Research on how the brain is built and how it governs body and behavior. Covers neural circuits, sleep, sensory systems, brain structure, and the brain-body connection.
Researchers found that isosorbide mononitrate and cilostazol can safely improve debilitating outcomes after lacunar stroke. The two drugs were even more effective when used in combination, with participants showing significant improvements in thinking and memory skills, as well as quality of life.
A clinical trial of 403 patients found that ketamine treatment was non-inferior to ECT for treating non-psychotic treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine showed fewer side effects than ECT, with improved depressive symptoms and quality of life.
Researchers found that apoE4 poorly binds factor H, a regulatory factor of immunity, leading to amyloid-β oligomerization and neuroinflammation. This could be a potential solution to preventing Alzheimer's disease, with further research needed to find a bridging molecule.
Researchers have developed a new method to study ant brain chemistry, revealing differences in neuropeptide distribution between two species. The approach integrates 3D chemical data with high-definition anatomical models, providing unbiased visualization of neurochemistry.
Research suggests that brain's electrical activity tunes sub-cellular components to optimize network stability and efficiency. This 'Cytoelectric Coupling' hypothesis proposes that electric fields influence neurons' physical configuration to fine-tune information processing.
Researchers from Aarhus University conducted an online experiment showing that repeated exposure to food images can induce satiety, reducing the desire for more. The study found that participants who viewed pictures of orange M&M's 30 times chose a smaller portion than those who only saw them three times.
Researchers discovered a specific form of ubiquitin protein selectively involved in forming fear memories in female brains, providing a potential target for therapeutic treatments. The finding could lead to more effective treatment options for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in females.
A new study published in Science Advances has found that certain antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus can mistakenly target the brain and spinal cord, causing damage in multiple sclerosis patients. The research reveals a potential link between EBV infection and MS, with implications for personalized therapies.
Researchers have identified a brain marker that may indicate future suicide risk, suggesting potential new treatments and prevention strategies. The study found differences in brain connections among veterans with a history of suicide attempts compared to those without, which could help identify individuals at risk.
A study published in JAMA Network Open found that higher cumulative blood sugar levels after a stroke contribute to faster cognitive decline. Researchers adjusted data for various factors and discovered no association between high blood pressure or cholesterol and accelerated cognitive loss.
The development of SimulScan technology will help clinicians diagnose disordered swallowing more accurately. The researchers aim to investigate how swallowing behaviors change across the lifespan to create personalized treatments for patients with dysphagia.
Dr. Marco Bonizzato receives the 2022 Turnbull-Tator Award for his groundbreaking publication on an intracortical neuroprosthesis that improves recovery of leg control after spinal cord injury. The award supports two trainees in his lab to develop a neurorehabilitation platform for neuroprosthetic therapies.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a way to enhance glymphatic transport using focused ultrasound with microbubbles, opening new opportunities for studying brain diseases and function. The non-invasive method shows promise for potentially mitigating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Researchers developed a novel combination therapy that eradicates tumors in select patients, with prolonged survival rates. The therapy has shown promise in treating glioblastoma, a notoriously difficult-to-treat primary brain cancer.
Researchers have discovered that toxic proteins, known as tau oligomers, are transported through synapses and contribute to the decline in brain function. The study found small clumps of tau oligomers inside synapses, which can spread through the brain and lead to neuron death.
Researchers at MIT's Picower Institute used a nematode worm to study serotonin's effects on behavior and brain activity. They identified three key receptors driving slowing behavior and found complex interactions between serotonin receptors modulating brain-wide activity.
A recent meta-analysis shows that amino acid PET can accurately differentiate between recurrent brain metastases and treatment-related changes. This technology has the potential to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures and overtreatment in patients with cancer.
A study of 2,165 Dutch adolescents suggests no difference in global brain volume between those reporting gender diversity and those not. However, a correlation was found with specific brain features in the inferior temporal gyrus among males assigned at birth.
Researchers found that modern dog breeds, which are genetically more distant from wolves, have relatively larger brain sizes compared to ancient breeds. This increase in brain size cannot be attributed to the roles or life history characteristics of the breeds.
Researchers found that temporary blindness caused by occluding one eye for two hours led to increased sensitivity to auditory input when the other eye was monitored. The brain's neural response to sound was selectively enhanced, indicating a high degree of plasticity and interdependence between senses.
