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.

OU researcher receives $1.3 million grant to study stress-induced irritable bowel syndrome

Anyone who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome can testify to its signature trait: It gets worse during times of stress.

9 Jul 2020

CU researchers discover key role of specific brain cells during development

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have identified how specific brain cells interacting during development could be related to neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including some that occur later in life.

9 Jul 2020

Mass psychogenic illness identified as the likely cause of Havana Syndrome

Dozens of embassy staff reported an array of complaints that have baffled the medical community, the most prominent being concussion-like symptoms without head trauma.

9 Jul 2020

Study finds no link between exposure to mobile devices and brain volume changes in preadolescents

How does the use of mobile devices affect children's brains? A team from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, a center supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has conducted the first epidemiological study to explore the relationship between brain volume in preadolescents--more than 2,500 Dutch children--and different doses of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF).

9 Jul 2020

UNM study sheds new light on transition of fear to anxiety

A deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest menace the mental well-being of millions.

9 Jul 2020

DNA hypermethylation correlated with reduced amygdala volume in male patients with schizophrenia

Researchers at Kumamoto University, Japan have revealed that DNA methylation occurs in the gene that codes serotonin transporter (SERT), a protein that regulates neurotransmitter transmission, in schizophrenia and bipolar patients.

9 Jul 2020

Electrical stimulation could restore vision in blind people

In a project under Horizon 2020, researchers from seven European organizations will examine how the vision of visually impaired people can be restored using electrical stimulation of the brain.

9 Jul 2020

Increase in blood sodium levels influences the biological clock of mice

A new study from McGill University shows that increases in the concentrations of blood sodium can have an influence on the biological clock of mice, opening new research avenues for potentially treating the negative effects associated with long distance travel or shift work.

9 Jul 2020

UniSA researchers pioneer new method to more accurately diagnose Parkinson’s disease

University of South Australia researchers are pioneering a new method to more accurately diagnose Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative brain disorder which affects around 70,000 Australians, resulting in a loss of control of body movements.

9 Jul 2020

New research shows promise for treating neuropsychiatric diseases

When trying to complete a task we are constantly bombarded by distracting stimuli. How does the brain filter out these distractions and enable us to focus on the task at hand?

9 Jul 2020

Experimental drug for rare ALS shows promise in early clinical trial

An experimental drug for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has shown promise in a phase 1/phase 2 clinical trial conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and other sites around the world and sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc.

8 Jul 2020

Researchers propose novel approach to limit life-threatening complications related to COVID-19

Patients with severe COVID-19 frequently experience a life-threatening immune reaction, sometimes called a cytokine storm, which can lead to respiratory failure, organ damage and potentially death.

8 Jul 2020

Brain complications linked to COVID-19 found to be occurring across the globe

Cases of brain complications linked to COVID-19 are occurring across the globe, a new review by University of Liverpool researchers has shown.

8 Jul 2020

Study aims to more accurately define methods for measuring delirium severity

In a study published in the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorder, researchers reported on their effort to improve and validate tools used to assess the severity of a condition called delirium, an acute confusional state often experienced by older hospitalized patients.

8 Jul 2020

UBC study provides evidence of preserved hearing at the end of life

Hearing is widely thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process. Now UBC researchers have evidence that some people may still be able to hear while in an unresponsive state at the end of their life.

8 Jul 2020

CNIO’s collaborative platform simplifies research on brain metastasis

Science is collaborative by nature, since scientific knowledge only advances, step by step, through combined efforts and findings. Nevertheless, there is often a lack of communication regarding the more technical and everyday advances in laboratory work, and as a result research progresses less quickly.

8 Jul 2020

New study provides insight into the origin and evolution of glioblastoma

Brain cancers have long been thought of as being resistant to treatments because of the presence of multiple types of cancer cells within each tumor. A new study uncovers a cancer cell hierarchy that originates from a single cancer cell type, which can be targeted to slow cancer growth.

8 Jul 2020

Study sheds new light on protein movement

Many of the most promising medicines under development are proteins, often antibodies, to help patients fight disease. These proteins must be purified as part of the manufacturing process - a task that can be tricky and result in costly waste.

8 Jul 2020

Researchers propose new way to understand sensory integration in autistic children

Researchers at McMaster University who study how the brain processes sound have discovered the common practice of using artificial tones in perception experiments could mean scientists are overlooking important and interesting discoveries in the field of brain research.

8 Jul 2020

Neuronal subtypes that drive locomotion in fruit fly reveal an unexpected diversity

A new study by MIT neuroscientists into how seemingly similar neuronal subtypes drive locomotion in the fruit fly revealed an unexpected diversity as the brain's commands were relayed to muscle fibers.

8 Jul 2020