Neuroscience News and Research

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Hunger peptides sent through the brain's fluid cause appetite, shows study

A USC study shows the brain's plumbing system serves double duty, flushing waste and channeling a hunger molecule that tells you when you should eat.

1 Jun 2018

Study highlights complexity of the brain’s molecular response to cocaine use

A study in Biological Psychiatry has identified unique genetic changes in the brain's reward circuitry that are associated with cocaine use, including first-time use, withdrawal, and re-exposure to the drug after prolonged withdrawal.

31 May 2018

Strong social network can positively influence the aging brain

A strong social network could be the key to preserving memory. New research from The Ohio State University found that mice housed in groups had better memories and healthier brains than animals that lived in pairs.

31 May 2018

Longer-term exercise program may be needed to improve thinking skills, suggests study

We know that exercise may help improve thinking skills. But how much exercise? And for how long? To find the answers, researchers reviewed all of the studies where older adults were asked to exercise for at least four weeks and their tests of thinking and memory skills were compared to those of people who did not start a new exercise routine.

31 May 2018

UTSA scientists explore stuttering and develop new technology to optimize brain function

A team of researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio received a two-year, $387,000 grant, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop technology that will identify brain activity patterns that contribute to stuttering and use that technology to train people how to optimize brain functions.

31 May 2018

New study estimates current prevalence of eating disorders in the United States

Biological Psychiatry has published a new study revising the outdated estimates of the prevalence of eating disorders in the United States.

30 May 2018

NUS researchers find novel pathway to regulate blood pressure

New and better ways to fight hypertension and low blood pressure may be in the offing, thanks to the National University of Singapore scientists' discovery of how our blood pressure is controlled.

30 May 2018

Stroke patients more likely to suffer from insomnia, shows study

Stroke patients experience sustained problems with insomnia potentially reducing their ability to relearn key skills and putting them at increased risk of depression, a new study in the journal Scientific Reports finds.

30 May 2018

Defective energy production may explain why our brains are prone to age-related diseases

Defective energy production in old neurons might explain why our brains are so prone to age-related diseases.

30 May 2018

Scientists identify neural circuit that gives rise to anxiety

Neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a neural circuit in the amygdala, the brain's seat of emotion processing, that gives rise to anxiety.

29 May 2018

Study identifies neurons involved in control of aggression

Researchers from the Karolinska Insitutet in Sweden have made a new discovery about the biological mechanism underlying aggressive behavior.

28 May 2018

Specific neurons may cause male aggressiveness

Scientists have managed to identify certain neurons in the brain that could evoke sense of aggressiveness. This could mean that problems associated with aggression could not be understood better and perhaps prevented they hope.

28 May 2018

Exercise alters brain's dopamine system to help treat addiction, study finds

New research by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions has identified a key mechanism in how aerobic exercise can help impact the brain in ways that may support treatment - and even prevention strategies - for addiction.

25 May 2018

Study investigates role played by brain in prosocial behavior

Helping other people in need is a foundation of our society. It is intuitive to believe that we help others because we empathically share their pain. Neuroscience shows that when we see somebody in pain our brain activates tactile and emotional regions as if we ourselves were in pain.

25 May 2018

Researchers identify neurons that play key role in aggressive behavior

High activity in a relatively poorly studied group of brain cells can be linked to aggressive behaviour in mice, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows.

25 May 2018

Kessler Foundation scientists compare two tests for assessing learning in individuals with MS

A recent article by Kessler Foundation researchers compared two neuropsychological tests for assessing learning in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

25 May 2018

Study links 'sleep spindles' to memory reactivation

Leading theories propose that sleep presents an opportune time for important, new memories to become stabilized. And it's long been known which brain waves are produced during sleep. But in a new study, researchers set out to better understand the brain mechanisms that secure memory storage.

24 May 2018

Researchers reveal stimulatory effects of myelin on young neural cells

Recovery after severe spinal cord injury is notoriously fraught, with permanent paralysis often the result. In recent years, researchers have increasingly turned to stem cell-based therapies as a potential method for repairing and replacing damaged nerve cells.

24 May 2018

Researchers provide insight into how the memory molecule limits brain plasticity

The brain has an incredible capacity to support a lifetime of learning and memory. Each new experience fundamentally alters the connections between cells in the brain called synapses.

24 May 2018

Study explores brain chemistry of alcohol exposure in people with family history of AUD

People with a family history of alcohol use disorder release more dopamine in the brain's main reward center in response to the expectation of alcohol than people diagnosed with the disorder, or healthy people without any family history of AUD, reports a new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

23 May 2018