A study published in Neurology found that people with sleep apnea and less deep sleep have higher biomarkers for stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive decline. Participants with severe sleep apnea had reduced axonal integrity, similar to being three years older.
Researchers develop innovative data compression scheme to facilitate multispeckle diffuse correlation spectroscopy with high pixel resolutions, enabling non-invasive measurement of brain blood flow. The scheme uses field-programmable gate array compression to alleviate computational burdens and expand the use of SPAD cameras in biomedi...
Researchers at Mount Sinai have discovered a previously unknown way in which the brain and immune system interact in multiple sclerosis. They found that the inflammatory protein interleukin-3 (IL-3) coordinates this communication, inciting the recruitment of immune cells to the brain and exacerbating brain inflammation.
A University of Gothenburg study shows that increased physical activity, with four hours of weekly exercise, doubles the chances of recovering well by six months after a stroke. Men and people with normal cognition tend to maintain an active lifestyle more often, leading to better recovery outcomes.
Researchers have developed a zebrafish model to understand lipid transport across the blood-brain barrier, crucial for healthy nervous system development. The study provides key insights into how omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, are transported into the brain and may enable targeted drug delivery.
Researchers found that a specific neuropeptide affects two separate groups of neurons, promoting aggressive behavior in fruit flies. This discovery provides new insights into the complex mechanisms of neuronal communication using neuropeptides.
Researchers found that three specialized Kenyon cell subtypes in honey bees evolved from a single, multifunctional ancestor, potentially offering insights into human behavior. Transcriptome analysis revealed comparable similarity between the Kenyon cell subtypes of sawflies and honey bees.
A multi-institutional phase 3 clinical trial found that a cancer stem cell test can accurately decide more effective treatments and lead to increased survival for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. ChemoID, a CLIA-accredited diagnostic test, was used to select chemotherapy treatments, resulting in significantly lower risk of death a...
A former professional football player's life-altering cognitive decline was reversed after a comprehensive assessment revealed signs of hydrocephalus, which could be treated. The case study highlights the importance of considering alternative explanations for cognitive decline in athletes.
Researchers found lower levels of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in people with Long COVID, as well as increased B cells and immune cell dysregulation. Autonomic nervous system problems also contributed to symptoms like fatigue and 'brain fog',
A team of clinicians successfully treated an aggressive vascular malformation in an infant's brain before birth, preventing potentially fatal symptoms and brain damage. The procedure marked a paradigm shift in managing vein of Galen malformation, reducing the risk of long-term disability or death.
Researchers at UVA Health System have made a breakthrough discovery about the role of microglia in seizure disorders. The study suggests that enhancing microglial activity could be a promising approach to preventing and managing seizures, offering new hope for patients who don't respond to existing treatments.
Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have identified a special transporter protein that regulates the formation of myelin sheaths in the brain, which protect nerves from damage. The study suggests that omega-3 fatty acid lipids play a crucial role in directing oligodendrocyte development, a process critical for brain myelination.
Researchers developed a novel tool to monitor recovery after CNS demyelination, enabling early testing of pro-remyelinating strategies. This new approach shows promising results in reducing clinical failure and advancing therapeutic success for multiple sclerosis.
New research from UC Berkeley suggests that deep sleep can act as a protective factor against memory decline in individuals with existing high amounts of Alzheimer's disease pathology. This study provides hope for alleviating some of dementia's most devastating outcomes.
In people with Rett syndrome, nerve cells have a mechanism called transcriptional buffering to partially compensate for genetic changes. This process helps maintain healthy RNA levels and acts as a defence against genetic variations, suggesting a potential new molecular mechanism in human cells.
A new study published by Edith Cowan University found that boxing programs can improve symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, including fatigue and sleep, in early-stage patients. The program combined elements of exercise, computerized cognitive training, and socialization into a single activity.
A recent study published in Brain found that stress increases Alzheimer's risk in female mice by elevating amyloid beta levels, while male mice do not exhibit this effect. The researchers identified a cellular stress response pathway in brain cells that is active in females but not males.
Strokes can be largely prevented through education and lifestyle changes, such as moving more, healthy eating, and managing blood pressure. The American Stroke Association is launching a digital tool to educate people on stroke warning signs and risk factors, particularly for diverse populations.
