disease & medicine, neuroscience

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers monitored subsecond changes in levels of the neurotransmitters in the human brain, unlocking new insight into their function.

Comparing the brain scans of high-impact rugby players with those of athletes in noncontact sports, such as rowing and swimming, revealed tiny, yet significant, differences in the brain’s white matter.

Gamma delta T cells in the meninges of the brain release a cell signaling molecule that does more than protect mice from microbial pathogens.

After six months, patients with fast-progressing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who had received the experimental treatment had less loss of function than those who received a placebo.

New studies show that elevated levels of a form of tau called p-tau217 can accurately distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from other forms of dementia, and perhaps even predict it.

Absence of human contact is associated with declines in cognitive function. But as the COVID-19 pandemic brings concerns about the potential harms of isolation to the fore, researchers are still hunting for concrete evidence of a causal role as well as possible mechanisms.

A survey of hospitalized patients finds some suffer fatigue, ischemic stroke, delirium, and other symptoms.

The cell conversion strategy restores neurons and motor functions lost as a result of an induced Parkinson’s-like illness in the animals.

The Stanford University researcher charted the human sleep cycle and characterized numerous sleep disorders.

Elevated levels of a neurotoxin in northeastern Brazil’s drinking water and a high incidence of microcephaly in the region led scientists to look for a link, and they found one.

Affectionate touches tap into the nervous system’s rest and digest mode, reducing the release of stress hormones, bolstering the immune system, and stimulating brainwaves linked with relaxation.

Those who had developed PTSD appear to be less able to suppress unwanted memories—traumatic or not—suggesting a role for the general ability to control memory recall in the disorder.

Digital biomarkers of cognitive decline could alert us to the early stages of dementia before irreversible damage occurs.

Studying nonhuman primates, the University of Washington neuroscientist has identified important features of the neural underpinnings of learning and memory.

Two rodent models of glaucoma have defects in the waste drainage system.

The symptoms suggest SARS-CoV-2 might infect neurons, raising questions about whether there could be effects on the brain that play a role in patients’ deaths, but the data are preliminary.

After an accident as a teenager, he developed the disorder. He then studied the brain to better understand his own seizures, and now plans to sail around the world to show others with the condition how to push their limits.

A mouse model of autism and postmortem brains of autistic individuals showed a lack of mature oligodendrocytes and less myelination than controls.

While the findings contradict previous studies that have linked human herpesvirus 6 to the neurodegenerative disease, they do not eliminate the possibility of a relationship.