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Virginia Tech

·April 16, 2025·3 min read

How Obesity Rewires the Brain’s Food Reward Circuits

A new research initiative is investigating how obesity reshapes brain circuits involved in reward, motivation, and emotion, potentially driving unhealthy food decisions. The cross-disciplinary team will use cutting-edge electrochemical techniques to measure real-time brain chemical responses to food-related stimuli in humans.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·April 2, 2020·5 min read

How T. gondii infection causes seizures, and psychiatric illness for some

Study shows how Toxoplasma parasitic infections promote the loss of inhibitory signaling in the brain by altering the behavior of microglia.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 28, 2021·6 min read

Improved Learning Processes Tied to Reduced Symptoms of Depression

Specific neural learning processes are linked to symptoms of depression. Improvements in the learning processes were associated with overall improvements in depression symptoms.

This is an AI representation of a brain.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 29, 2023·5 min read

Innovative Fiber to Tackle Alzheimer’s Developed

A collaborative team is developing a neural fiber to combat Alzheimer’s disease. This high-priority NIH-funded project aims to create a minimally invasive fiber, capable of electrical stimulation and drug delivery, to study and potentially reverse memory loss.

Featured Neurology

·June 26, 2018·4 min read

Insights Into Amyloids Associated with Alzheimer’s and Type 2 Diabetes

A new study sheds light on the stabilizing forces of amyloid fibrils associated with Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Brain Cancer Featured Neuroscience

·October 14, 2020·4 min read

Jet Lag Conditions Impair Immune Response

Jet lag alters the microenvironment around cancerous tumor cells, making it more favorable for tumors to grow, and hinders the body's natural immune response.

Brain Cancer Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·May 30, 2025·6 min read

Lab-Designed Peptide Targets Glioblastoma Stem Cells

A newly developed lab-designed molecule, JM2, may offer a promising therapy to combat glioblastoma recurrence by targeting the tumor’s most resilient cells. Researchers discovered that glioblastoma stem cells rely on the protein connexin 43’s interaction with microtubules—an interaction disrupted by JM2.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 28, 2023·4 min read

Linking Stress to Comfort Food Cravings: A Brain Chemical’s Role

Researchers uncovered a brain molecule's role in triggering comfort food cravings after experiencing stress. Their research reveals that the molecule Proenkephalin, located in the hypothalamus, is crucial in inducing overeating following a stressful event.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·October 13, 2025·6 min read

Lymphatic Damage Tied to Chemo Brain Fog

New research reveals that chemotherapy may cause “chemo brain” by damaging the brain’s lymphatic system — the network responsible for clearing waste and supporting immune function. Using mouse models and human-engineered tissues, scientists found that common drugs like docetaxel shrink lymphatic vessels and impair drainage, leading to memory deficits and cognitive decline.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Pain

·May 13, 2021·6 min read

Missing Piece of the Lyme Disease Puzzle Identified

NapA, a protein associated with the peptidoglycan of Borrelia burgdorferi, plays an amplifying role in causing inflammation in Lyme disease associated arthritis.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·February 8, 2025·7 min read

Mitochondria’s Role in Social Memory May Offer Clues to Brain Disorder

Researchers have identified a unique mitochondrial process in CA2 neurons that supports learning, memory, and social recognition. Mitochondria in different parts of these neurons vary in structure and function, with those at the outermost synapses relying on the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) for plasticity. Deleting the MCU gene disrupted this plasticity, highlighting its crucial role in maintaining neural connectivity.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·July 17, 2024·5 min read

New Technique Shows Promise in Fighting Brain Cancer

Researchers developed a new method, burst sine wave electroporation (B-SWE), to treat glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor. B-SWE disrupts the blood-brain barrier more effectively than traditional methods, allowing cancer drugs better access to the brain.