Latest

UCLA

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·May 1, 2020·3 min read

Schizophrenia drug combined with radiation shows promise in treating deadly brain tumors

Trifluoperazine, a dopamine receptor antagonist commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, used in combination with radiation therapy delays the growth of glioblastoma brain tumors and prolongs survival for brain cancer.

This shows the word welcome written in different languages

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 8, 2020·4 min read

Bilingualism Delays the Onset of Alzheimer’s Symptoms

People who spoke two or more languages proficiently were, on average, four years older at the onset of Alzheimer's disease than those who were monolingual.

This shows the firing patterns of the neurons

Featured Neuroscience

·March 3, 2020·4 min read

How our brains create breathing rhythm is unique to every breath

Each breath begins with hundreds of individual neurons haphazardly firing at low levels, then quickly synchronizing. The synchronization prompts activity that signals diaphragm and chest muscles to contract, causing expansion and inhalation. As the signal subsides, exhalation occurs.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 19, 2020·4 min read

Neuroimaging reveals empathy can be detected in people whose brains are at rest

Brain activity while in a resting state can predict how empathetic a person is. Researcher used a combination of neuroimaging data and machine learning to identify subtle patterns in brain activity associated with empathy.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 14, 2020·4 min read

Acetaminophen and forgiveness may alleviate emotional and physical pain of exclusion

For those who face social rejection, researchers believe they have found a simple antidote. The study reports combining the over-the-counter pain killer acetaminophen with a dose of forgiveness can help alleviate both the physical and emotional pain of social rejection.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 12, 2020·5 min read

Gene associated with autism also controls growth of the embryonic brain

In normally developing mice, the autism-associated Foxp1 gene was activated earlier than previously believed. This occurred during the period when apical radial glia was beginning to expand in numbers and generate a subset of neurons found deep in the developing brain. Mice lacking Foxp1 had fewer apical radial glia at the early stages of brain development.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 4, 2020·5 min read

Blood test identifies risk of disease linked to stroke and dementia

Six proteins in the blood can be used to assess a person's risk of developing cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). CSVD has been linked to an increased risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

This is a drawing of a man sitting on a chair holding their head

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·November 4, 2019·4 min read

How brain injury can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder

Traumatic brain injury caused five times as many neurons in the amygdala to be active during white noise exposure in rats. Altered sensory processing within subcortical sensory-emotional networks following TBI impacts the facilitation of traumatic memory and may contribute to the development of PTSD.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·October 23, 2019·3 min read

Study identifies brain injury as a cause of dementia in some older adults

MRI neuroimaging can distinguish between memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. Using new image analysis software, researchers discovered TBI causes the most amount of damage to the ventral diencephalon, a brain area associated with memory and learning, and the least amount of atrophy to the hippocampus, a brain region most impacted by Alzheimer's.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 6, 2019·5 min read

How serotonin and a popular anti-depressant affect the gut’s microbiota

Serotonin and SSRIs like Prozac can have a major effect on gut bacteria. When exposed to serotonin, specific gut bacteria grew to higher levels. However, when exposed to SSRIs, the bacterium grew to much lower levels in mouse models.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 21, 2019·4 min read

X chromosome gene may explain why women are more prone to autoimmune diseases

Kdm6a, a gene on the X chromosome appears to be associated with the development of autoimmune diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. The gene is expressed more in the immune cells of females than males. When Kdm6a was deleted in mouse models of MS, the animals had improved symptoms and reduced inflammation. The findings shed light on why women are more prone to autoimmune diseases than males.