brain, disease & medicine, neuroscience

In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage.

Manipulating the production of new neurons can improve cognition in animal models of the disease, raising the possibility that figuring out a way for humans to make more neurons could make a difference for people with dementia.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The silicon chips receive and send electrical signals, recreating activity from neurons in the rat brain that play a role in breathing and thinking.

The Stanford University professor helped develop a technique to grow brain organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells.

A clinical trial is underway to see if suspended animation, in which the body is cooled to 10–15 °Celsius, could slow patients’ decline and give doctors time to operate.

Oligomannate, recently approved in China, is being met with some skepticism from researchers.

The Francis Crick Institute neurobiologist aims to learn how physiological states, such as hunger, alter information processing in the brain.

Contaminants in the atmosphere appear to have harmful effects on neurodevelopment and cognitive function.

A growing body of evidence supports the theory that neural hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity precede the pathological changes that lead to neurodegeneration.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine neuroscientist has revealed surprising functions of the brain region, such as its role in the brain’s rewards circuits and in addiction.

Patients who suffer a traumatic brain injury may exhibit abnormally abundant tau protein many years later, a new in vivo imaging technique reveals.