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Researchers use 3D electron microscopy to unravel dense networks in the cerebral cortex

Unlike any other organ, our brains contain extremely densely packed networks of membranous cables that are used by our about 86 billion nerve cells for communication amongst each other.

24 Oct 2019

Unhealthy gut microbiome reduces brain synaptic pruning, impairs learning

A new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University has come up with more explanations of how gut microbes communicate with the brain neurons. The study, published in the journal Nature on October 23, 2019, examined the brains of mouse models and found that when the gut microbiome is significantly reduced, there are changes in gene expression in the brain’s microglial cells.

24 Oct 2019

Gene linked to schizophrenia likely confers risk for illness

Researchers have discovered in mice how one of the few genes definitively linked to schizophrenia, called SETD1A, likely confers risk for the illness. Mice genetically engineered to lack a functioning version of the enzyme-coding gene showed abnormalities in working memory, mimicking those commonly seen in schizophrenia patients.

24 Oct 2019

Molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells revealed

New cellular and molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells have been described for the first time by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell's Ithaca campus.

23 Oct 2019

MIT neuroscientists find a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice

People with autism often experience hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory input. MIT neuroscientists have now identified two brain circuits that help tune out distracting sensory information, and they have found a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice by boosting the activity of those circuits.

23 Oct 2019

Q-Suite Motor Assessment Tool helps detect subtle motor abnormalities in children

In clinical trials of adults with Huntington's disease (HD) the Q-Suite Motor Assessment Tool (Q-Motor) has proven to be helpful to detect and quantitate subtle motor abnormalities.

22 Oct 2019

Patterns unique to the striatum observed in people with Huntington's disease

The part of the brain that selectively degenerates in people with Huntington's disease (HD), called the striatum, is almost entirely destroyed in the late stages of the disease. Brain samples from mutant HD gene positive individuals who had not yet developed symptoms by time of death are extremely rare. As a consequence, very little is known about the active disease process that causes the devastating symptoms of HD.

21 Oct 2019

Scientists show how our memories stabilize while we sleep

Scientists at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology have shown that delta waves emitted while we sleep are not generalized periods of silence during which the cortex rests, as has been described for decades in the scientific literature.

18 Oct 2019

Newly introduced BARseq technology can be used to expand the brain map

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Anthony Zador has taken the next step in his quest to solve exactly how the brain is wired.

17 Oct 2019

Green areas in cities can improve the wellbeing of urban citizens

Tost, H., et al. (2019) Neural correlates of individual differences in affective benefit of real-life urban green space exposure. Nature Neuroscience. doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0451-y.

17 Oct 2019

Semantic memory deficits linked to eating disorders in patients with dementia

For the first time, it has been shown that deficits of semantic memory, an ability we use to recognize objects and use them correctly, are involved in specific eating disorders shared by patients suffering from dementia.

17 Oct 2019

Electrical brain implants enable patient to have 'mind control' of motorized prosthetic arms

In a set of proof-of-concept experiments, Johns Hopkins researchers have implanted electrodes in both sides of the brain of a person who is mostly paralyzed — with minimal sensation in his hands — to enable him to have some “mind control” of motorized prosthetic arms.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 15 Oct 2019

Signs of aging detected by a simple walking test at age 45

A new study has shown that the speed at which persons over 45 years of age walk could be an indicator of their brain and body age. The team of researchers from Duke University found that persons who walked slowly were more likely to have “accelerated aging” compared to those who walked faster.

14 Oct 2019

Researchers shed light on abnormal neuronal activities caused by myelin impairment

The neural circuit basis for motor learning tasks when myelination is impaired has been illuminated for the first time by an international collaboration of university research teams.

11 Oct 2019

Neuroscientists show how different brain regions interact to create and retrieve memories

Neuroscientists at the University of Birmingham have proved how different parts of the human brain work together to create and retrieve episodic memory.

10 Oct 2019

New brain imaging study debunks controversial theory about dyslexia

New brain imaging research debunks a controversial theory about dyslexia that can impact how it is sometimes treated, Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists say.

9 Oct 2019

Location does not restrict brain remapping

The new function of unused brain regions is not restricted by the function of nearby regions, according to new research in adults born with one hand published in JNeurosci.

9 Oct 2019

Study finds why people crave more high-fat foods after a sleepless night

When you're sleep deprived, you tend to reach for doughnuts, fries and pizza. A new Northwestern Medicine study has figured out why you crave more calorie-dense, high-fat foods after a sleepless night -- and how to help thwart those unhealthy choices.

9 Oct 2019

Lack of sleep increases junk food cravings via nose-brain interactions

After a night without sleep, the hand reaches out almost automatically for anything rich, sweet and unhealthy – a change in food choice which could increase the body weight if practiced consistently over a significant period of time

9 Oct 2019

Criticality is a hallmark of normally functioning brain networks, research shows

Researchers long wondered how the billions of independent neurons in the brain come together to reliably build a biological machine that easily beats the most advanced computers. All of those tiny interactions appear to be tied to something that guarantees an impressive computational capacity.

8 Oct 2019