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Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 5, 2017·7 min read

Brain’s Immune Cells May Drive Overeating and Weight Gain

Researchers report microglia, immune cells found in the brain, may trigger overeating and increase weight gain as a response to high fat diets. The study suggests targeting microglia could provide new treatment options to help curb obesity.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 4, 2017·6 min read

Flame Retardant Exposure Found to Lower IQ in Children

Children whose mothers were exposed to PBDEs during pregnancy may have a lower IQ than their peers who did not experience prenatal exposure, a new study reports. Researchers found that every 10 fold increase of maternal PBDE levels was associated with a drop of 3.7 IQ points in her child.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 10, 2017·6 min read

Hormone Shows Promise as Cognition Enhancer

Researchers report klotho, a life extending protein, improved working memory, spatial memory and learning in mice. The researchers also noted a single injection of klotho was sufficient to improve cognitive ability and the effects were long lasting.

Image shows a diagram of neural circuits.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2017·5 min read

Deep Sleep Reinforces the Learning of New Motor Skills

According to UCSF researchers, during non-REM sleep, newly learned useful neural patterns are replayed and recapped.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·August 24, 2017·6 min read

How the Human Brain Detects the ‘Music’ of Speech

Researchers at UCSF discover neurons in the superior temporal gyrus change activity depending on where emphasis falls in a sentence.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 11, 2017·5 min read

Protein Links Alcohol Abuse and Changes in Brain’s Reward Center

A new Neuron study reports blocking the action of the mTORC1 protein causes mice to stop problem drinking behaviors. The findings could help develop new treatments for addictive behaviors in people.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·September 11, 2017·10 min read

Gut Microbes May Influence Multiple Sclerosis Progression

Two new studies published in PNAS suggest gut microbes may play a key role in the neurodegeneration associated with multiple sclerosis. The findings could help researchers identify new therapies to help treat the autoimmune disease, such as dietary changes and drugs based on microbial byproducts.

Featured Genetics Neurology

·September 22, 2017·4 min read

Multi-Gene Test Predicts Alzheimer’s Better Than ApoE4 Alone

UCSF researchers have developed a new genetic risk factor test that takes into account more than 24 genetic variants, each of which are associated with a small risk of Alzheimer's disease. The researchers say the test is a better method to help identify preclinical Alzheimer's than testing for ApoE4 alone.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·September 22, 2017·5 min read

How Ketogenic Diets Curb Inflammation

The neurological benefits experienced by those with epilepsy who follow ketogenic diets may be a result of the low carb diet lowering brain inflammation, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos

·October 4, 2017·3 min read

Flashing Neurons in Worms Reveal How the Brain Generates Behavior

Researchers use new brain imaging technology to investigate how the nervous system of C. elegans works to generate specific behaviors.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 11, 2017·8 min read

Allergy Drug Improves Function in Patients with Chronic Injury from Multiple Sclerosis

UCSF researchers reveal a common over the counter antihistamine appears to accelerate neural signaling and restore nervous system functioning for some multiple sclerosis patients.