Summary: Deficiencies in the SHANK3 gene are associated with sleep disturbances in both people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and in mouse models. Patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome—a genetic condition linked to SHANK3 and often associated with autism—report trouble falling and staying asleep. In mouse models, animals lacking part of the Shank3 gene experienced poorer deep … Read more

Summary: A large UK cohort study finds that people with hearing loss who do not use hearing aids have a higher risk of developing dementia than those without hearing loss; hearing aid users with hearing loss show no increased dementia risk. Source: The Lancet New research published in The Lancet Public Health suggests that untreated … Read more

Summary: By combining neuroimaging with advanced artificial intelligence, researchers have mapped a distributed brain network that represents the meaning of spoken sentences. Source: University of Rochester Medical Center How do we hear a sentence and instantly grasp its meaning, even though the same words in a different order can mean something completely different? A recent … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified a broad perceptual skill, called “o,” that predicts how well people learn and perform tasks requiring object recognition and other perceptual decisions. Source: The Conversation People differ in many ways. You’re likely familiar with differences in personality and in cognitive abilities such as reasoning, memory and problem-solving. By contrast, many assume … Read more

Summary: Scene-selective cortical regions show greater age-related sensitivity than face-selective regions in both perception and memory. Source: UT Dallas Healthy brains generally become less efficient with age, but this decline is neither uniform across tasks nor across brain regions. Mapping these differences helps clarify how the brain supports perception and memory throughout life. Researchers at … Read more

Summary: Decoding brain activity can advance brain–computer interfaces, improving treatments and enabling people with neurological conditions to interact more effectively with their environment. Source: Stanford. For more than a century, people have imagined linking the human brain—remarkably adaptable but vulnerable—to precise, reliable machines. Early science fiction speculated on clockwork enhancements and transplanted brains piloting starships. … Read more

Summary: A synthesized small-molecule drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier blocks the TGF‑β receptor in astrocytes. In aged mice this treatment reduced receptor activity to levels seen in younger animals, decreased neuroinflammation, and restored learning and spatial navigation abilities. Source: UC Berkeley Drugs that reduce brain inflammation may slow or reverse age-related cognitive decline Researchers … Read more

New research from the University of Florida suggests that producing new nerve cells in the hippocampus may help prevent memory loss and support memory improvement as people age or experience neurological challenges. Scientists find link in humans between nerve cell production and memory A study led by researchers at the University of Florida reports a … Read more

Have you ever wondered why some people find it easier to quit smoking than others? Recent research suggests that genetic differences that determine how quickly the body breaks down nicotine play a major role in that variation. Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University, report that individuals who metabolize … Read more

Image via Wikipedia Recent neuroscience research indicates that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can reveal decision tendencies that people themselves do not fully predict. In experiments with students, patterns of brain activity recorded by fMRI sometimes forecasted which choice a person was more likely to make, even when the student’s conscious expectation about their own … Read more