FeaturedNeurologyNeurosciencePsychology·December 4, 2019·2 min readKey brain region smaller in birth control pill usersA new neuroimaging study reveals women who take oral contraception have reduced hypothalamic volume compared to women who do not take the pill. Smaller hypothalamic volume was associated with increased negative emotions and depression risk.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscience·November 6, 2019·3 min readScientists identify new puberty-promoting genesResearchers have identified two molecules that might be linked to Kallmann syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes a lack of hormones which stimulate the brain to produce signals required to reach sexual maturity.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·October 17, 2019·3 min readHow hunger makes food tastierStudy identifies the neural circuits that cause hunger-induced increases in the preference for sweet foods and decreased sensitivity to aversive tastes.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·September 19, 2019·5 min readThe brain may actively forget during dream sleepREM sleep has previously been linked to memory formation. A new study reveals this sleep period may also be critical for us to forget certain memories, preventing information overload. Researchers identified a mechanism involving MCH neurons which causes us to forget information during sleep.Read More
FeaturedGeneticsNeuroscience·September 16, 2019·4 min readBrain activity intensity drives need for sleepGalanin expressing neurons are selectively active during rebound sleep. The expression of galanin increases after neuronal activity and sleep deprivation. The neuropeptide plays a critical role in sleep homeostasis.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·September 9, 2019·3 min readHigh-fat diets affect your brain, not just your physical appearanceHigh-fat diets are not only bad for your waistline, they are also bad for your brain health. A new study reveals high-fat diets contribute to hypothalamic inflammation which occurs long before symptoms of obesity arise.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·September 5, 2019·4 min readBrain circuit connects feeding and mood in response to stressA new study identifies a novel neural network regulating feeding and mood in response to chronic stress. Inhibiting the POMC to ventral tegmental area circuit increases body weight and food intake while reducing depressive symptoms in mouse models.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·July 22, 2019·2 min readHypothalamus pathway drives defense behaviorsA newly discovered pathway that links the hypothalamus and midbrain drives innate defense behaviors. The findings could have implications for developing therapies for anxiety disorders.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·July 20, 2019·3 min readNewly discovered neural pathway processes acute light to affect sleepStudy challenges the widely accepted belief that all light information is relayed through the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which synchronizes the circadian rhythm.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·July 4, 2019·5 min readUnraveling the brain’s reward circuitsStudy reveals how ArGP and dopamine neurons are linked, and how food and drugs affect them differently. The findings offer clues for the development of new treatments for obesity and substance use disorders.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·June 25, 2019·3 min readThese neurons affect how much you do, or don’t, want to eatNeurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) appear to regulate food intake. The neurons appear to form part of a network that controls appetite loss in mice.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·June 24, 2019·2 min readResearchers identify new hunger pathway in the brainNewly identified network in the hypothalamus alters feeding behaviors on a shorter timescale. The pathway affects food intake and body weight by releasing GABA, which may occur due to the detection, and not the consumption of food.Read More
