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Northwestern University

·May 20, 2025·4 min read

Body’s Own Cannabinoids May Help Control Trauma-Linked Fear

A new study reveals that a natural cannabinoid in the body, 2-AG, plays a crucial role in regulating fear responses, particularly in individuals with PTSD and anxiety. Researchers found that lower levels of 2-AG in both mice and humans were linked to exaggerated or overgeneralized fear reactions to non-threatening stimuli. This suggests that 2-AG helps the brain distinguish real threats from harmless cues, acting as a natural filter for fear.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 24, 2025·6 min read

Lingering Bacterial Debris May Drive Post-Treatment Lyme Symptoms

New research suggests that lingering cell wall fragments from the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, may be responsible for persistent symptoms long after antibiotic treatment. These fragments, made of a unique form of peptidoglycan, appear to accumulate in the liver and joints, triggering inflammation and immune responses even after the infection is gone.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 23, 2025·6 min read

Babies Learn Words Without Visuals

Infants as young as 15 months can use language context to infer the meaning of words referring to objects they’ve never seen. Researchers found that when 15-month-olds heard a new word in a familiar context—like "kumquat" during a conversation about fruit—they later identified the unseen object correctly.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 22, 2025·6 min read

Your Brain Learns From Fear, Thanks to Dopamine

New research reveals how dopamine helps the brain learn to avoid unpleasant outcomes by responding differently in distinct brain regions during negative experiences. In a study with mice, scientists tracked dopamine activity over time as animals learned to escape an adverse event, showing that one brain area adapted early in learning while another supported long-term avoidance behavior.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·April 12, 2025·5 min read

New Genes Linked to Parkinson’s Risk Revealed

Researchers have long wondered why some people with high-risk Parkinson’s gene variants develop the disease while others don’t. A new study has uncovered that additional genetic players, particularly the Commander gene complex, influence whether the disease manifests.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 3, 2025·5 min read

Study Reveals Brain Circuits That Drive Political Passion and Intensity

A new study has identified specific brain networks that regulate the intensity of political engagement, regardless of ideology. By analyzing Vietnam War veterans with localized brain injuries, researchers found that damage to the prefrontal cortex increased political fervor, while damage to the amygdala reduced it.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 3, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Transforms Speech Pitch into Meaning

A new study reveals that Heschl’s gyrus, once thought to only process sound, actually plays a crucial role in interpreting speech melody, or prosody. Researchers tracked brain activity in epilepsy patients with implanted electrodes and found that this region encodes pitch accents as meaningful linguistic signals, separate from word sounds.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 17, 2024·4 min read

Breathing Rhythms During Sleep Strengthen Memory Consolidation

New research shows that breathing rhythms during sleep synchronize brain waves in the hippocampus, a region essential for memory consolidation. These brain waves—slow waves, spindles, and ripples—occur at specific points in the breathing cycle, suggesting breathing plays a key role in memory processing.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 3, 2024·5 min read

Gut Microbes May Have Powered Evolution of Larger Brains

A new study suggests that gut microbes played a key role in the evolution of larger brains in primates by influencing energy production and usage. Researchers implanted microbes from humans, squirrel monkeys (large-brained species), and macaques (small-brained species) into mice, observing that microbes from larger-brained primates enhanced energy production, while those from smaller-brained primates favored fat storage.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 23, 2024·5 min read

Our “Reptilian” Brain Areas’ Role in Emotion and Social Skills

A new study uncovers constant communication between the human brain's social cognitive network, responsible for understanding others' thoughts, and the amygdala, known for processing fear and emotions. High-resolution brain scans revealed that this connection helps the brain integrate emotional importance into social interactions.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 2, 2024·7 min read

Polymer Therapy Shows Promise Against Huntington’s Disease

Scientists have developed a novel polymer-based therapy that could slow Huntington's disease progression by preventing harmful protein clumps in the brain. In a mouse model, this polymer therapy effectively halted cell death, improved neuron health, and enhanced motor function.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 24, 2024·6 min read

Lucid Dreaming Increased with Sensory Cues

A new study shows that a lucid dreaming app, using the method called Targeted Lucidity Reactivation (TLR), can increase lucid dreaming frequency from 0.74 to 2.11 dreams per week. This research demonstrated that sensory cues delivered during sleep significantly enhanced dream awareness, with participants reporting improved emotional states after lucid dreams. The app combines pre-sleep training with auditory cues, showing promise for sleep-based self-improvement.