Summary: Researchers have identified the cerebellum as a promising target to reduce the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal—the phase of alcohol use disorder (AUD) that often triggers relapse. In mouse experiments, calming overactive neurons in the cerebellum eased both physical and emotional withdrawal signs. This was achieved using a genetic chemogenetic approach and with a synthetic … Read more

Summary: A new study from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center indicates that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains largely intact in a commonly used mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Using a stable tracer molecule together with highly sensitive analytical methods, the researchers found no evidence of widespread leakage across major brain regions, even in the … Read more

Summary: New research reveals that walking changes how the brain processes sounds, sharpening auditory responses compared to standing still. While volunteers walked a figure-eight path, their brain activity showed stronger reactions to sounds, and the direction of turns shifted processing between ears, enhancing or suppressing responses depending on the turn. Brief bursts of tones produced … Read more

Summary: A large international study finds that virtually all heart attacks, strokes, and cases of heart failure occur in people who already had at least one known cardiovascular risk factor. Researchers tracked more than 9 million adults in South Korea and nearly 7,000 adults in the United States, and found that over 99% had nonoptimal … Read more

Summary: A U.S. study that matched daily pollen records with suicide data over more than a decade finds a clear link between high pollen days and a measurable rise in suicide risk. The effect grows with pollen intensity, reaching a 7.4% increase on the days with the highest pollen counts. The impact was strongest among … Read more

Summary: A new study shows that musicians experience pain differently from non-musicians because years of focused training reshape their brains. While induced hand pain typically reduces the size of motor maps and increases reported discomfort in non-musicians, musicians maintained stable motor maps and reported lower pain levels after the same procedure. The study found a … Read more

Summary: In very preterm infants, greater amounts of skin-to-skin contact during the hospital stay were associated with measurable differences in brain regions involved in stress response and emotional regulation. Diffusion MRI markers indicated that longer skin-to-skin sessions corresponded with alterations in white matter tracts that support attention, memory, and emotional processing. These relationships persisted after … Read more

Summary: Two major international imaging studies demonstrate that brain biomarkers can forecast whether people with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) will later develop Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Advanced MRI techniques show that reduced glymphatic circulation predicts a higher risk of Parkinson’s, while increased free water in the basal nucleus of … Read more

Summary: Japanese researchers have developed an mRNA vaccine that suppresses abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina of mice, offering a promising, less invasive alternative for treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Unlike current therapies that require repeated injections directly into the eye, this vaccine is administered intramuscularly. By targeting leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1)—a protein linked … Read more

Summary: New laboratory research indicates that dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a naturally occurring psychoactive compound present in many plants and in the human brain, can reduce damage caused by stroke in animal and cell models. In these studies, DMT treatment lowered the size of brain infarcts, limited swelling, reduced inflammatory signaling, and helped restore the function of … Read more