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Kyushu University

·May 16, 2025·6 min read

Genetic Twist Behind Orange Cat Fur Finally Uncovered

After decades of mystery, researchers have finally identified the gene behind orange fur in domestic cats: a deletion mutation in the X-linked gene ARHGAP36. This mutation increases gene activity in pigment-producing skin cells, shifting fur color toward orange by altering pigment production pathways.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·June 11, 2024·5 min read

Brain Misleads Sight: New Insights on Visual Illusions

Researchers discovered new variations of the visual saltation illusion, where rapid light flashes in peripheral vision create perceptual errors. Their study shows that our brains misplace the second flash near the midpoint, regardless of its actual position.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 20, 2024·6 min read

Exercise Aids Memory Erasure in PTSD

Increased neuron formation in the hippocampus, stimulated by exercise or genetic manipulation, helps mice forget traumatic or drug-associated memories. This process involves rewiring neural circuits, disrupting the recall of fear memories. These findings offer potential new approaches for treating mental health conditions like PTSD and drug addiction.

This shows a woman sitting alone in a dark room.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 24, 2023·3 min read

Hikikomori: New Tool Sheds Light on Social Isolation Phenomenon

Researchers developed the Hikikomori Diagnostic Evaluation (HiDE), a new assessment tool for identifying pathological social withdrawal or hikikomori. This condition, initially identified in Japan, is characterized by extended physical isolation lasting over six months and is increasingly observed worldwide, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 8, 2023·5 min read

New Insights Into Synaptic Pruning During Brain Development

Researchers shed light on the largely unstudied process of synaptic pruning in brain development, using mouse mitral cells, a neuron type in the olfactory system. The research reveals that neurons receiving a neurotransmitter signal are protected via specific chemical pathways while other dendrites in the same cell are triggered to undergo pruning.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·January 28, 2023·5 min read

Measles Virus ‘Cooperates’ With Itself to Cause Fatal Encephalitis

Measles virus that persists in the body can develop mutations in the F protein, which controls how the virus infects cells. The mutated protein can interact with its normal form, making it capable of infecting the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 29, 2022·4 min read

Toward Early Detection of the Pathological Social Withdrawal Syndrome Known as ‘Hikikomori’

Hikikomori is a complex condition where a person withdraws from society and remains isolated at home for more than six months. The condition is becoming more prevalent in Western societies. Researchers have developed a new method designed to help detect hikikomori at an earlier stage and provide treatment.

This shows a woman sitting alone on a dock

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 1, 2022·4 min read

Finding the Biological Roots for the Pathological Social Withdrawal Known as ‘Hikikomori’

Hikikomori is a mental health disorder identified as a pathological social withdrawal. Researchers have discovered a number of biomarkers in the blood associated with hikikomori.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 8, 2021·4 min read

Which Came First, Sleep or the Brain?

With the help of water-dwelling hydras, researchers discover new evidence that animals acquire the need to sleep before developing a brain.

Featured Neurology Pain

·November 25, 2020·3 min read

New Mechanism of Pain Control Revealed

Stimulating noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus that carry signals from the brain down the spinal dorsal horn activates astrocytes. The astrocyte activation results in hypersensitivity to pain.