Hypothalamus News and Research

RSS

The Hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Study: Thalamus is not a critical part of the brain pathway involved in maintaining consciousness

With a finding that will "rewrite neuroanatomy textbooks," University of Iowa neurologist Aaron Boes, MD, PhD, and his colleagues show that the thalamus is not a critical part of the brain pathway involved in keeping humans awake and conscious.

29 Nov 2018

New synthetic compound based on brain hormone holds promise for cancer treatment

A lab team led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Andrew Schally at the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and the University of Miami showed that a synthetic compound based on a brain hormone spurred the growth of cancer cells in Petri dishes but enigmatically had the opposite effect in mice.

6 Nov 2018

Birth mode may have acute effects on neurodevelopment, study suggests

Cesarean-born mice show altered patterns of cell death across the brain, exhibiting greater nerve cell death than vaginally delivered mice in at least one brain area, a finding by Georgia State University researchers that suggests birth mode may have acute effects on human neurodevelopment that may lead to long-lasting changes in the brain and behavior.

16 Oct 2018

Scientists discover molecular link between body weight and early-onset puberty

Becoming overweight at a young age can trigger a molecular chain reaction that leads some girls to experience puberty early, according to new research published in Nature Communications.

11 Oct 2018

Researchers identify neurons essential for normal sleep

Two decades ago, Clifford B. Saper, MD/PhD, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and colleagues discovered a set of nerve cells they thought might be the switch that turns the brain off, allowing it to sleep.

8 Oct 2018

Study shows how the drive to eat overpowers the brain’s signal to stop

University of Michigan researchers have studied two groups of brain cells that compete for the control of feeding behaviour and found that cells that drive the urge to eat overpower the ones that signal to stop.

21 Sep 2018

Study: Neural signal that urges to eat overpowers the one that says to stop

Almost everyone knows the feeling. You're at a restaurant or a holiday meal, and your stomach is telling you it's full, so logically you know you should stop eating.

21 Sep 2018

Sea squirt model reveals key molecules in dopaminergic neuron differentiation

The human brain is exceedingly complex, consisting of various regions with particular functions and approximately 100 billion neurons. This complexity has presented a major challenge in understanding this organ and how it develops, particularly in view of the ethical issues associated with research on humans.

20 Sep 2018

Brain region for stress control is enlarged in people with depression, finds study

According to the World Health Organization, 322 million people worldwide were affected by depression in 2015--4.4 percent of the world's population.

20 Sep 2018

Researchers identify a new cause of chronic stress in the brain

In an international collaboration between MedUni Vienna, Semmelweis University in Budapest, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and Yale University in the USA, researchers have identified a new process in the brain that is responsible for the delayed stress response and the long-term effects of stress: with a delay of 10 minutes after the "danger", the area of the brain that reacts to stress and responsible for further action is activated via the cerebral fluid.

14 Sep 2018

Particular immune cell seems to play key role in determining male or female characteristics

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have made a surprising discovery: during fetal development, a particular immune cell seems to play a key role in determining the male or female characteristics of the brain.

12 Sep 2018

New study gives insight into metabolic interactions that occur throughout the body

A recent paper published in the scientific journal Cell gives an unprecedented insight into the metabolic interactions that occur throughout the body over 24 hours.

7 Sep 2018

Researchers identify communication networks among organs and tissues that regulate metabolism

An international research team led by the University of California, Irvine has identified a system of communication networks that exists among organs and tissues that regulate metabolism.

7 Sep 2018

Study reveals mechanisms underlying inflammatory response in the brain associated with fever

Researchers from Kanazawa University report in Journal of Neuroscience performed a microdialysis study on mice to determine mechanisms underlying the inflammatory response in the brain associated with fever that might be used to develop new strategies for treatment.

31 Aug 2018

New study describes effect of radiation exposure on hormone deficiency in children

In a new study, University of Cincinnati researchers, in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, have detailed the effect of radiation exposure on the development of hormone deficiency in pediatric and young adult patients treated for brain tumors.

21 Aug 2018

Study reveals how immune cells in the brain influence sexual behavior

Researchers have found a surprising new explanation of how young brains are shaped for sexual behavior later in life.

14 Aug 2018

Father’s genes can affect quality of maternal care received by a newborn

A father’s genes are no longer thought to just provide a blueprint for the growth and development of their offspring.

1 Aug 2018

Brain's response to taste stimuli could play role in driving anorexia nervosa

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that the brain's response to taste stimuli is linked to high anxiety and a drive for thinness that could play a role in driving anorexia nervosa.

27 Jul 2018

Study looks into mechanisms that control sleep and wakefulness

Sleep is an autonomic process and is not always under our direct, voluntary control. Awake or asleep, we are basically under the regulation of two biological processes: sleep homeostasis, commonly known as 'sleep pressure', and the circadian rhythm, otherwise known as the 'body clock'.

20 Jul 2018

Animal studies reveal brain changes responsible for appetite effects of cannabis

New research on how cannabis use alters eating behavior could lead to treatments for appetite loss in chronic illness, according to experts at Washington State University.

17 Jul 2018