Neuroscience News and Research

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Social threat learning has a strong effect on our decision-making

Learning what is dangerous by watching a video or being told (known as social learning) has just as strong an effect on our decision-making as first-hand experience of danger, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report.

14 Feb 2019

Researchers identify brain pathways of aversion

What happens in the brain when we feel discomfort? Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden are now one step closer to finding the answer. In a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry they identify which pathways in the mouse brain control behavior associated with aversion.

14 Feb 2019

Antidepressant drug could save people from deadly sepsis, research suggests

An antidepressant drug used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder could save people from deadly sepsis, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

14 Feb 2019

Young cannabis users have increased risk of depression and suicidal behavior

Adolescent cannabis use has been linked to an increased risk of depression and suicidal behavior in young adulthood, according to the first meta-analysis by a team of scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and McGill University, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Rutgers University-Camden, which is published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry today.

13 Feb 2019

Fundamental technology to support early differential diagnosis of concurrent ASD in patients with ADHD

Hitachi, Ltd., Jichi Medical University, International University of Health and Welfare and Chuo University have developed fundamental technology to support the early differential diagnosis of concurrent autism spectrum disorder in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

13 Feb 2019

Increased activity of EHMT2 gene deficient neurons could cause autism in humans

A novel investigation into the impacts of neuronal mutations on autism-related characteristics in humans has been described in the open-access journal eLife.

13 Feb 2019

New study provides insights into developmental organization of the brain

What makes us human, and where does this mysterious property of "humanness" come from? Humans are genetically similar to chimpanzees and bonobos, yet there exist obvious behavioral and cognitive differences.

13 Feb 2019

Lactate activates multiple genes that modulate neuronal activity

A genome-wide study led by Dean Pierre Magistretti sheds light on the mechanisms through which lactate regulates long-term memory formation and neuroprotection.

12 Feb 2019

Contraceptive pill may impair women's ability to recognize emotions

A new study suggests that a woman’s ability to read emotions may be negatively impacted by the contraceptive pill.

12 Feb 2019

Study reveals how one mutation causes the most common inherited intellectual disability

Research published today (Feb. 11, 2019) reveals how one mutation causes fragile X, the most common inherited intellectual disability.

12 Feb 2019

MGH researchers identify brain cells that modulate behavioral response to threats

A team of investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Regenerative Medicine has identified a population of brain cells that appears to play a role in calibrating behavioral responses to potentially threatening situations.

12 Feb 2019

NIH and partners host meeting to discuss the future of spinal cord injury research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its partners will host a meeting of researchers, clinicians, patients and patient advocates to discuss spinal cord injury (SCI) research and to chart a course of future studies.

12 Feb 2019

Spinal cord turns out to be 'smarter' than thought

We often think of our brains as being at the centre of complex motor function and control, but how 'smart' is your spinal cord?

11 Feb 2019

New target appears to aid recovery after optic nerve trauma

When a car crash or explosion results in an optic nerve injury, eliminating an enzyme known to promote inflammation appears to aid recovery, scientists report.

11 Feb 2019

OHSU research uncovers new target to prevent, treat alcoholism

New research conducted at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, identifies a gene that could provide a new target for developing medication to prevent and treat alcoholism.

11 Feb 2019

Study reveals how exercise may protect against Alzheimer's disease

Athletes know a vigorous workout can release a flood of endorphins: "feel-good" hormones that boost mood. Now there's evidence that exercise produces another hormone that may improve memory and protect against Alzheimer's disease, according to a study co-led by Ottavio Arancio, MD, PhD, a researcher at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain.

11 Feb 2019

Novel protein sensor allows researchers to observe nicotine's movements in cells

When a person takes a puff on a cigarette, nicotine floods into the brain, latching onto receptors on the surface of neurons and producing feelings of happiness. But nicotine does not simply stay on the surface of cells--the drug actually permeates into neural cells and alters them from the inside out.

8 Feb 2019

Removing 70% or more of the brain hemorrhage could produce better outcomes, study finds

In the first study to identify specific surgical goals for the treatment of an intracerebral hemorrhage--the deadliest and most disabling type of stroke--a team of neurosurgeons found that at least 70 percent of the hemorrhage has to be removed for patients to make a meaningful recovery.

8 Feb 2019

Researchers map an awake-brain

There are ethical dilemmas in cases where a person is unresponsive after a major trauma but is awake within (unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) and when a person is brain dead or truly unconscious. In these cases stopping life support can be a tough decision.

7 Feb 2019