FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·December 9, 2019·3 min readHow playing the drums changes the brainDrummers have higher microstructural diffusion in the corpus callosum, an area of the brain that connects the two hemispheres and which plays a critical role in motor planning.Read More
FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology·December 2, 2019·3 min readWhy stress doesn’t always cause depressionRats susceptible to anhedonia have more serotonin neurons in the ventral dorsal raphe nucleus. However, activating neurons in the central amygdala reduced the serotonin signaling and lowered the effects of social stress.Read More
FeaturedNeurologyNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·November 25, 2019·5 min readStudy shows extra virgin olive oil staves off multiple forms of dementia in miceExtra virgin olive oil may protect against cognitive declines linked to tauopathy diseases, specifically frontotemporal dementia.Read More
FeaturedNeurologyNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·November 19, 2019·4 min readBrain scans reveal how the human brain compensates when one hemisphere is removedThe brains of adults who received hemispherectomies as children had unusually strong connections between functional brain networks in the remaining hemisphere, which help the body to function as if the brain were intact.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·November 18, 2019·3 min readKetamine reduces drinking in male rats, but not femalesKetamine reduced alcohol intake in male rat models of alcohol use disorder but increased the desire for alcohol in low-consumption females.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·November 16, 2019·4 min readYour brain on sugar: What the science actually saysFrom reducing memory capability to increasing the risk of diabetes and obesity, researchers investigate how sugar affects the brain and body.Read More
ElectrophysiologyFeaturedNeurologyNeurosciencePainPsychology·September 26, 2019·4 min readMolecular link between chronic pain and depression revealedInhibitory inputs to the neural circuit between the dorsolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dlBNST) to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) increase when a person is in chronic pain. This alteration is mediated by enhanced corticotropin-releasing factor signaling within the dlBNST, leading to suppression of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. The result is depressive mood and anhedonia associated with chronic pain.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·September 13, 2019·2 min readDiscovering biological mechanisms enabling pianists to achieve skillful fingeringExpert pianists have altered mechanisms by with tactile and proprioceptive sensations suppress activity in the primary motor cortex.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·August 19, 2019·3 min readOnline brain games can extend in-game ‘cognitive youth’ into old agePlaying online games which are mentally taxing can help older adults to reduce cognitive decline associated with aging. Older adults who played brain training games showed similar brain functionality as younger people who were less practiced at the games.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·July 8, 2019·4 min readStructure of brain networks is not fixedBrain networks are spatially and functionally fluid, and not static, as previously believed.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscience·June 26, 2019·2 min readThe secret of autobiographical memory is in assembly of cellsThe size and shape of neural assemblies, and not the strength of signals processed by neurons or the order in which they fire, is the most critical element of recording episodic memory.Read More
FeaturedNeuroscienceOpen Neuroscience Articles·June 12, 2019·3 min readLearning fine motor coordination changes the brainStudy identifies a population of neurons in an area of the midbrain, called the red nucleus, that alter when fine motor skills are learned. The more an action is practiced, the stronger the connections between these neurons become.Read More
