neuroscience, developmental biology

Once thought of as a mere motor coordination center, the “little brain” is now appreciated as participating in higher neurological processes.

Spontaneous waves of nerve impulses flowing across the retina help mouse pups practice motion detection for when they eventually open their eyes.

The hormone, which is well known for regulating appetite, appears to influence neuronal development—a finding that could shed light on disorders such as autism that involve dysfunctional synapse formation.

Without a brain, the frog embryo immune system doesn’t receive the signals it needs to mobilize macrophages and fight infections.

A gene involved in a newly described syndrome affects neural functioning in fruit fly embryos.

Brain scans of autistic and non-autistic men reveal an association between white matter aberrations and the ages of their fathers at the time the sons were born.

After growing in culture for a few months, the mini-brains produced rhythmic neural activity that strengthened over time.

The connectomes trace 385 neurons in the male worm and 302 neurons in the hermaphrodite worm.

A gene helps motor neurons successfully venture out from the spinal cord to muscles during mouse development.

A study links having a male twin with women’s educational, financial, and childbearing decisions. Researchers suspect prenatal exposure to testosterone may play a role.

Rodent and human studies have revealed a multitude of effects starting during gestation and lasting into adulthood.

Children born to moms who smoked or ingested marijuana during pregnancy suffer higher rates of depression, hyperactivity, and inattention.

Studying how neural crest cells journey through the embryo, this Caltech developmental biologist has revealed how they form major cell types, including peripheral neurons, bone, and smooth muscle.

Young rats injected with a synthetic cannabinoid have more of the brain’s motivating dopaminergic signaling and fewer numbers of inhibitory neurons than controls.

A zebrafish model of the birth defect craniosynostosis provides insights into how the condition develops.

Offspring of rats exposed to vaporized cannabis had difficulty switching strategies to get a sugar reward, according to a study presented at the Society for Neuroscience conference.

Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com

Regardless of parental income and education, children who engage in more two-way conversation with their parents learn better.

Inflammation may be a strong contender for the connection between mom’s weight and children’s neurodevelopment, according to lab studies on animals.

Live-cell imaging reveals the secrets of innervation in the pancreas of zebrafish.