Summary: New research indicates that people experiencing a first episode of psychosis who also have skin problems are more likely to face severe psychiatric outcomes, including higher rates of depression and suicidality. In a study of 481 individuals, those reporting dermatological symptoms such as rash or itching were more than three times as likely to … Read more

Summary: Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have pinpointed regions in neuronal DNA that consistently accumulate single-strand breaks (SSBs). These SSB hotspots are largely unique to neurons and prompt a rethink of how DNA damage arises and how failures in repair may contribute to neurodegenerative disorders. Source: NIH Researchers at the National Institutes of … Read more

Finding a needle in a haystack may sound like a metaphor, but new research shows our brains can be electrically guided to detect targets far more quickly, even in cluttered and distracting scenes. Published December 1, 2014 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this study challenges prevailing ideas about how visual attention … Read more

Summary: Supplementing very preterm infants with the omega‑3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) after birth was associated with an average increase of about 3.5 IQ points at age five compared with preterm infants who did not receive DHA. Source: SAHMRI New findings from SAHMRI indicate a measurable link between neonatal DHA supplementation and higher intelligence … Read more

Summary: Researchers report that the acid-sensing receptor TDAG8 may play an important role in the physiological mechanisms underlying panic disorder. Source: University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. Panic disorder causes sudden, repeated episodes of intense fear and anxiety that can be physically debilitating. The condition commonly begins in adolescence or early adulthood and often produces … Read more

Summary: Researchers temporarily switched off the neural pathway between the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens in primate models, which reduced motivation but did not impair reinforcement-based learning. Source: KU Leuven For the first time, neurophysiologists from KU Leuven, Harvard and Kyoto University have reversibly and selectively disrupted a connection between two brain regions … Read more

The motor cortex uses multiple brain-wave frequency bands to coordinate movement Synchronized neuronal activity is essential for the brain to process information and produce coordinated behavior. Neurons that fire together within a region, and oscillatory brain waves that align across regions, support communication and timing for complex tasks. New research led by Tomoki Fukai at … Read more

Do you often feel overwhelmed by incoming information and notice you forget things like a shopping list after hearing the sports results? It turns out this ordinary forgetfulness may be an essential part of how we learn. New research from the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, published in Current Biology, shows that … Read more

Summary: A surgical team at NYU Langone Health performed the world’s first combined face and whole-eye transplant in 2023, a milestone that advances the field of transplant surgery and vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA). The complex operation, carried out on a military veteran with severe facial and ocular injuries, required more than 140 specialists and introduced … Read more

Summary: Researchers have introduced a new type of artificial neuron called infomorphic neurons. These units independently learn and self-organize with nearby neurons, mimicking the decentralized, local learning that occurs in biological brains. Drawing inspiration from pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex, infomorphic neurons process local signals to adapt, specialize and cooperate without centralized control. Each … Read more