Summary: New research indicates that a toxic build-up of urea in the brain can cause damage that may lead to dementia, with potential implications for earlier diagnosis and new treatment strategies. Source: University of Manchester International research team identifies elevated brain urea as a likely major contributor to age-related dementia An international team of scientists, … Read more

Summary: Elevated levels of ghrelin, the stomach-derived hunger hormone, are associated with a stronger preference for smaller, immediate monetary rewards over larger, delayed ones. Source: The Endocrine Society New research shows that higher circulating ghrelin concentrations, a hormone produced in the stomach that stimulates appetite, predict a greater tendency to choose smaller immediate monetary rewards … Read more

Summary: With Halloween approaching, researchers examine why many people seek out fear and find enjoyment in being scared. Source: The Conversation. John Carpenter’s landmark horror film Halloween marks its 40th anniversary this year. Few horror films have achieved the same cultural impact, and many credit it with launching the wave of slasher movies that followed. … Read more

Summary: Children raised in multilingual households—whether autistic or not—tend to show stronger executive function skills such as inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and perspective-taking than their monolingual peers. The study also found that multilingualism is associated with reduced repetitive behaviors and improved communication in autistic children, and it revealed no evidence that learning multiple languages causes developmental … Read more

Summary: Researchers have advanced our understanding of how the brain forms and consolidates memories during periods of rest and sleep. New work examines how the hippocampus — a region central to memory — replays sequences of neuronal activity and how those replays may be prioritized to improve learning. This study highlights the role of hippocampal … Read more

Summary: Neurons in the amygdala derive object values from observation and use those values to simulate a social partner’s decision-making process. Source: University of Cambridge Scientists report discovering a distinct class of brain cells that appear to reconstruct others’ decision processes, enabling prediction of intentions and potentially explaining social-cognitive difficulties seen in conditions such as … Read more

Summary: Researchers have investigated the neurobiological changes that occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period, clarifying how the maternal brain adapts and how these adaptations relate to maternal behavior. Fluctuating hormones—particularly estrogens—appear to drive brain plasticity across pregnancy and after childbirth. This review builds on findings first reported in 2017 showing that pregnancy produces measurable … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified a stress-associated protein that links the body’s stress-regulation system with metabolic control, revealing a potential new target for preventing or treating type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. Source: Max Planck Institute. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have shown, for the first time, that a stress-related protein … Read more

Summary: Breastfeeding supports bonding and reduces some negative outcomes associated with postnatal depression. In this study, breastfeeding also appeared to protect infants’ brain development and temperament when mothers experienced maternal depression. Source: Florida Atlantic University About one in nine new mothers experiences maternal depression, which can weaken the mother–infant bond and influence early infant development. … Read more

For decades neuroscientists taught a simple loop: the cortex sends sensory, motor and cognitive signals into the basal ganglia, which process them and route output through the thalamus back to cortex. New animal research challenges that classic circuit. A study published in Nature reports a direct route from the basal ganglia to frontal cortex—bypassing the … Read more