More than half of stroke survivors develop cognitive impairment within a year, with 1 in 3 at risk for dementia. Early screening and comprehensive care are advised to support stroke survivors with cognitive impairment.
A new study published in PNAS reports surge of gamma activation in dying brains of humans and animals post-cardiac arrest, hinting at conscious-like activity.
A study of 4,791 patients found that taking ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers for at least six months prior to ICU admission did not lower the prevalence of delirium. Chronic high blood pressure is a risk factor for ICU-acquired delirium.
A study identified a protein, UBE2C, present in brain metastases associated with worse disease prognosis. Researchers found that high levels of UBE2C increase the spread of tumor cells in the central nervous system.
A new MRI approach uses harmless glucose solution to map brain glucose metabolism, generating reliable results and potentially improving diagnosis of conditions like Alzheimer's and cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings and deploy this less-invasive method for patients.
A mobile application utilizing Python and a single-element ultrasound transducer has been developed for photoacoustic tomography (PAT) image reconstruction. The application successfully reconstructs high-quality images with signal-to-noise ratio values above 30 decibels, making it suitable for point-of-care diagnosis in low-resource se...
Researchers discover that brain cells die from lack of energy when autophagy, a natural cleaning process, malfunctions. Compounds boosting NAD levels can improve neuron survival and combat age-related neurodegeneration.
A repurposed HIV drug has been found to restore the brain's autophagy function, helping prevent build-up of misfolded proteins and slowing disease progression in mouse models of Huntington's disease and dementia. This discovery provides clues to how this process could be slowed or prevented in humans.
Researchers identified boundary vector cells in goldfish central telencephalon that encode spatial information for the first time in a vertebrate. These cells enable unique positioning and represent a significant discovery in understanding fish navigation systems.
Ten researchers have received $100,000 grants to support clinical stroke research in Canada, aiming to reduce the burden of stroke, prevent recurrence, and improve patient outcomes. The new program is part of a larger initiative by Brain Canada, Heart & Stroke, and the Canadian Stroke Consortium.
A study by Michigan Medicine researchers found that nitrous oxide, LSD, and ketamine induce similar changes in brain connectivity, particularly in the cortical 'hot zone' where conscious experience is determined. This common biology may hold the key to using psychedelics as therapeutics.
Researchers discovered that parvalbumin interneurons secrete substance P, driving slow vasodilation and increasing blood flow in the brain. This process allows for waste removal and prevention of neurological dysfunctions like dementia.
Osaka University researchers identified a specific group of cells in the nucleus accumbens that signal when mice have made a mistake. Blocking these cells' signaling impairs future decision-making, highlighting the importance of this brain pathway in learning from mistakes.
A major international trial concludes that surgeons should replace the removed skull section after treating a brain bleed, saving patients from further complications. The study found no significant difference in disability-related and quality-of-life outcomes between the two approaches.
Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have discovered that efficient learning on artificial shallow architectures can achieve the same classification success rates as deep learning architectures, but with less computational complexity. This breakthrough has significant implications for the development of unique hardware and advanced GPU t...
Researchers at McGill University found that analyzing gene activity can classify brain diseases into five primary groups, improving diagnosis accuracy. The study identified previously unknown relationships among diseases, such as language development disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which share common genes and cell types.
A recent study from Aarhus University found that music used for studying and sleeping share similar characteristics, such as slow tempo and repetitive patterns. The study suggests that these similarities can be attributed to the calming effects of the music on the brain, creating a conducive environment for both tasks.
A new PANDA-project aims to develop and test an ear-EEG device that can screen patients for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The technology measures brain electrical activity and sleep patterns, with the goal of identifying early signs of the diseases and enabling earlier diagnosis.
Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have made a groundbreaking discovery about how neurons consume and metabolize glucose, a process crucial for maintaining normal energy levels. The study found that neurons rely on glycolysis to break down glucose, and its disruption can lead to severe learning and memory problems in mice.
Researchers have identified a possible way to help break the cycle between sleep disturbances and Alzheimer's disease. A small study found that people who took a sleeping aid experienced a drop in key Alzheimer's proteins.
A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that individuals with a family history of depression exhibit reduced cognitive abilities. The research highlights the potential impact of genetic and environmental factors on brain development and aging, as well as modifiable lifestyle factors.