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microglia

This shows a person holding their head in pain.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain Psychology

·March 19, 2026·9 min read

Why Chronic Pain Leads to Depression

New research reveals that the hippocampus acts as a control center for chronic pain, and a specific "inflammatory switch" determines who develops depression.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 12, 2026·8 min read

Immune Cells in the Brain Discovered to Control Puberty and Reproduction

Scientists discover that fertility is controlled by the brain's defense cells, identifying a new genetic link to human infertility.

This shows a brain surrounded by processed foods.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 19, 2026·10 min read

Processed Foods Silence the Brain’s Fear Center

Three days is all it takes. New research proves that skipping fiber can trigger rapid inflammation in your brain's emotional center, leaving you vulnerable to poor decisions.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 5, 2025·5 min read

Brain’s Immune Cells Found to Protect Against Alzheimer’s Damage

Researchers have uncovered how the brain’s immune cells, called microglia, can act as protectors rather than destroyers in Alzheimer’s disease. By lowering the immune regulator PU.1, microglia began expressing lymphoid-like receptors that reduced inflammation and preserved cognitive function in mouse models.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·October 6, 2025·5 min read

Hidden Early Signs of Diabetic Blindness Revealed

Scientists have developed a powerful new imaging method that reveals how immune cells in the eye behave long before visible damage occurs in diabetic retinopathy. Using a combination of a head-fixation device, contact lenses, and a custom objective lens, researchers were able to capture live, high-resolution images of microglia activity in diabetic mice.

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.