Beyond Dopamine: New Brain Reward Circuitry Discovered
In a paper published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers pushed the science forward on our reward pathways. The key to overcoming addictions and psychiatric disorders lives…
Neuroscience
Mice Can Actually Learn Much Faster than Previously Thought
A new experimental setup for studying animal behavior and learning. Your commute to work may seem like a mundane thing, but it is a great…
AI Accurately Predicts Brain Age From EEG Signals Recorded During Sleep Studies
Brain age indices have potential value as diagnostic biomarkers and ‘vital signs’ of brain health. A study published in the journal Sleep shows that a…
Wireless Microscale Neural Sensors Enable Next-Generation Brain-Computer Interface System
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are emerging assistive devices that may one day help people with brain or spinal injuries to move or communicate. BCI systems depend…
Brain Mechanism Behind Compulsive Alcohol Use Discovered
A small group of nerve cells in the brain determines whether an individual continues to consume alcohol even when it has negative consequences. This is…
Scientists Surprised To Find Neurons in Visual Cortex of the Brain “Drift” Over Time
New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals that neurons in the visual cortex — the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli…
How Brain Cells Compensate for Damage From a Stroke – New Results Challenge Current Ideas
New results challenge the current model of how the brain can reorganize in the aftermath of stroke damage. A study from UCLA neurologists challenges the…
Neuroscientists Discover Beige Fat “Indispensable” in Protecting Brain From Dementia
Beige is considered a calming paint color, and scientists have new evidence that beige fat has a similar impact on the brain, bringing down the…
Brain Memory Signals Linked to Blood Sugar Levels in New Research
Brain Signals That Help Memories Form May Influence Blood Sugar A set of brain signals known to help memories form may also influence blood sugar…
Human Brain Organoids Grown in Lab With “Eyes” That Respond to Light
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be used to generate brain organoids containing an eye structure called the optic cup, according to a study…
Protein Pathways: Mentally Stimulating Jobs Linked to Lower Risk of Dementia in Old Age
Certain proteins might provide clues to underlying biological mechanisms, say researchers. People with mentally stimulating jobs have a lower risk of dementia in old age…
How (and Where) the Brain Analyzes Math and Language When Spoken
Math and language processed by separate networks even if heard together. Separate math and language networks segregate naturally when listeners pay attention to one type…
Trains in the Brain: Switching System Used in Information Processing and Memory Uncovered
A team of scientists has uncovered a system in the brain used in the processing of information and in the storing of memories — akin…
New Technique Identifies Proteins in the Living Brain – Offers Insight Into Brain Diseases and Treatments
Tool could help researchers better understand brain diseases and potential treatments. For the first time, researchers have developed a successful approach for identifying proteins inside…
National Institutes of Health Small Business Funding Boosts Alzheimer’s Science Advances
New paper highlights history and recent successes in advancing research from concept to commercialization. Small business program funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA),…
Chemists Find an Effective Remedy for “Aged” Brain Diseases Such As Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Scientists obtained substances that provide a breakthrough in the treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies. Russian scientists have synthesized chemical compounds that can stop the degeneration of…
Ancient Herbal Medicine From Asia May Offer Relief to Veterans With Gulf War Illness
Andrographolide, a popular herbal medicine in Southeast Asia, might restore gut microbiomes and viromes that have been altered by chronic multi-symptom illnesses like Gulf War…
New Research Reveals How Smell Receptors Work – Answers Decades-Old Question of Odor Recognition
All senses must reckon with the richness of the world, but nothing matches the challenge faced by the olfactory system that underlies our sense of…