Haydeh Payami helped uncover the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease. Now, she hopes to find new ways to treat the disease by studying the gut microbiome.

Conversations between the immune and central nervous systems are proving to be essential for the healthy social behavior, learning, and memory.

The changes may help explain the link between maternal infection and autism, though more research is needed.

The approach could help test hypotheses about how atypical function of the brain’s immune cells contributes to autism.

Emerging evidence links bacterial or viral infection with the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease.

Microbes in the gut influence the death of support cells in the brain by producing isoamylamine, a study suggests.

The once fringe idea is gaining traction among the scientific community.

Meet some of the people featured in the November 2016 issue of The Scientist.

Once thought only to attack neurons, immune cells turn out to be vital for central nervous system function.