Researchers used optogenetics techniques to stimulate specific brain areas to increase neurogenesis and the production of neural stem cells to improve memory, cognition, and emotional processing in animal models.
Differences in gene expression in key brain areas may account for the reason some are less fearful of change than others.
A newly discovered brain circuit allows us to focus attention on what's important in the environment and ignore other sensory stimuli.
Stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy were associated with altered key features in fetal brain development, resulting in decreased cognitive offspring in a child at 18 months of age.
Pulsed electronically generated electromagnetic fields (EMFs) used for wireless communications produce electric and magnetic forces that act in the body's cells by activating voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). VGCC activation induces changes that increase intracellular calcium levels. Researchers link EMF exposure to changes that lead to excessive intracellular calcium. This could have implications for the development of Alzheimer's disease.
KNT-127, a chemically synthesized compound, helps suppress fear memories associated with PTSD, researchers report.
The HDAC9 enzyme appears to play a critical role in learning and neural communication. Decreased expression of HDAC9 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex has been noted in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers say HDAC9 may be a regulator of synaptic plasticity.
Information about new experiences is retained by being tied to pre-existing activity patterns in the brain. Memory is acquired when the patterns are connected to each other across brain regions via transient bursts of activity.
Brain mapping study reveals memory engrams are widely distributed throughout the brain, including among regions not previously realized.
The strength of the connection between the hippocampus and the intraparietal sulcus predicts a child's ability to learn number sense and mathematics.
A neuroimaging study of perinatal brains at 25 weeks of gestation reveals significant differences in brain structures in children who were later diagnosed with autism and those who were not. The findings add to the mounting evidence that ASD begins in early development.
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.
