Last update:

Neuroscience news

Genetics

Comprehensive map reveals neuronal dendrites in the mouse brain in greater detail

Understanding the shape or morphology of neurons and mapping the tree-like branches via which they receive signals from other cells (i.e., dendrites) is a long-standing objective of neuroscience research. Ultimately, this ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

When anger hurts: How feeling wronged can intensify chronic pain

We all know stress can worsen pain, but new research shows that anger and a sense of injustice may be even more powerful triggers.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Breathe in, breathe out: How respiration shapes remembering

First and foremost, we breathe in order to absorb oxygen—but this vital rhythm could also have other functions. Over the past few years, a range of studies have shown that respiration influences neural processes, including ...

Neuroscience

Single enzyme failure found to drive neuron loss in dementia

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich and the LMU University Hospital Munich uncovered a mechanism that protects nerve cells from premature cell death, known as ferroptosis. The study provides ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

How the brain prioritizes bodily signals in conscious awareness

A new study shows that visual and tactile impressions that are related to our own body are prioritized for reaching conscious awareness. This helps us understand how we develop the feeling that the body is our own—through ...

Genetics

Hidden cellular layers revealed in brain's memory center

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain's most important ...

Neuroscience

How the brain protects itself from Alzheimer's disease

High levels of calcium are toxic to cells and contribute to loss of neurons in Alzheimer's disease. A new study published in JCI Insight identifies a mechanism through which the young brain protects itself against high calcium ...

Neuroscience

Long-term calorie restriction may slow normal brain aging

As the brain ages, cells in the central nervous system experience metabolic dysfunction and increased oxidative damage. These cellular issues impair the ability to maintain the myelin sheath (the protective covering around ...

Neuroscience

Brain markers could yield early clues into Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease affects more than 1.1 million people in the United States, progressively damaging the brain cells that control movement. By the time symptoms like tremors appear, patients have already lost around half ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

What can DMT psychedelic teach us about the sense of self?

When people use a psychedelic called dimethyltryptamine (DMT), they experience a temporary loss of their sense of self. DMT interacts with a frequency of brain activity associated with self-referential processes (alpha waves), ...

Oncology & Cancer

How brain tumors respond to low-nutrient environments

A new study led by Peter Mac Professor Louise Cheng on fruit-fly brains has uncovered how cells that form the brain's protective barrier can act as "gatekeepers" and slow down the growth of some brain tumors.

Neuroscience

More muscle, less belly fat can slow brain aging

Researchers have found that a specific body profile—higher muscle mass combined with a lower visceral fat to muscle ratio—tracks with a younger brain age, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting ...