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.

Brief periods of light-intensity exercise can boost children's cerebral blood flow

Cognitive functions, also known as intellectual functions, encompass thinking, understanding, memory, language, computation, and judgment, and are performed in the cerebrum.

26 Aug 2024

Exploring early detection of Alzheimer's disease through non-cognitive symptoms

The article presents a thorough examination of Alzheimer's disease (AD), emphasizing early detection as critical due to the disease's progression through stages from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and eventually dementia.

26 Aug 2024

Renewed interest in psychedelics as potential addiction therapies

After years of being seen as dangerous "party drugs," psychedelic substances are receiving renewed attention as therapies for addiction -- but far more research is needed, according to a new special series of articles in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published at Rutgers University.

26 Aug 2024

How diet shapes gut microbiota and affects brain function

Researchers discuss the diet-microbiota-gut-brain axis, which describes the role of both diet and gut microbiota composition on cognitive and emotional health.

26 Aug 2024

GPePV neurons identified as key players in controlling cocaine addiction behaviors

Researchers examine how GPePV cells regulate cocaine-induced behaviors through interactions with ventral tegmental area dopamine cells.

25 Aug 2024

Multiple sclerosis patients less likely to have molecular hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are far less likely than those without the condition to have the molecular hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Aug 2024

Understanding nucleosome behavior during mitosis

Individual cells divide through a process called mitosis, during which the cell's copied DNA is separated between two resulting daughter cells.

23 Aug 2024

Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhances brain infection

Scientists have discovered a mutation in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that plays a key role in its ability to infect the central nervous system.

23 Aug 2024

Discovery of TLNRD1 protein could help better understand Cerebral Cavernous Malformations disease

Researchers have discovered a crucial protein, TLNRD1, that could help us better understand and treat Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCM) disease.

23 Aug 2024

New treatment for rectal cancer offers hope in avoiding surgery

A new treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer shows favorable results in that surgery can sometimes be avoided completely.

23 Aug 2024

Understanding the health benefits of polyphenols through bitter taste receptors

Bioactive compounds like polyphenols and their health benefits have long captured public attention and interest.

23 Aug 2024

Defective ZNRF3 gene causes opposing brain sizes and potential tumor risk

A gene called ZNRF3, known to be involved in cancer, also messes with the mind. The human brain relies on two copies of this gene to build a right-sized brain. If one of the copies is defective, the brain will be either too small or too large - known as mirror effect -, leading to various neurological symptoms.

23 Aug 2024

Study reveals bidirectional relationship between diabetes complications and mental health disorders

Heart attack, stroke, nerve damage. These are just some of the complications for which millions of Americans with diabetes are at greater risk.

23 Aug 2024

EEG technology marks 100 years with promising future innovations

One hundred years after the human brain's electrical activity was first recorded, experts are celebrating the legacy of its discovery and sharing their predictions and priorities for its future.

23 Aug 2024

Study reveals how brain pathways aid motor recovery after injury

Stroke and spinal cord injuries can severely impair motor functions, and understanding how to promote recovery is a critical challenge.

23 Aug 2024

Maternal gut bacteria linked to changes in fetal brain metabolism

The impact of Bifidobacterium breve's presence in the maternal gut during pregnancy on fetal brain metabolism.

23 Aug 2024

Maternal smoking increases risk of severe neonatal morbidity, even at low intensity

Researchers explore the association between severe neonatal morbidity and maternal smoking before or during pregnancy.

23 Aug 2024

Novel screening method for blood-brain barrier penetration

Scientists at Southwest Research Institute have developed a new screening method to identify drug formulations that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to facilitate treatment of brain diseases and conditions.

23 Aug 2024

Exploring the impact of thyroid hormone on brain function

Thyroid hormone plays a key role in regulating a range of physiologic functions, including metabolism, temperature, heart rate, and growth. It accomplishes this impressive array of activities by interacting with almost every organ system in the body. Yet despite a long history of research on how thyroid hormone influences different organs, its effects on arguably the most crucial organ - the brain - have remained shrouded in mystery.

23 Aug 2024

FDA-approved drug could revolutionize organ transplantation

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University report that they were able to successfully put tadpoles of Xenopus laevis frogs into a hibernation-like torpor state using donepezil (DNP), a drug approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's. The team had previously used another drug, SNC80, to achieve similar results in tadpoles and enhance the survival of whole mammalian hearts for transplants, but SNC80 is not approved for clinical use in humans because it can cause seizures. By contrast, DNP is already being used in the clinic, meaning it potentially could be rapidly repurposed for use in emergency situations to prevent irreversible organ injury while a person is being transported to a hospital.

23 Aug 2024