Neuroscience News and Research

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Researchers use powerful X-ray beams for ‘navigational map view’ of mouse brain

If brain imaging could be compared to Google Earth, neuroscientists would already have a pretty good "satellite view" of the brain, and a great "street view" of neuron details.

17 Oct 2017

Study sheds new light on why autism is more common in boys

Researchers aiming to understand why autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are more common in boys have discovered differences in a brain signaling pathway involved in reward learning and motivation that make male mice more vulnerable to an autism-causing genetic glitch.

17 Oct 2017

Findings reveal how seizures can have lasting detrimental effects on memory

Although it's been clear that seizures are linked to memory loss and other cognitive deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease, how this happens has been puzzling. In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, a team of researchers reveals a mechanism that can explain how even relatively infrequent seizures can lead to long-lasting cognitive deficits in animal models.

16 Oct 2017

CHLA and Keck Medicine of USC develop new liquid biopsy for tumor of the retina

Retinoblastoma is a tumor of the retina that generally affects children under 5 years of age. If not diagnosed early, retinoblastoma may result in loss of one or both eyes and can be fatal. Unlike most cancers that are diagnosed using a biopsy, retinoblastoma tumors cannot be directly biopsied.

16 Oct 2017

Einstein scientists share $9 million NIH grant for longevity research

Scientists now believe that the Fountain of Youth flows from our genes, or at least from the genes of people who live healthy lives to age 100 or later.

16 Oct 2017

Dietary supplement could be promising therapeutic target for seizure disorders

Seizure disorders -- including epilepsy -- are associated with pathological hyperexcitability in brain neurons. Unfortunately, there are limited available treatments that can prevent this hyperexcitability.

13 Oct 2017

Fever in first trimester of pregnancy increases risk for birth defects, study shows

Fevers in a mother's first trimester of pregnancy increase the baby's risk for some heart defects and facial deformities such as cleft lip or palate, but exactly how this happens is unclear. Scientists have debated whether a virus or other infection causes the defects, or if fever alone is the problem.

12 Oct 2017

Biased research samples can profoundly skew results of brain imaging studies

Any scientist who studies groups of people knows that the characteristics of the "sample" -- the group of people selected for the study -- can profoundly impact the study's findings. To produce the most accurate findings, a study group ought to be as similar as possible to the people in the larger population you want to say something about.

12 Oct 2017

Salk scientists receive $2.5 million funding to conduct pancreatic cancer clinical study

Salk Professor and HHMI Investigator Ronald Evans has been awarded $2.5 million by Stand Up 2 Cancer (SU2C) as part of a multi-institution team to conduct clinical studies to open up a new avenue for immunotherapy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

12 Oct 2017

Scientists identify brain-wave patterns of explicit and implicit learning

Figuring out how to pedal a bike and memorizing the rules of chess require two different types of learning, and now for the first time, researchers have been able to distinguish each type of learning by the brain-wave patterns it produces.

12 Oct 2017

Research findings could pave way to new therapies for treating seizures and autism

Recent research discoveries in the development of brain disorders could pave the way to new therapies for treating seizures, and even some children with autism, says a leading oncologist and researcher at the University of Alberta.

12 Oct 2017

Researchers find significant increase in risk factors among people with stroke

Despite prevention efforts, researchers have found a significant increase over a 10-year period in the percentage of people with stroke who have high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and other risk factors for stroke.

12 Oct 2017

Study uncovers how the brain reactivates networks of interrelated memories during sleep

A study led by the University of Barcelona has identified the process in the brain which strengthens or weakens memories of our daily events while we sleep. According to the study published in the scientific journal The Journal of Neuroscience , the brain reactivates networks of interrelated memories during sleep, instead of doing so with isolated memories.

11 Oct 2017

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase Alzheimer's risk

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a team from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Arizona Health Sciences has shown in new research.

10 Oct 2017

Penn’s ITMAT 12th Annual International Symposium focuses on pain biology, aging, and brain disorders

The latest science in why pain afflicts people differently, precision medicine and brain disorders, and how the bat genome informs the study of human aging, among many other topics, will be covered at the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics' 12th Annual International Symposium.

9 Oct 2017

Scientists show how a trio of key molecules directs learning and memory

Learning and memory are two important functions of the brain that are based on the brain's plasticity. Scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt report in the latest issue of the scientific journal "Cell Reports" how a trio of key molecules directs these processes.

9 Oct 2017

New treatment approach makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered the first compound that directly makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells.

9 Oct 2017

Researchers propose LSD1 protein as central player in Alzheimer's and FTD

Removal of a regulatory gene called LSD1 in adult mice induces changes in gene activity that that look unexpectedly like Alzheimer's disease, scientists have discovered.

9 Oct 2017

Brain’s motor signals sharpen sound perception, research suggests

Whether it is dancing or just tapping one foot to the beat, we all experience how auditory signals like music can induce movement. Now new research suggests that motor signals in the brain actually sharpen sound perception, and this effect is increased when we move in rhythm with the sound.

6 Oct 2017

UC Berkeley researchers to develop new ultra-high-resolution MRI brain scanner

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, has transformed our view of the brain, allowing researchers to pinpoint areas associated with everything from depression and dementia to playing chess and engaging in sex.

6 Oct 2017