Researchers report the first clear, sex-specific differences in protein levels and structure in the white matter and mitochondria of brains from men and women with dementia, according to a study published in the open access journal Molecular Brain. Previous epidemiological studies have shown that women face a higher risk of dementia than men, but the … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified a brain circuit that becomes active in female mice after pregnancy and childbirth, enabling strong defensive aggression that is normally absent in non-pregnant females. The same neural pathway drives aggressive behavior in males but remains dormant in females until it is activated in mothers by the hormones oxytocin and prolactin. When … Read more

Summary: A new study reveals how the brain represents and responds to emotionally charged scenes, showing that the occipital temporal cortex (OTC) encodes both the semantic category and the emotional intensity of visual stimuli to guide behavior. Researchers report that the OTC does more than register simple “approach” or “avoid” signals. Instead, it distinguishes stimulus … Read more

Summary: Pain-sensing neurons directly communicate with goblet cells—the mucus-producing epithelial cells of the intestine. During inflammation and even at baseline, these neurons stimulate goblet cells to release protective mucus. The findings highlight an active role for the nervous system in maintaining the gut barrier and initiating protective responses during inflammatory stress. Source: Harvard Pain has … Read more

Summary: New research indicates that human milk oligosaccharides — the complex sugars unique to human breast milk — can change in pregnant women who take probiotic supplements. Source: University of Rochester New findings from the University of Rochester Medical Center suggest that the composition of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), long considered largely fixed, can be … Read more

Summary: Can hearing someone say a medical injection “really hurts” make the needle feel worse? A recent Dartmouth study shows the answer is yes. Researchers found that social information—what we are told about others’ experiences—can create a self-fulfilling prophecy that changes how we perceive pain and effort. This bias does more than influence our descriptions … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified the transcription factor MEIS2 as a key regulator of brain development, specifically in directing the formation of inhibitory projection neurons. Working together with DLX5, MEIS2 activates a set of enhancers and genes that steer precursor cells toward a projection neuron fate. A patient-associated MEIS2 variant fails to trigger these gene programs, … Read more

Summary: Researchers have developed a new, scalable method for recording brain activity across large areas and at depth. The technique promises advances for neuroprosthetics and brain-computer interfaces that could benefit amputees and people with movement-limiting neurological conditions. Source: Francis Crick Institute Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, Stanford University and UCL have created a new … Read more

Stuttering and the Brain: Right-Hemisphere Stop Signals Disrupt Speech Flow Summary: New research from the Max Planck Institute shows stronger activity and connectivity in right-hemisphere brain regions in adults who stutter, suggesting that overactive inhibitory networks interfere with the initiation and smooth flow of speech. One percent of adults and about five percent of children … Read more

Summary: Researchers report that otherwise healthy people who experience subtle psychotic-like symptoms—such as brief hallucinations or unusual beliefs—exhibit altered patterns of brain activity over time. Source: Elsevier. New research published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging finds that healthy adults who report psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) spend less time in recurring brain activity patterns associated … Read more