Summary: A large Swedish registry study finds an association between deliberate self-harm and an increased risk of violent criminal conviction. Source: Karolinska Institutet Self-harm Is Linked with Higher Risk of Violent Criminality, Swedish Registry Study Finds Researchers at Karolinska Institutet report a significant association between deliberate self-harm and subsequent violent criminal convictions in a population-based … Read more

Summary: Memory difficulties that can begin in midlife may reflect a shift in the type of information the brain prioritizes when forming and retrieving memories, rather than a straightforward loss of brain function. Source: McGill University. Research offers new insight into what healthy brain aging looks like. For many people, occasional lapses in remembering specific … Read more

Summary: A new study finds that losing a single night’s sleep can make junk food more appealing. Source: SfN One night without sleep raises the appeal of junk food, a study of healthy-weight young men published in the Journal of Neuroscience reports. Researchers led by Julia Rihm combined behavioral economics, hormonal measurements, and brain imaging … Read more

Summary: A large meta-analytic review explores the psychological profile of people who endorse conspiracy theories, finding that their beliefs are linked to specific motivations and personality characteristics rather than to widespread mental illness. Analyzing data from 170 studies with more than 158,000 participants, researchers found that conspiratorial thinking is most strongly associated with perceiving threats … Read more

New research finds vascular damage in mice with ALS contributes to early development of the neurodegenerative disease, while repairing damage delays disease progression. Neuroscientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a vascular contribution to early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathology in mice and shown that repairing that damage can delay motor … Read more

Summary: Researchers using a lightweight, head-mounted eye-tracking system recorded natural eye and head movements in freely moving mice and identified both parallels and clear differences with human eye movement patterns. Source: Sainsbury Wellcome Center Overview: In a study published in Current Biology, Arne Meyer, John O’Keefe and Jasper Poort introduced a miniature eye-tracking system made … Read more

Summary: A straightforward, sensitive memory test can help predict which people without current cognitive symptoms will develop memory problems and cognitive impairment years later, according to new research. Source: AAN A simple memory assessment can identify elevated risk of future cognitive impairment in people who appear cognitively normal. “There is growing evidence that some individuals … Read more

How Axons Convert Chemical Cues into Mechanical Force Summary: Researchers report that polarized phosphorylation of shootin1 within growth cones is essential for directional axon guidance in response to netrin-1 gradients. While modern technology moves rapidly toward wireless solutions, the nervous system still relies on precise, physical connections between neurons. Those connections form when one neuron … Read more

Summary: New mouse research shows that merely seeing or smelling food can trigger liver processes that prepare the body for digestion. Source: Cell Press. The sight or smell of appetizing food often makes the mouth water, but sensory perception of food can also produce rapid physiological changes beyond the salivary response. New research in mice … Read more

Summary: Scientists at Queen’s University Belfast have identified beneficial immune cells that stimulate myelin repair, offering a potential route to reverse damage in multiple sclerosis. Source: Queen’s University Belfast. Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have found that specific immune cells play a central role in repairing the brain. Led by Dr Yvonne Dombrowski and Dr … Read more