Astrocytes, not microglia, are responsible for constantly eliminating unnecessary and excessive adult synaptic connections in response to brain activity.
Women who breastfeed have a reduced risk of developing diabetes, a new study reports. In mouse models, lactation improved glucose tolerance and increased beta-cell mass three weeks post-delivery. Prolactin produced as a result of lactation induced serotonin production of beta cells. Findings suggest serotonin mediates the long-term beneficial effects of lactation of female metabolic health by increasing beta-cell proliferation and reducing oxidative stress in beta-cells.
The neuropeptide somatostatin improves visual processing and cognitive behaviors by reducing excitatory inputs to parvalbumin-positive interneurons in mice.
KAIST researchers have identified a new mechanism that causes tremors associated with Parkinson's disease. The findings, researchers say, overturn long standing assumptions about how tremors occur in Parkinson's disease.
