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University of Basel

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 16, 2021·4 min read

Regular Caffeine Consumption Affects Brain Structure

Frequent caffeine consumption reduces gray matter volume in areas of the right medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus. Ten days of "caffeine abstinence" helps regenerate gray matter.

This shows a high up view of a town from the VR headset

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 10, 2021·4 min read

Virtual Reality Helping to Treat Fear of Heights

Within four hours of using a new virtual reality smartphone app, those with a fear of heights report a significant reduction of their fears in real-life situations.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 3, 2020·4 min read

Molecular Mechanism of Long-Term Memory Discovered

Study implicates the mps-2 gene in the formation of long-term memory.

Featured Genetics Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 17, 2020·4 min read

Protective Factor Against Psychological Trauma Discovered

The NTRK2 gene has been implicated in resilience to developing PTSD following psychologically traumatic events. Previous studies outlined the role NTRK2 plays in memory formation. Those with increased regulation of the gene developed fewer traumatic memories following traumatic experiences.

Autism Featured Genetics

·August 5, 2020·4 min read

How a Gene Alteration Modifies Social Behavior in Autism

Researchers have uncovered a link between the Nlgn3 gene and the oxytocin signaling pathway in mouse models of ASD. Nlgn3 disrupts the oxytocin signaling pathway in neurons in the reward system, consequentially resulting in reduced social interactions in mice.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 30, 2020·3 min read

Laughter Acts as a Stress Buffer, and Even Smiling Helps

Laughing and smiling more might help to buffer against the effects of stress, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 16, 2020·3 min read

How exercise supports your mental fitness

Longer duration of exercise, and not higher total extent of activity, shows the most promise for improved cognitive performance over longer periods of time.

This shows Id4 expression in hippocampal neurons

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 29, 2019·3 min read

Signal blocks stem cell division in the geriatric brain

A gene regulated called Id4 appears to be a key component in controlling stem cell proliferation.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 25, 2019·3 min read

Why strength training might come at the expense of endurance muscles

Strength training may negatively impact endurance muscles. BDNF, which is increased during strength training and helps strength muscles to develop, decreases endurance muscle fibers.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 12, 2019·3 min read

Learning fine motor coordination changes the brain

Study identifies a population of neurons in an area of the midbrain, called the red nucleus, that alter when fine motor skills are learned. The more an action is practiced, the stronger the connections between these neurons become.

This shows a patient holding a guinea pig

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 9, 2019·3 min read

Animal-assisted therapy improves social behavior in patients with brain injuries

Animal-assisted therapy improves social behaviors and reduces negative emotions in those with TBI. The findings report those with brain injuries exposed to AAT experienced higher social engagement, satisfaction and motivation following therapy sessions.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·March 31, 2019·3 min read

30 Genes Associated with Schizophrenia Identified

A new phenotype atlas assisted researchers in identifying 30 genes associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed an essential role for the transcription factor znf536 in the development of forebrain neurons associated with social behavior and stress.