FeaturedNeurologyNeuroscience·April 18, 2019General anesthesia hijacks sleep circuitry to knock you outStudy reveals anesthesia activated neurons have been discovered in the hypothalamus. Activation of AANs promotes slow-wave sleep, extending the effects of anesthesia, while inhibition of AANs shortens the duration of general anesthetics and disrupts natural sleep. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·March 30, 2019Had Enough Water? Brain’s Thirst Centers Make a Gut CheckHydration signals from the gut travel via the vagus nerve to activate thirst neurons in the SFO. These neurons signal to cells in the median preoptic nucleus, driving animals to drink and the kidneys to conserve water in the bloodstream. Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeurosciencePsychology·February 22, 2019Finding the Elusive Drinking ‘Brake’Researchers have uncovered a mechanism in the BNST that senses the negative effects of alcohol and modulates the urge to drink. The study reports that when this mechanism doesn't function correctly, we lose the ability to recognize that we have had enough to drink. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·February 18, 2019How Animals Remember and Find Their Way Back to Food SourcesStudy reveals the hippocampus may overlay existing mental maps with information about reward and hazard derived from food found in specific locations. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·February 14, 2019Brain Pathways of Aversion IdentifiedResearchers have identified a specific pathway between the hypothalamus and habenula that controls feelings of aversion. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·February 11, 2019Brain Cells that Modulate Behavioral Response to Threats IdentifiedResearchers implicate neurons within the dorsolateral septum in the regulation of fearful behaviors in mice. Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscience·January 31, 2019Identity Crisis of Satiety Neurons Leads to ObesityA new study reveals the molecular switch that helps control the function of satiety neurons and body weight. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·January 21, 2019Unexpected Link Between Feeding and Memory Brain Areas DiscoveredA new study reveals how NCOR1/2 regulates memory involving a newly identified circuit between the lateral hypothalamus and hippocampus. Researchers believe the findings could have implications for future studies related to ASD and neurodegenerative diseases. Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·January 17, 2019Wired for Obesity: Genes Involved in Development Can Affect Body WeightStudy reveals people with obesity have more mutations in semaphorin signaling in the hypothalamus, implying semaphorins may be critical for maintaining a healthy body weight. Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·January 7, 2019Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Alter Brain Gene ActivityResearchers depression and anxiety alters energy metabolism in the brain. Read More
FeaturedNeurologyNeuroscience·November 29, 2018Rewriting the Brain Pathway for ConsciousnessResearchers say a new discovery about the pathways associated with consciousness contradicts conventional belief. The study reports the thalamus is not a critical part of the brain's pathway involved in wakefulness and consciousness, a finding that could help develop better methods for treating comas. Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·November 15, 2018Seeing and Smelling Food Prepares the Liver for Digestion: Mouse StudyResearchers say the sight and smell of food alone may be enough to prompt the liver to start the processes that help digest food. Read More
