Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Scientists report conserved role for serotonin in mediating social behavior in octopus, humans

The mood-altering drug MDMA - which promotes positive, friendly social interactions in humans by inhibiting serotonin uptake in nerve cells - has a similar behavioral effect in an octopus species, scientists report today.

21 Sep 2018

Under the sea, in an octopus' garden on ecstacy - neuroresearch

A new study has found that when octopuses are intoxicated with MDMA, they act like humans who are high on the same drug. This has led to speculations that humans and octopuses could have an evolutionary link.

21 Sep 2018

Dopamine neurons may involve in conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to schizophrenia

Dopamine neurons are located in the midbrain, but their tendril-like axons can branch far into the higher cortical areas, influencing how we move and how we feel.

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

First evaluation of benefits, harms of Alzheimer's screening for family members of older adults

With the support of a new $3 million, five-year National Institute on Aging grant, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Center for Aging Research are conducting the first evaluation of the benefits and harms of Alzheimer's disease screening for family members of older adults.

20 Sep 2018

Neurons in the human brain can encode numerical information

How do we know if we're looking at three apples or four? Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Tübingen are now one step closer to answering this question.

20 Sep 2018

Eating fatty fish during pregnancy may boost unborn child's brain development

Women could enhance the development of their unborn child's eyesight and brain function by regularly eating fatty fish during pregnancy.

20 Sep 2018

First intracranial aneurysm patients treated with BRAVO Flow Diverter after CE mark approval

CERENOVUS, part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, announced today that the first patients have been treated with the BRAVO Flow Diverter, following recent CE mark approval for the device to be used in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

20 Sep 2018

Mediterranean-style diet appears to reduce stroke risk in women

One of the largest and longest-running efforts to evaluate the potential benefits of the Mediterranean-style diet in lowering risk of stroke found that the diet may be especially protective in women over 40 regardless of menopausal status or hormone replacement therapy, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

20 Sep 2018

Older individuals with multiple sclerosis report higher quality of life than younger counterparts

A recent brief report by MS researchers provides preliminary evidence that older individuals with multiple sclerosis report lower levels of depression and higher quality of life than their younger counterparts.

20 Sep 2018

New system harnesses power of bubbles to destroy dangerous biofilms

Stiff microbial films often coat medical devices, household items and infrastructure such as the inside of water supply pipes, and can lead to dangerous infections.

20 Sep 2018

Researchers develop light-based technique to measure very weak magnetic fields

Researchers have developed a light-based technique for measuring very weak magnetic fields, such as those produced when neurons fire in the brain.

20 Sep 2018

Study: Human brain structured to make best possible decision with limited resources

Driving down a dark country road at night, you see a shape ahead on the roadside. Is it a deer or a mailbox? Your brain is structured to make the best possible decision given its limited resources, according to new research that unites cognitive science and information theory - the branch of mathematics that underlies modern communications technology.

20 Sep 2018