Frequent caffeine consumption reduces gray matter volume in areas of the right medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus. Ten days of "caffeine abstinence" helps regenerate gray matter. Read More
Study reveals how our brains navigate physical spaces and how we are able to keep track of other people's locations. Read More
Neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex respond more to loss than to gain. Avoidance of risk-taking is affected by an area of the hippocampus that is associated with memory and anxiety. The findings suggest a close relationship between memory processing and decision making when risk is present, especially in stressful situations. The fresh insights might help guide new psychiatric therapies for disorders marked by excessive avoidance, such as anxiety, and depression, and also mania and addiction, where excessive risk-taking is a common feature. Read More
Researchers have uncovered the neural mechanism underlying rumination. The study reports when rumination occurs, coupling between the core and medial temporal lobe subsystems of the default mode network becomes elevated, while coupling between the core and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex decreases. Read More
Some words are far more memorable than others. Researchers discovered our memories are wired into neural networks that allow the brain to search for these memories, much like the way search engines track down relevant information. Read More
The medial temporal lobe and medial parietal cortex work in tandem to assist in the recognition of faces and places. Read More
APOE4, a gene implicated as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, triggers leaks in the blood-brain barrier. The damage to capillaries APOE4 causes correlates with increased levels of cyclophilin, a protein that causes the inflammation that is a signature of early Alzheimer's. Read More
Hangxiety, the feeling of waking up with anxiety the morning after heavy drinking, is a common symptom associated with a hangover. Researchers explain how a heavy night's drinking alters neurochemistry, leaving some of us prone to waking with anxiety. Read More
Neural activity in the entorhinal cortex is correlated with place-based memories. The findings shed new light on how the brain processes spatial memory. Read More
Imagination helps us act altruistically, a new study reports. When we see others in trouble, we imagine how we can help before acting. Researchers implicate the medial temporal lobe subsystem in guiding our prosocial behaviors. Read More
Researchers have identified average levels of biological and anatomical brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease over thirty years before symptoms appear. In those with genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's, researchers found changes in cognitive performance up to 15 years before becoming symptomatic. Changes in Tau levels in the cerebral spinal fluid appeared up to 34 years before dementia symptoms occurred, and physical changes to the medial temporal lobe were apparent up to 9 years before cognitive impairment was apparent. Read More
LATE, a form of dementia that appears in the oldest-old is often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease, but the brain pathology is very different. The protein TDP-43 appears to play a significant role in the development of LATE. The neurodegenerative disease may progress more gradually than Alzheimer's, but when combined with Alzheimer's disease (a common combination), appears to cause a more rapid decline than either would alone. Read More
