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microglia

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·August 28, 2025·4 min read

Brain Cells Behind Depression Identified

Researchers analyzing post-mortem brain tissue found two cell types altered in people with depression: excitatory neurons that regulate mood and stress, and microglia that manage inflammation. The findings highlight how depression is tied to measurable brain changes, not just emotional symptoms.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 28, 2025·5 min read

Immune Cells Found to Shape Teen Brain Circuits

Adolescence is a critical period for the brain’s frontal cortex, where executive functions mature and vulnerabilities to psychiatric disorders emerge. A new study shows that microglia, the brain’s immune cells, directly shape dopamine circuits during this time by strengthening axonal connections.

This shows a neuron attached to a flower, as though to imply the olfactory implications associated with Alzheimer's.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 17, 2025·4 min read

Immune Attack on Smell Pathways May Signal Early Alzheimer’s

A fading sense of smell may be one of the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and new research reveals why. Scientists found that microglia, immune cells in the brain, mistakenly remove nerve fibers connecting the locus coeruleus and olfactory bulb—two regions essential for processing odors.

This shows healthy microglia and neurons.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·8 min read

Microglia Transplant Restores Function in Degenerative Brain Disease

Scientists have developed a targeted brain cell transplant that could transform treatment for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. By depleting diseased microglia and replacing them with healthy donor precursor cells, researchers restored crucial enzyme function in the brain and dramatically extended lifespan in mice.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·July 25, 2025·3 min read

Microglia May Hold Key to Slowing Alzheimer’s Progression

Alzheimer’s disease is marked by toxic amyloid-beta protein clumps, but some people seem naturally protected. A new study reveals that a receptor called ADGRG1 enables immune cells called microglia to effectively clear these harmful plaques.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·July 24, 2025·4 min read

Immune Cells Ignore Retinal Damage While Microglia Step In

Unlike most tissues, the retina doesn’t summon neutrophils—the body’s typical first responders—when injured. Instead, microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, handle photoreceptor damage without calling for backup.

This shows a person on a treadmill and neurons.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·June 13, 2025·5 min read

Exercise Rewires Alzheimer’s-Affected Brain Cells

Using cutting-edge RNA sequencing, researchers mapped how exercise affects specific brain cell types in a model of Alzheimer’s disease. They found that physical activity alters gene activity in microglia and a newly identified type of astrocyte linked to blood vessels, which may protect memory.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 13, 2025·7 min read

CAR-T Brain Fog Mirrors Chemo and COVID

Patients receiving CAR-T cell therapy often report brain fog, and new research shows this cognitive impairment stems from the therapy itself, not just the cancer or other treatments. A mouse study revealed that CAR-T-induced immune responses activate brain microglia, triggering inflammation that damages myelin-producing cells, reducing signal efficiency in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 4, 2025·12 min read

Why Alcohol Hits Women Harder

Alcohol use among women has surged to match men’s rates, but women face far greater health risks even at lower consumption levels. A growing body of research is uncovering key neurobiological sex differences that influence why and how women drink, with stress being a more prominent motivator for women.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·April 22, 2025·5 min read

Microglia Reprogrammed to Deliver Precision Alzheimer’s Therapies

Researchers have developed engineered human microglia that detect disease-related brain changes and release therapeutic proteins precisely where needed. Using CRISPR technology, the team programmed these cells to secrete an enzyme that breaks down beta-amyloid plaques only in affected areas.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·April 10, 2025·5 min read

Blocking Tim-3 Boosts Microglia in Alzheimer’s

New research reveals that the immune checkpoint molecule Tim-3 plays a critical role in how microglia, the brain’s immune cells, respond to Alzheimer’s disease. While Tim-3 normally helps maintain brain homeostasis, it can also inhibit microglia from clearing harmful plaques that accumulate in Alzheimer’s.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 3, 2025·4 min read

Brain Changes From Early-Life Stress May Be Reversible

A new study reveals how prenatal infections followed by early-life stress—known as "two-hit stress"—can lead to brain dysfunction and psychiatric-like behaviors. Researchers found that affected mice showed abnormal cerebellar activity, increased microglial turnover, and impaired brain-wide connectivity.