“Area 32” – How the Brain Balances Emotion and Reason
“Area 32” balances activity from cognitive and emotional brain areas in primates. Navigating through life requires balancing emotion and reason, a feat accomplished by the…
Society for Neuroscience
Contradicting Previous Theories, Neuroscientists Find Overlap Between Fear and Anxiety Brain Circuits
Contrary to previous theories, fear and anxiety reflect shared neural building blocks. Fear and anxiety reflect overlapping brain circuits, according to research published today (September…
Why Time Sometimes Flies or Drags: How the Brain Creates the Experience of Time
Time-sensitive neurons fatigue and skew our perception of time. On some days, time flies by, while on others it seems to drag on. A new…
Deep Inside the Brain: Neuroscientists Discover the Missing Piece of the Brain’s Multitasking Network
Deep inside the brain the putamen, not just the cortex, contributes to multitasking ability. Multitasking performance stems from the speed of information exchange between inner…
Prenatal Depression Weakens Child’s Brain Connectivity – Associated With Increased Aggression and Hyperactivity
Weakened brain connections may mediate prenatal depression’s influence on child behavior. Altered brain connectivity may be one way prenatal depression influences child behavior, according to…
Scientists Uncover Brain Mechanism That May Explain Why Sleep Helps You Learn
Changes in Brain Cartilage May Explain Why Sleep Helps You Learn Scientists uncover a potential mechanism behind sleep-induced memory changes. The morphing structure of the…
Motherhood Overrides the Brain’s Decision-Making – Prioritizes Offspring Over Cocaine
Infralimbic cortex prioritizes offspring over drugs, promotes maternal behavior in rats. Motherhood takes over the brain’s decision-making regions to prioritize caring for offspring, according to…
The First Few Weeks of Weightlifting Strengthens the Nervous System, Not Muscles
Lifting Weights Makes Your Nervous System Stronger, Too The first few weeks of weightlifting strengthen the reticulospinal tract, not muscles. Gym-goers may get frustrated when…
Adult-Born Neurons Grow More Than Their Counterparts From Infancy – May Even Have Unique Functions
Neurons created via neurogenesis mature longer, grow larger, and may have unique functions. Adult-born neurons keep growing and contributing to brain flexibility long after neurogenesis…
Feeling Disconnected? Loneliness Alters Your Brain’s Social Network
Feeling disconnected from others is reflected by how the brain represents relationships. Social media sites aren’t the only things that keep track of your social…
Monkeys Experience the Uncanny Valley Effect, Just Like Humans
Monkeys Appreciate Lifelike Animation: New Realistic Avatar Can Overcome Uncanny Valley Effect Monkeys can overcome their aversion to animated monkeys through a more realistic avatar,…
Sex Differences in Alcohol Abuse: Fluctuating Estrogen Levels May Make Alcohol More Rewarding
Fluctuating estrogen levels may make alcohol more rewarding to female mice, according to new research in JNeurosci. Untangling the involved signaling pathways could unveil sex-based treatments…
A Child’s Unique Brain Activity Reveals Their Memory Ability
Brain network activity predicts working memory abilities during development. A child’s unique brain activity reveals how good their memories are, according to research recently published…
Unlocking the Neuroscience of How Experiencing Traumatic Stress Leads to Aggression
Strengthened amygdala pathways increase aggression, may be targets for PTSD treatment. Traumatic stress can cause aggression by strengthening two brain pathways involved in emotion, according…
Neuroscientists May Have Just Discovered Why Some People Are More Prone to Anxiety
Increased levels of serotonin transporters in the amygdala may be to blame. Anxiety-prone people can blame serotonin cleanup proteins gone awry in their amygdala, according…
Scientists Identify Structural Protein for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression
Tubulin traps important signaling molecules, leads to reduced brain messaging. Scientists have zeroed in on a structural protein as a new target for the diagnosis…
Researchers Discover How Stress Restructures the Brain
Stress restructures the brain by halting the production of crucial ion channel proteins, according to research in mice recently published in JNeurosci. Stress harms the brain…
Lactation Changes Electrical Signaling in Mom’s Brain – But It’s Reversible
Prolactin-controlling neurons in mice undergo reversible changes in how neurons communicate. Lactation temporarily changes how a mother’s neurons behave, according to new research in mice…