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Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·May 1, 2020·5 min read

Parkinson’s dyskinesia mechanism explained

Involuntary movements and tremors caused as a result of taking dopamine replacement medications for Parkinson's disease can be alleviated through the suppression of RasGRP1.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 1, 2020·5 min read

How dopamine drives brain activity

Neuroimaging reveals how dopamine released from the striatum influences brain activity in the motor cortex and insular.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 29, 2020·4 min read

How CBD takes effect in the brains of people with psychosis

During memory tasks, people with psychosis have different patterns of activity in the prefrontal and mediotemporal brain areas compared to those without the disorder. When exposed to cannabidiol (CBD), the activity of the brain areas became more like those seen in the controls for people with psychosis. Patients reported a decrease in symptoms of psychosis following one dose of CBD. Researchers stress that no definitive conclusions could be made about the effectiveness of CBD use over a sustained period.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·January 27, 2020·5 min read

Parkinson’s disease may start before birth

10% of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are between the ages of 21 and 50. For those with young-onset Parkinson's disease, researchers report the foundations for the disease may have been apparent before they were born. The study also points to a drug, currently approved to treat precancerous skin growths, that has the potential to reduce elevated levels of alpha-synuclein.

This shows the mPFC and striatum highligted on a brain scan

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 17, 2020·5 min read

Rich rewards: ADHD medication’s effect on the brain

Methylphenidate may boost norepinephrine levels in the prefrontal cortex, which in turn regulates dopaminergic neurons firing in the striatum, when a reward is delivered. The study sheds new light on how medications for ADHD affect the reward system in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·December 27, 2019·3 min read

A molecular map of the brain’s decision-making area

Using RNA sequencing, researchers have created a spatiomolecular map of the striatum, an area of the brain implicated in decision making and addiction.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 4, 2019·3 min read

Promising steps towards hope for a treatment for schizophrenia

Mu-opioid receptor (MOR) levels are significantly reduced in the striatum in those with schizophrenia. A lack of MOR system stimulation contributes to negative feelings, such as a lack of motivation and anhedonia, associated with the condition. Increasing MOR levels could help to reduce some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 13, 2019·4 min read

How emotion affects action

Researchers have identified a comprehensive circuit mechanism that governs how emotional states can influence movement through connections in the basal ganglia. The mechanism represents a way in which emotional states relate to changes in action control in depression, anxiety, and OCD.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 27, 2019·4 min read

Neurological brain markers might detect risk for psychotic disorders

Researchers have identified a new biomarker for psychosis in the striatal dopamine neurons. Those at risk for psychosis showed increased activation in the striatum for positive feedback and decreased activation when faced with negative feedback.

This shows a watercolor of a person walking

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 1, 2019·3 min read

Brain activity may help predict success of CBT in depression

Only 45% of patients with major depressive disorder find benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). A neuroimaging study reveals those who respond to CBT have greater neural activity in the right striatum and right amygdala pretreatment than those who find little benefit from the treatment. The findings could serve as a biomarker to discover who will respond to CBT.

This shows a child looking at a DNA double helix

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 25, 2019·4 min read

Brain protein mutation from child with autism causes autism-like behavioral change in mice

Researchers implanted a genetic mutation that encodes the DAT protein from a child with ASD into mice. The mice began to exhibit autism-like behavioral deficits. Mice with the DAT T356M mutation had reduced social interaction and a loss in social dominance. The mice also demonstrated an increase in hyperactivity. At the physiological level, the researchers found impaired striatal dopamine transmission and clearance.