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This shows a scared looking woman in a crowd

·October 7, 2020·4 min read

The Effects of Oxytocin on Social Anxiety Depend on Location

Oxytocin produced in the BNST increased stress-induced social anxiety behaviors in mice. The findings shed light on why oxytocin can sometimes provoke anti-social effects.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 6, 2020·4 min read

Excess Folic Acid During Pregnancy Harms Brain Development

Study of pregnant mice found excess folic acid is detrimental to brain development in fetuses. Mice exposed in-utero to higher doses of folic acid had significant brain changes compared to those who were exposed to lower doses.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 22, 2020·5 min read

Complications From Diabetes Linked to Worse Memory and IQ in Children

Study links diabetic ketoacidosis to lower IQ scores and worse memory in children with type 1 diabetes.

Featured Psychology

·September 20, 2020·4 min read

People’s Life Goals Relate to Their Personality

People formulate personal goals consistent with their personality traits, and their goals are related to how their personality changes over time.

Autism Featured Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 15, 2020·5 min read

Pregnant Mother’s Immunity Tied to Behavioral and Emotional Challenges for Kids With Autism

Children born to mothers who experienced immune disorders during pregnancy, including allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and autoinflammatory syndromes, are more likely to exhibit behavioral and emotional problems. The child's sex may interact with maternal immune conditions to influence the outcome of ASD symptoms. While maternal immune disorders were associated with emotional and behavioral problems in children on the autism spectrum, there was no association with reduced cognitive function.

Autism Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 10, 2020·5 min read

GI Symptoms Linked to Behavioral Problems in Children, Especially Those With Autism

Preschool-aged children on the autism spectrum were 2.7 times more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems, including pain, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting than their typically developing peers. Almost 50% of those with ASD reported frequent GI symptoms, compared to 18% of those without the disorder. 30% of autistic children experienced multiple GI symptoms. Multiple GI problems were associated with sleep and attention problems, as well as self-harm, aggression, and repetitive behaviors in both children with ASD and those not on the autism spectrum.

Featured Psychology

·July 21, 2020·3 min read

Insight Into Toddlers’ Awareness of Their Own Uncertainty

When it comes to decision making, researchers discovered toddlers experience and deal with uncertainty in the same way as older children and adults.

Featured Genetics Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 24, 2020·4 min read

Unexpected mental illnesses found in a spectrum of a rare genetic disorder

Fragile X syndrome patients with prematuration had a much earlier onset of neurological problems, including earlier symptoms of neurodegeneration. They also experienced emotional processing problems. Some of the most common emotional processing disorders reported were mood regulation, anxiety, and psychosis.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 28, 2020·5 min read

Autism severity can change substantially during early childhood

A new study reveals up to 30% of children diagnosed with autism had less severe symptoms at age six than they did at age three. In some cases, children lost their autism diagnoses entirely. Girls are more likely to show a greater reduction in autism symptoms and less of a rise in the severity of symptoms than boys on the autism spectrum.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 4, 2020·5 min read

New insight on maternal infections and neurodevelopmental disorders

Maternal inflammation has been linked to a range of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in children, including autism and schizophrenia. A new mouse study reveals maternal responses and subsequent developmental disorders are based on the mother's immunoreactivity to infection.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 3, 2020·3 min read

How important is speech in transmitting coronavirus?

Aerosolized particles produced while speaking may be enough to transmit coronavirus infection by those who are asymptomatic.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·August 14, 2019·4 min read

Brain molecule identified as key in anxiety model

Boosting neurotrophin-3 in non-human primates changes dispositional anxiety. The findings could pave the way for new treatments to curb anxiety in humans.