Summary: Researchers found that, on average, women who engage in self-injury tolerate more pain than those who do not. Brain imaging showed stronger connectivity between regions that perceive pain and regions that regulate or dampen pain signals, suggesting a more effective pain-modulation system in people who self-harm. Source: Karolinska Institute Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in … Read more

Summary: Children and adolescents from racial and ethnic minority groups—particularly Black youth—are disproportionately affected by insomnia that begins in childhood and persists into young adulthood. This long-term study highlights the chronic nature of childhood-onset insomnia and its association with serious health risks, including cardiometabolic disease and mental health disorders, underscoring the need for early identification … Read more

CHOP scientists help lead research pointing to new targets for more effective childhood epilepsy treatments. An international team of researchers has identified multiple gene mutations that underlie severe, treatment-resistant forms of childhood epilepsy. Many of these mutations interfere with synaptic function—the specialized junctions where neurons communicate—highlighting the synapse as a key area for future therapies. … Read more

Summary: New research from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that consuming a high-fat diet can alter the gut microbiome, change behavior, and affect brain chemistry in ways that may increase anxiety. In an animal model, rats fed a diet high in saturated fat developed less diverse gut bacterial communities and showed increased expression of … Read more

Summary: A new study links low maternal thyroxine levels during pregnancy to a higher risk of schizophrenia in offspring. Source: Elsevier Researchers report that low free thyroxine levels during early to mid-gestation are associated with increased odds of schizophrenia in children. Low circulating free thyroxine during pregnancy—referred to as hypothyroxinemia—has previously been tied to altered … Read more

Summary: An international research consortium has identified a quantitative biomarker in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that markedly improves diagnostic accuracy for Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia (LBD). The protein DOPA decarboxylase (DDC), essential to dopamine synthesis, was found at substantially higher concentrations in affected patients and can reliably distinguish these disorders from Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers … Read more

Summary: A national poll from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital finds that parental stress commonly clouds the holiday season for families. About one in five parents say their children hold unrealistic expectations about the holidays, and one in four parents admit they put unrealistic pressure on themselves to create a “perfect” holiday. … Read more

Summary: New research suggests that hotter temperatures and climates with less seasonal variation are associated with greater aggression and violence. Source: Ohio State University Climate, Behavior, and the CLASH Model A team of psychologists has proposed a new framework to explain why violent crime and aggressive behavior tend to be more common in regions nearer … Read more

Summary: Researchers have decoded the sensory processing mechanisms that make the sensation of eating chocolate so irresistible to most people. Source: University of Leeds Scientists at the University of Leeds have mapped the physical processes that occur in the mouth when a piece of chocolate transforms from a solid into a smooth, lubricating emulsion — … Read more

Pitt Researchers Publish Mathematical Model Showing How Clustered Neurons Drive Brain Dynamics Summary: Mathematical modeling by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reveals how neurons organized into clustered networks produce unpredictable, competitive dynamics in the brain. These clustered groups can dominate activity at different times, and even weak stimuli can bias which groups prevail. The … Read more