Neurons News and Research

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Scientists map step-by-step activation of brain receptors

When it comes to brain proteins, small changes can make a dramatic difference. Researchers studying NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors, which are essential for learning, memory and moment-by-moment consciousness, know that even slight changes in their activity level can mean the difference between normal function and serious neurological disorders.

24 Sep 2025

Influenza infection in pregnant mice linked to fetal brain exposure

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows, for the first time, that severe flu infection in pregnant mice leads to a breakdown in placental and brain barriers, leading to the accumulation of potentially harmful molecules in the fetal brain.

24 Sep 2025

Researchers identify protein crucial for tick-borne encephalitis virus to infect human cells

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with international colleagues, have identified a protein that is crucial for the TBE virus to infect human cells.

24 Sep 2025

How DNA methylation changes during brain development influence autism and schizophrenia

Researchers at the University of Exeter have created a detailed temporal map of chemical changes to DNA through development and aging of the human brain, offering new insights into how conditions such as autism and schizophrenia may arise.

24 Sep 2025

Study reveals how the brain narrows attention over time

How we focus our attention before we even see an object matters. For example, when we look for something moving in the sky, our expectation would be very different if the object is a bird flying past or a baseball coming straight at us.

23 Sep 2025

Frequent exercise reshapes nerves that control the heart, research shows

Frequent exercise doesn't just strengthen the heart – it also changes the nerves that control it, according to new research which could guide more targeted and effective care for common heart problems.

23 Sep 2025

Study reveals how a key spinal circuit shapes the choreography of sex

For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behaviour – arousal, courtship, and copulation – the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation.

23 Sep 2025

Lab-grown mini brains reveal neural misfires linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Pea-sized brains grown in a lab have for the first time revealed the unique way neurons might misfire due to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, psychiatric ailments that affect millions of people worldwide but are difficult to diagnose because of the lack of understanding of their molecular basis.

22 Sep 2025

Brain wave coordination explains how each hemisphere shares visual information

The brain divides vision between its two hemispheres-what's on your left is processed by your right hemisphere and vice versa-but your experience with every bike or bird that you see zipping by is seamless.

22 Sep 2025

Scientists uncover 53 genetic clues that shape math ability beyond IQ

Researchers uncovered 53 genetic loci linked to quantitative ability, distinguishing it from general intelligence and non-cognitive skills. The study highlights brain pathways in axon guidance, synaptic signaling, and mRNA splicing as biological underpinnings of math-related ability.

22 Sep 2025

UNM researcher develops new model for characterizing different forms of vascular dementia

Vascular dementia - cognitive impairment caused by disease in the brain's small blood vessels - is a widespread problem, but it has not been as thoroughly studied as Alzheimer's disease, in which abnormal plaques and protein tangles are deposited in neural tissue.

19 Sep 2025

Clinical trial reveals encouraging results for apitegromab in spinal muscular atrophy

A new clinical trial has revealed encouraging results for a muscle-targeting therapy aimed at improving motor function in children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy, according to a study published in The Lancet Neurology.

18 Sep 2025

Muscle hormone FGF21 linked to longer survival in ALS

A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 8 of Aging-US on August 9, 2025, titled "The myokine FGF21 associates with enhanced survival in ALS and mitigates stress-induced cytotoxicity."

18 Sep 2025

Advanced imaging exposes breakdown in brain cell communication linked to Alzheimer’s

Research led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine explores the ways brain cells communicate, revealing fresh insight into the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

18 Sep 2025

Resistance training may help preserve aging nerves

Simple resistance training may help counteract age-related nerve deterioration that puts seniors at risk of injuries from falls and other accidents, according to cross-institutional research led by Syracuse University postdoctoral researcher JoCarol Shields and Department of Exercise Science Professor Jason DeFreitas.

17 Sep 2025