Summary: A large UK study of more than 30,000 adults formally diagnosed with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found an apparent reduction in life expectancy compared with matched peers without ADHD. The estimated years of life lost ranged from about 4.5–9 years for men and 6.5–11 years for women. Researchers warn these figures may overstate the true … Read more
Summary: New findings indicate that walking patterns become more stable when healthy adults perform a cognitive task simultaneously, suggesting the brain can effectively manage dual demands without compromising gait or thinking. Source: University of Rochester Researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, challenged the long-held notion that people cannot effectively multitask … Read more
Summary: New research maps the brain networks linked to delusional misidentification syndromes, clarifying why patients may falsely perceive people or places as unfamiliar or impostors. Source: BIDMC Researchers identify brain networks associated with delusional misidentification syndromes Neuroscientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have identified the brain regions and networks most commonly associated with … Read more
Face Pareidolia: Study Shows Gendered Happy Face Advantage in Illusory Faces Summary: Our brains apply the same social and perceptual biases to face-like patterns in inanimate objects as they do to real human faces. This effect—known as face pareidolia—explains why people routinely see faces in items such as the moon, burnt toast, or tree bark. … Read more
Summary: People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show reduced left-right brain asymmetry. A large international study found smaller differences in cortical thickness between the hemispheres across several brain regions in individuals with ASD. Source: Max Planck Institute Background The two cerebral hemispheres normally develop with functional and structural specializations—for instance, language is typically lateralized to … Read more
A dedicated orchestra for people living with dementia has significantly improved participants’ confidence, mood, and sense of belonging, according to recent work by the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI). The community ensemble brings together people with dementia, family carers, professional musicians, university students and volunteers to create meaningful musical experiences that strengthen social ties and … Read more
In novel mouse study, drug significantly prevented onset of cognitive and cellular effects Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that long-term treatment with a small-molecule drug that dampens the brain’s stress circuitry markedly reduces Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathology and prevents the onset of cognitive impairment in a validated mouse … Read more
Summary: Newly discovered chemical modifications and a high-resolution map of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA provide fresh clues for fighting COVID-19 and improve understanding of the virus’s lifecycle. Source: Institute for Basic Science Jean and Peter Medawar described a virus as “simply a piece of bad news wrapped up in proteins.” For SARS-CoV-2, that “bad news” is … Read more
Summary: New laboratory-grown retinal organoids recreate key features of human retinal development and reveal factors that promote axon growth from retinal ganglion cells, a step toward restoring connections between the eye and brain. Source: IUPUI IUPUI researchers are growing three-dimensional “mini retinas” from human pluripotent stem cells to model how the human retina develops and … Read more
University of Leicester researchers reveal how inositol phosphates activate HDAC-containing gene regulatory complexes New findings from the University of Leicester shed light on how small signaling molecules called inositol phosphates control the activity of large gene regulatory complexes. The discovery refines our understanding of histone deacetylase (HDAC) regulation and may guide development of more selective … Read more
