Summary: Researchers find that groups of brain regions that synchronize their activity during memory tasks become smaller and more numerous with age, reflecting reduced cohesion in memory-related brain networks. Source: PLOS. Groups of brain regions with coordinated activity remain individual-specific but lose cohesion as we age New research published in PLOS Computational Biology reports that … Read more

Summary: Most people with Parkinson’s disease experience a reduced sense of smell years before movement symptoms appear. Researchers are investigating whether the neurons that carry scent information from the nose to the brain contribute to the disease’s development. Source: University of Ottawa More than 80 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease report a diminished sense … Read more

Summary: New research identifies a regulatory genetic mechanism that increases risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), improving understanding of the disease that is a leading cause of adult vision loss. Source: PLOS By integrating a genome-wide map of regulatory binding sites with genetic variants linked to disease, researchers have identified a functional genetic risk factor … Read more

Summary: Social trauma disrupts the brain’s reward system, so social interaction ceases to be rewarding and prompts broad social avoidance. Source: Mount Sinai Hospital Key finding: A population of stress- and threat-responsive neurons in the lateral septum records prior social trauma and becomes hyperactive during later encounters with otherwise non-threatening social partners. Researchers at the … Read more

Summary: New research finds that children with chronic health conditions are significantly more likely to experience mental health problems in late childhood and early adolescence. At age 10 and 13 these children were about twice as likely to report anxiety, depression or other mental health difficulties compared with their healthy peers, and by age 15 … Read more

Summary: Researchers have produced the most detailed in vivo map to date of the neural pathways linking the hippocampus with the rest of the human brain. The new map offers fresh perspectives on how memory, imagination, and visual processing are integrated in the human brain. Source: University of Sydney The most detailed map yet made … Read more

Summary: New research maps how cocaine changes gene activity across the brain’s reward system, revealing stage-specific molecular signatures that could inform future treatments for addiction. Source: Elsevier. Researchers report in Biological Psychiatry that cocaine self-administration produces distinct, region-specific changes in gene expression across the brain’s reward circuitry. The study captures molecular responses to initial use, … Read more

Summary: A national twin study published in Brain finds a modestly increased risk of stroke for people who experience migraine with aura, but no clear increase in stroke risk for those who have migraine without aura. Source: Karolinska Institute. Migraine with aura is linked to a slightly higher stroke risk, while migraine without aura shows … Read more

Summary: YTHDF2 is a key protein that helps preserve healthy blood formation by regulating inflammatory responses in blood-forming stem cells. Source: University of Edinburgh New research reveals a protein with a vital role in protecting the blood system’s stem cells from premature decline, ensuring their ability to generate blood and immune cells throughout life. Researchers … Read more

System designed to improve hand function lost to nerve damage Engineers at Oregon State University have developed and demonstrated a simple implanted pulley mechanism that could help restore hand function after nerve injury. Tested in cadaver hands, the device is among the first internal mechanical implants designed to improve transmission of force and coordinated finger … Read more