Summary: The retina mounts a distinct immune response when photoreceptor cells are damaged: instead of recruiting circulating neutrophils—the immune system’s typical first responders—the retina relies on microglia, its resident immune cells. This localized response appears to limit inflammation and protect delicate retinal tissue from further harm. Researchers using advanced adaptive optics imaging observed these dynamics … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified a new sensory pathway they call the “neurobiotic sense” — a gut-to-brain communication system in which specialized epithelial cells in the colon detect bacterial signals and relay real-time information to the brain to regulate appetite. These cells, known as neuropods, sense a common bacterial protein called flagellin and transmit an appetite-suppressing … Read more

Summary: A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem identifies a brain circuit that intensifies negative emotions during cocaine withdrawal and shows how that circuit can drive relapse. Researchers found that an “anti-reward” glutamatergic network in the ventral pallidum becomes more active during abstinence, heightening distress and motivating renewed drug use. At the same … Read more

Summary: A new study finds that adolescents who use e-cigarettes, conventional tobacco products (CTPs) such as cigarettes, cigars, hookah and pipes, or both, are significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety than peers who do not use tobacco. Researchers analyzed responses from more than 60,000 U.S. middle and high school students surveyed … Read more

Summary: New research finds that the brain’s internal map of space changes each time we traverse a familiar environment. Even when mice experienced identical virtual mazes with tightly controlled sensory input, hippocampal neurons activated in different patterns on successive runs. These results indicate that spatial memories are dynamic and continually updated rather than permanently fixed. … Read more

Summary: A new study reveals how evolution sharpens instinctive fear responses by adjusting a single neural switch deep in the brain. By comparing two closely related deer-mouse species, researchers show that mice from dense forests have an over-sensitive escape circuit, while open-field mice are more prone to freeze when faced with the same threat. That … Read more

Summary: A recent study indicates that levels of inflammation influence how cannabis affects anxiety and sleep quality. While four weeks of cannabis use did not change systemic inflammatory markers overall, a person’s baseline inflammatory status significantly moderated the effects on mood and sleep. Products rich in cannabidiol (CBD) consistently reduced negative mood and improved sleep, … Read more

Summary: A new mathematical study explains why sleep patterns vary across the lifespan — why babies nap unpredictably, teenagers stay up late, and many older adults wake earlier. By extending the classic two-process model of sleep to include light exposure, researchers reveal how internal sleep drives and environmental cues combine to shape when we sleep. … Read more

Summary: Researchers have created a computational “aging clock” that measures the biological age of brain cells and pinpoints compounds with potential to rejuvenate them. By analyzing gene expression from healthy and neurodegenerative human brain tissue, the team identified 453 interventions predicted to reverse cell-level aging. Early animal tests showed behavioral, cognitive, and molecular improvements in … Read more

Summary: Researchers warn of a new disinformation tactic called “AIPasta” — a method that uses generative AI to produce many slightly different versions of the same false message so it appears to come from multiple sources. Unlike traditional CopyPasta, which copies the identical text repeatedly, AIPasta generates paraphrases that preserve the original claim while varying … Read more