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synaptic pruning

Image shows the brain regions affected by pregnancy.

·December 19, 2016·4 min read

Baby Brain: Pregnancy Brain Changes Last 2 Years After Birth

Study reports significant reduction in gray matter volume in brain regions associated with social cognition for up to two years following birth.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 2, 2017·10 min read

Babies Exposed to Stimulation Get a Brain Boost

Contrary to popular belief, exposing children to stimuli early can help to boost their development, researchers report.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 3, 2017·4 min read

Brain Plasticity: How Adult Born Neurons Get Wired

Researchers report adult neurogenesis not only helps increase the number of cells in a neural network, it also promotes plasticity in the existing network. Additionally, they have identified the role the Bax gene plays in synaptic pruning.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·November 5, 2017·4 min read

Why Our Brains Need Sleep, and What Happens If We Don’t Get Enough

From consolidating memories to cleaning out toxins in the brain that accumulate during waking hours, researchers explore why sleep is so important and what happens when we don't get enough.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 30, 2017·4 min read

Helping the Brain Prune Bad Habits

Emory researchers report a drug approved in Japan for stroke, can help to stimulate neural pruning and help reduce habit driven behaviors in mice.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 4, 2018·3 min read

Brain’s Immune System May Be Key to Better Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders

Researchers investigate how synaptic pruning occurs during development in hopes of discovering how neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders occur.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 26, 2018·3 min read

Captured on Film For the First Time: Microglia Nibbling on Synapses

A new electronic microscopy study has captured microglia perform their role in synaptic pruning.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·April 17, 2018·2 min read

Brain Development Influenced by Immune System

A new study provides further evidence for immune system activation during pregnancy and disruptions in brain development. Many adult diseases, researchers say, may originate during fetal development.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 4, 2019·5 min read

Excess Immune Pruning of Synapses in Neural Cells Derived From Patients with Schizophrenia

Researchers have directly observed excessive synaptic pruning in cells derived from people with schizophrenia.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 4, 2019·4 min read

Exercise fine-tunes brain’s connections, eases autism spectrum disorder in mouse model

Participating in exercise improved synaptic pruning in mouse models of autism. The study also found microglia dependant synaptic pruning is impaired by maternal inflammation, which has been previously connected to the development of ASD.

This shows a teenage girl with flowers in her hair

Featured Neuroscience

·September 25, 2019·5 min read

Brain anatomy changes with maturation to adolescence

White matter tracts show increasing maturation with age from the back to the front of the brain. The maturations begin as a child reaches 9-12 years of age. The maturity correlates with a critical and formative period of development.