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University of Zurich

·February 26, 2024·4 min read

Live Music’s Unique Spark: A Brain’s Emotional Journey

Live music significantly amplifies emotional responses in the brain compared to recorded tunes. By measuring amygdala activity, researchers found that live performances evoke stronger emotional reactions, fostering a deeper cognitive and affective processing throughout the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 7, 2024·5 min read

Immune Cell Enzyme Links Stress to Depression

Researchers identified a novel 'body-mind mechanism' that links chronic stress to depression. They discovered that stress increases the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) in blood, which then impacts brain neurons, leading to social withdrawal behaviors in mice—a symptom observed in depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 26, 2024·4 min read

Income Gap Influences Friendships in Adolescents

A new study reveals that adolescents from low-income families are less socially integrated in school compared to their higher-income peers, regardless of the school's socioeconomic context. Analyzing data from 4,787 Swedish children in 235 school classes, researchers found that income status significantly impacts friendships, with students from poorer households having fewer friends.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·December 15, 2023·6 min read

Active Aging: Exercise and Social Life Shield Brain Health

Researchers uncovered the protective effects of physical and social activities on brain health in older adults. Analyzing data from a 12-year longitudinal study, researchers focused on the entorhinal cortex, vital for learning and memory and vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease.

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Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 10, 2022·5 min read

Blood Stem Cell Transplant Could Reboot Immune System in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

80% of patients with multiple sclerosis remain disease-free for the long term following an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 18, 2022·4 min read

Literacy Influences Understanding of Speech

The writing system with which we learn to read may influence how we process speech, researchers report. Findings suggest the ability to write influences the way in which our brains process language.

This shows images from the study of a man gesturing while talking

Featured Neuroscience

·July 10, 2022·4 min read

Gestures Can Improve Understanding in Language Disorders

When people with language disorders such as aphasia speak, their communication partners are more likely to pay attention to the speaker's hand movements and gestures. Gestures, researchers say, may help supplement understanding of what is being verbally communicated.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 1, 2022·3 min read

CPTSD: A New Diagnosis Category in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Researchers provide a new summary of symptoms for the diagnosis of CPTSD, a sibling disorder of PTSD that has recently been officially recognized by the WHO. CPTSD usually occurs following prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences, such as abuse, torture, or domestic violence.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 10, 2022·4 min read

Complex Human Childbirth and Cognitive Abilities a Result of Walking Upright

Bipedalism dramatically reshaped the hominin pelvis into a real birth canal. Researchers report Australopithecus had complex birth patterns compared to Great Apes and were likely to have practiced co-operative breeding.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·March 8, 2022·4 min read

Astrocyte Networks in the Mouse Brain Control Spatial Learning and Memory

In the brains of adult mice, astrocytes coupling contributes to neural functioning in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with spatial memory and learning.

This is a drawing of two people. One is facing forward, the other facing away

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·February 16, 2022·5 min read

Multiple Sclerosis Study With Twins Untangles Environmental and Genetic Influences

A study of monozygotic twins allowed researchers to discover which parts of immune dysfunction in multiple sclerosis were influenced by genetics, and which were influenced by environmental factors.

This shows a man standing at a blackboard covered in math equations

Featured Neuroscience

·January 2, 2022·4 min read

Academic Education Can Positively Affect Aging of the Brain

Older adults with an academic background showed lower increases of signs of brain degeneration than those who were less educated, a new study reports.