aging reduces sensitivity and discriminative ability for heat pain, but not pressure pain. Researchers compared pain perception in young and older adults using heat and pressure stimuli.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 22, 2024·4 min read

Astrocytes Play Crucial Role in Mental Health

New research reveals the pivotal role of astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in modulating risk assessment behaviors, which are often disrupted in mental disorders. The study used advanced techniques to explore how these brain cells influence a specific group of neurons in the BLA that are crucial for evaluating threats.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·February 1, 2024·5 min read

Mapping the Brain: The Largest Neuron Projectome Unveiled

Researchers unveiled the most extensive single-neuron projectome database to date, featuring over 10,000 mouse hippocampal neurons. The study provides an unprecedented view of the spatial connectivity patterns at the mesoscopic level, crucial for understanding learning, memory, and emotional processing in the hippocampus.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 21, 2023·3 min read

Brain Region That Links Language to Social Cognition Identified

Researchers discovered that neural activity in the left ventral temporoparietal junction (vTPJ) and the lateral anterior temporal lobe (lATL) during sentence processing is tied to social-semantic working memory. Previously, these regions were attributed to general language processing. Using fMRI experiments, the study demonstrated that these regions respond to sentences with social meaning and maintain activity even after the linguistic stimulus is gone. This insight reshapes our understanding of the brain's cortical language network.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 27, 2023·4 min read

Amotivation and Anhedonia Key to Social Functioning in Schizophrenia

Amotivation and anhedonia, rather than expressive dysfunction, are crucial to determining the social functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. The transdiagnostic network analysis examined the relationship between negative symptoms, other psychopathologies, and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 29, 2023·4 min read

Schizophrenia Identified in 60 Seconds via Visual Fixation

Researchers have identified spatial and temporal abnormalities in spontaneous fixational saccades as a potential biomarker for cognitive and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Researchers combined patient data of fixational eye movement recorded over 60 seconds with machine learning technology, which was able to determine schizophrenia with 85% accuracy. This discovery suggests that fixational saccades could serve as an easily obtainable complementary diagnostic tool for the condition.