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Early life experiences can shape brain development in subsequent generations

Early life experiences can have an outsized effect on brain development and neurobiological health. New research is showing that those effects can be passed down to subsequent generations, reporting that the infant children of mothers who had experienced childhood emotional neglect displayed altered brain circuitry involved in fear responses and anxiety.

19 Jan 2021

New tool may help monitor serotonin transmission with greater fidelity than current methods

Serotonin is a neurochemical that plays a critical role in the way the brain controls our thoughts and feelings.

23 Dec 2020

Studies provide clues about possible types of autism linked to brain structure

Two groundbreaking studies at the UC Davis MIND Institute provide clues about possible types of autism linked to brain structure, including size and white matter growth.

17 Dec 2020

Study shows an inflammatory response in the mice brain is responsible for severe COVID-19

Researchers demonstrated that neuroinvasion and encephalitis caused by SARS-CoV-2 is associated with significant mortality in a special mouse model.

17 Dec 2020

Study finds potential target for the treatment of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are disabling psychiatric conditions and the major contributors to global burden of nonfatal illness.

2 Dec 2020

Stress levels in mothers during pregnancy may shape infants' brains

Infants' brains may be shaped by levels of stress their mother experiences during pregnancy, a study has revealed.

24 Nov 2020

UNC scientists find brain cells that help drive arousal responses to strong emotions

Strong emotions such as fear and anxiety tend to be accompanied and reinforced by measurable bodily changes including increased blood pressure, heart rate and respiration, and dilation of the eyes' pupils. These so-called "physiological arousal responses" are often abnormally high or low in psychiatric illnesses such as anxiety disorders and depression.

23 Nov 2020

Researchers identify anti-inflammatory mechanisms that drive alcohol addiction

Deep within the brain, a small almond-shaped region called the amygdala plays a vital role in how we exhibit emotion, behavior, and motivation.

17 Nov 2020

Compounds block stress-enhanced reacquisition of nicotine in rats

Stress is a major cause of relapse after people quit smoking. Worrying situations, such as money or relationship problems, can affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain, leading former smokers to reach for a cigarette.

11 Nov 2020

Fear circuit extends far beyond the amygdala, research shows

When a frightful creature startles you, your brain may activate its fear-processing circuitry, sending your heart racing to help you escape the threat.

5 Nov 2020

Social threat can change a specific brain region

Our brains are wired to protect us from threats. For social animals like humans, threats often come from other members of our own species when there is conflict over food, mates, or territory.

30 Oct 2020

Expression of a specific gene could regulate feelings of fear and its extinction

Fear and fear extinction learning are adaptive processes caused by molecular changes in specific brain circuits, and they're perturbed in conditions such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

27 Oct 2020

Newborns analyze the emotional content of their surroundings only at a very basic level

Humans aren't born with mature brain circuitry that attaches emotions to the things they see or hear in their environment, a new study shows.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers provide new evidence that fear and anxiety reflect overlapping brain circuits

Anxiety, the most common family of mental illnesses in the U.S., has been pushed to epic new heights by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults and a staggering 41% of people ages 18-29 experienced clinically significant anxiety symptoms in late August.

19 Oct 2020

Overemphasizing the ending may trigger poor decision-making, shows research

The brain keeps track of the value of an experience as well as how it unfolds over time; overemphasizing the ending may trigger poor decision-making, according to new research published in JNeurosci.

15 Oct 2020

Researchers identify 'social cells' in the brain linked to social behavior

A research team led by Professor TAKUMI Toru of Kobe University's Graduate School of Medicine (also a Senior Visiting Scientist at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research) have identified 'social cells' in the brain that are related to social behavior. The cells were identified via Ca imaging conducted using a microendoscope .

1 Oct 2020

Evolutionary and heritable axes shape the organization of brain structure

Every region has its place in the brain. However, it has been unclear why brain regions are located where they are.

28 Sep 2020

UIC receives $4.5 million to study how adolescent binge drinking affects adult behavior

The University of Illinois Chicago has received $4.5 million in continuation funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to support the UIC site of the national Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood, or NADIA, consortium.

15 Sep 2020

UIC researchers to develop, test a voice-enabled AI virtual agent to deliver mental health care

Researchers at University of Illinois Chicago are studying a novel approach to delivering care to those with moderate depression and anxiety: through artificial intelligence, or AI.