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Osaka University

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·August 18, 2025·3 min read

Enzyme Repairs DNA to Prevent Brain Disorders

A new study shows that the DNA repair enzyme Polβ plays a vital role in protecting the developing brain from harmful mutations. Researchers found that without Polβ, insertion-deletion mutations near CpG sites rose sharply, threatening genetic stability during crucial stages of brain growth.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·February 19, 2025·4 min read

Unlocking Cellular Youth: The Protein That Reverses Aging

Scientists have identified a key protein, AP2A1, that may hold the secret to reversing cellular aging. The study found that suppressing AP2A1 in older cells led to rejuvenation, while overexpressing it in young cells accelerated senescence.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 22, 2024·3 min read

Brain Ripples Reveal Daydreams’ Origins

Researchers discovered a link between "sharp-wave ripples" in the hippocampus and self-generated thoughts like daydreaming. These ripples, originating in the memory center of the brain, were more frequent during sleep and associated with vivid, imaginative thoughts. Understanding this brain activity could shed light on various mental conditions.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 2, 2024·4 min read

How the Flu Virus Invades the Brain

Researchers uncovered how the influenza virus may infiltrate the brain, leading to a serious condition known as influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE). The study identifies endothelial cells, which form the blood-brain barrier, as the primary entry points for the virus.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 2, 2024·4 min read

Environmental Toxins Shorten Happy Lifespans

Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery linking environmental contaminants to a reduced span of emotional wellbeing. By utilizing a novel risk assessment tool, the study calculates the loss of happy life expectancy (LHpLE) due to exposure to environmental carcinogens like radon, arsenic, and fine particulate matter, and psychological distress.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 23, 2024·4 min read

Ketamine’s Key to Unlocking Social Bonding in Depression

Researchers made a significant breakthrough in understanding how ketamine treats depression-related social impairments, focusing on the drug's effects in the mouse model. Their study shows that (R)-ketamine, as opposed to (S)-ketamine, effectively restores neuronal activity in the anterior insular cortex, a region crucial for emotional regulation and social cognition.

This shows a little girl in a field of flowers

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 23, 2023·5 min read

Getting Kids Outdoors Can Reduce the Negative Effects of Screen Time

Exposure to excessive screen time at age two is associated with poorer communication and daily living skills at age four, however, spending time outdoors can mitigate some of the negative effects of screen time.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 22, 2022·3 min read

Shedding Light on Oxytocin, the Happy Hormone

A newly developed fluorescent sensor is able to detect oxytocin in living animals.

This shows a sign with arrows pointing to the "right" and "wrong" ways

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 9, 2022·3 min read

Are We Born With a Moral Compass?

Study reports young infants can make and act on moral judgments, shedding new light on the origins of human morality.

This shows a diagram from the study with a person sitting at a desk looking at a picture of a monkey and the output from the ECoG system

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 18, 2022·4 min read

Scientists See What People Picture in Their Mind’s Eye

Using electrocorticogram technology to capture brain waves, researchers found the meaning of what people imagine can be determined from brain wave patterns, even if the image differs from what a person is looking at.

This shows a drawing of a mouse and a diagram of the claustrum activation

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·March 18, 2022·3 min read

Switching off Specific Brain Cells Protects Against Stress

Using chemogenetic technology to deactivate a small group of neurons in the claustrum made mice more resilient against chronic stress and reduced anxiety behaviors.

This shows a woman's face and brain scans from the study

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·April 19, 2021·3 min read

Mirror, Mirror…Viewing Your Own Face, Even Subconsciously, Is Rewarding

Viewing a subliminal image of their own faces, participants showed an increase in activity in the dopamine reward pathway in the brain. Findings shed new light on the underlying neural processes of self facial recognition.