FeaturedNeuroscience·July 19, 2025·4 min readFlavored Vapes Trigger Reward Centers Even Without NicotineA new study shows that some e-cigarette flavorings, like vanilla and cherry, can trigger reward-seeking behaviors in adolescent mice even without nicotine. Researchers found that these flavors alone could activate the brain’s dopamine system, raising concerns about their potential for fostering addiction-like behavior.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·July 19, 2025·6 min readMore Than Serotonin: How Psychedelics Engage the Whole BrainClassical psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline are known for activating the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, but a new study reveals their effects go far beyond. Researchers profiled 41 psychedelics against over 300 human receptors and found potent activity at serotonin, dopamine, and adrenergic sites.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·July 16, 2025·5 min readHow Dopamine Shapes Risky Reward BehaviorsNot all animals respond to reward cues the same way — some fixate on the cue itself, while others head straight for the reward. New research reveals that “sign trackers,” animals drawn to the cue, rely on dopamine in a specific brain region to form these associations, unlike “goal trackers,” who use a dopamine-independent mechanism.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·July 10, 2025·3 min readDopamine Acts Locally, Not GloballyNew research has overturned decades of belief about how dopamine communicates in the brain, showing it acts with pinpoint precision rather than broad diffusion. Scientists discovered that dopamine is released in localized hotspots, allowing highly specific and timely messages to nerve cell branches.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·June 17, 2025·5 min readLow Sodium Linked to Anxiety Through Brain Chemistry DisruptionChronic hyponatremia—long viewed as symptomless—is now shown to disrupt brain chemistry and cause anxiety-like behaviors, according to a new study in mice. Researchers found that prolonged low sodium levels reduced serotonin and dopamine in the amygdala, a brain region vital for emotional regulation.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·June 6, 2025·5 min readBrain’s Reward Center Tracks Not Just What, But When Rewards ArriveThe brain’s ventral tegmental area (VTA) encodes not only the value of anticipated rewards but also the precise timing of when those rewards are expected. Long known for its role in producing dopamine and guiding reward prediction, the VTA is now shown to process reward expectations on multiple time scales.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·June 5, 2025·10 min readDopamine Neurons Map Future Rewards, Not Just Past OnesPopulations of dopamine neurons don't simply signal reward prediction errors—they encode rich maps of possible future outcomes, including when and how much a reward might be. This diverse, adaptable neural code mirrors cutting-edge AI strategies known as distributional reinforcement learning.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeurosciencePsychology·June 3, 2025·4 min readShared Genetic Signatures Found Across Psychiatric DisordersResearchers have uncovered shared biological mechanisms across major psychiatric disorders by analyzing postmortem brain samples from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Instead of looking at gene expression broadly, they zoomed in on the exon level—the building blocks that influence how proteins are made.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·May 31, 2025·8 min readBlocking Opioid Receptors May Restore Healthy Dopamine BalanceNew research identifies a promising strategy for correcting dopamine imbalances in the brain using a drug that blocks kappa opioid receptors (KOR). In mouse models with a rare mutation that causes dopamine to leak abnormally, KOR blockers reduced this leakage and restored normal behavior.Read More
AutismFeaturedGeneticsNeurologyNeuroscience·May 29, 2025·5 min readLink Found Between Autism and Early-Onset Parkinson’s RiskA large-scale Swedish study has found that individuals with autism are at significantly higher risk of developing early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Researchers followed over two million people and discovered that those with autism were four times more likely to develop the neurodegenerative condition before age 50.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·May 18, 2025·3 min readVitamin B1 Derivative Sparks Dopamine, Boosts WakefulnessThiamine derivatives, once developed to treat nutrient deficiencies, are now being explored for their potential effects on brain function and energy. A new study shows that TTFD, a thiamine derivative, increases dopamine in the brain’s medial prefrontal cortex, leading to enhanced arousal and physical activity in rats.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·May 18, 2025·4 min readLight Exercise Boosts Memory via Dopamine and NoradrenalineNew research reveals that even light exercise, like jogging or yoga, activates key neurotransmitter systems that enhance memory by stimulating the hippocampus. In a rat model mimicking human exercise, scientists found that dopamine and noradrenaline levels increased in the hippocampus during low-intensity activity.Read More
