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.

Study reveals dopamine's role in stress-induced cardiovascular responses

Under stress, animals change their behavior, such as through "fight or flight" or "freezing" response. Simultaneously, physiological responses essential for stress adaptation are triggered in the body.

16 Dec 2024

New method detects Parkinson's disease through emotional brain responses

A joint research team from the University of Canberra and Kuwait College of Science and Technology has achieved groundbreaking detection of Parkinson's disease with near-perfect accuracy, simply by analyzing brain responses to emotional situations like watching video clips or images.

16 Dec 2024

Study reveals tumor and immune cell interactions in craniopharyngiomas

Craniopharyngiomas are brain tumors that negatively impact the hormonal function of the nearby pituitary.

16 Dec 2024

New statement highlights role of palliative care in stroke recovery

Palliative care, an approach to care that helps people manage pain and other symptoms during all stages of a serious illness (not just at end of life), can help improve quality of life for stroke survivors as well as their family members, according to "Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke," a new scientific statement published today in the Association's peer-reviewed scientific journal Stroke.

16 Dec 2024

Targeting brain enzyme may offer new treatment for obesity

Endocannabinoids in the brain play a key role in food intake and energy use. Modulating the action of these molecules could help fight obesity, say researchers at Université de Montréal's affiliated hospital research center.

16 Dec 2024

How brain connectivity and machine learning enhance understanding of human cognition

Researchers provide new insights into human cognition by prioritizing interpretability in predictive modeling of intelligence from brain connectivity

16 Dec 2024

Aston University researcher receives major grant to investigate autoimmune encephalitis

Dr. Sukhvir Wright at Aston University Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), and honorary consultant neurologist at Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH), has been awarded a £3.4m Career Development Award from Wellcome to research autoimmune encephalitis (AE), an inflammatory brain condition, in children.

15 Dec 2024

USC researchers awarded $3.4 million to combat age-related cognitive decline in women

A team of researchers at The Keck School of Medicine of USC have received a $3.4 million federal grant to advance research on an innovative approach to slowing age-related cognitive decline.

14 Dec 2024

Targeted gene therapy shuts down cancer cells' energy centers

Researchers are shining a light on cancer cells' energy centers – literally – to damage these power sources and trigger widespread cancer cell death.

14 Dec 2024

TTUHSC researcher to uncover mechanisms that regulate gene expression in Alzheimer's disease

More than six million Americans are affected by Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia marked by accumulation of amyloid-β within the brain. Amyloid-β is a relatively small protein that forms toxic plaques in the brain contributing to the harmful effects of Alzheimer's disease.

14 Dec 2024

Removing a splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does it, it can be billed as surgery

When George Lai of Portland, Oregon, took his toddler son to a pediatrician last summer for a checkup, the doctor noticed a little splinter in the child's palm.

13 Dec 2024

New funding for innovative dementia vaccine research

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia are devastating disorders that emerge following the buildup of misfolded proteins in the brain.

13 Dec 2024

DTI detects precancerous lesions in the pancreas

Precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer are very difficult to characterize with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). But now, in a new study, researchers led by Noam Shemesh and Carlos Bilreiro – respectively head of the Preclinical MRI lab at Champalimaud Research and a doctor at the Champalimaud Clinical Centre's Radiology Department – have shown, for the first time, that a particular form of MRI, called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), is capable of robustly detecting pre-malignant lesions in the pancreas.

13 Dec 2024

Disrupting the circadian rhythm of glioblastoma slows tumor growth, study says

Virtually every cell in the human body has an internal clock. These clocks take their cues from a central clock in the brain. In a normal, biological process called synchrony, the central clock coordinates daily rhythms around the body, so that every cell and tissue recognizes the same external time of day.

13 Dec 2024

Portable MRI and AI improve Alzheimer’s diagnosis with cost-effective precision

Researchers optimized portable low-field MRI with machine learning to improve brain morphometry and white matter hyperintensity detection, making Alzheimer's diagnosis more accessible and cost-effective.

12 Dec 2024

Circadian chaos: How transportation noise harms heart health

Transportation noise poses serious risks to cardiovascular health, causing inflammation, oxidative stress, and circadian rhythm disruption, with compounded effects from air pollution.

12 Dec 2024

Fatty acids disrupt glutamate transporter function in brain cells

Glutamate transporters pump glutamate from the synaptic cleft back into brain cells after its release during neurotransmission.

12 Dec 2024

Study uncovers brain mechanism behind empathetic responses

A specific brain mechanism modulates how animals respond empathetically to others' emotions. This is the latest finding from the research unit Genetics of Cognition, led by Francesco Papaleo, Principal Investigator at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT - Italian Institute of Technology) and affiliated with IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino in Genova.

12 Dec 2024

Study sheds light on how deep sleep supports memory formation

It has been known for nearly 20 years that slow, synchronous electrical waves in the brain during deep sleep support the formation of memories.

12 Dec 2024

Common brain network connected to heterogeneous patterns of brain atrophy in schizophrenia

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham has identified a unique brain network that links varied patterns of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, associated with schizophrenia.

12 Dec 2024