Neuroscience

Links linking stress, depression and heart disease risk found – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Mouse study reveals how depression and chronic stress can impact cholesterol-lowering drugs and influence heart disease risk. Source: American Heart Association Findings from a new mouse model may help understand how depression and prolonged, severe stress increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Vascular Discovery: … Read more

How Sleep Helps Process Emotions – Neuroscience News

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Summary: A study sheds light on how the brain processes emotions during dream sleep by consolidating positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative emotions. The findings could pave the way for new treatments for PTSD and other disorders associated with negative emotional processing. Source: University of Bern Researchers from the Department of Neurology at … Read more

Family size may influence cognitive functioning later in life – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Having three or more children was associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline later in life. Source: Colombia University A new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center and Université Paris-Dauphine—PSL found that having three or more children rather than two has a negative effect on … Read more

Children with autism exhibit typical joint attention during play with a parent – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Young children on the autism spectrum achieved joint attention similar to that of a neurotypical child when playing with their parents. Source: Cell Press For decades, autism research has relied on data collected during laboratory tasks or interviews with clinicians that are more constrained than the child’s daily interactions with others. A study published … Read more

Eating sea squirts may reverse signs of aging – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Supplementing a diet with sea squirts, or sea squirts, reversed some of the key signs of aging in mouse models. Source: Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and seen graying hair and wrinkles or forgotten the name of a close friend, you’d be forgiven for wishing for a pill that … Read more

Engineering neurons offer new hope for treatment of Parkinson’s disease – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Researchers have devised a novel method of converting non-neural cells into functional neurons capable of forming synapses, delivering dopamine and restoring neuron function undermined by the dopamine cell destruction associated with Parkinson’s disease. Source: Arizona State University Neurodegenerative diseases damage and destroy neurons, ravaging both mental and physical health. Parkinson’s disease, which affects more … Read more

Key protein identified for brain stem cell longevity – Neuroscience News

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Summary: INSR, a protein essential for insulin activity, plays an essential role in the longevity of stem cells. Additionally, inactivation of INSR in glioblastoma brain cancer stem cells inhibits the growth of primitive tumor-forming cells. Source: Rutgers A receptor that was first identified as necessary for insulin action, which is also located on neural stem … Read more

Blocking inflammation may lead to chronic pain – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Anti-inflammatories can provide short-term pain relief, but blocking inflammation can lead to longer-term chronic pain, a new study has found. Source: McGill university Using anti-inflammatories and steroids for pain relief may increase the risk of developing chronic pain, according to researchers from McGill University and colleagues in Italy. Their research challenges conventional practices used … Read more

How a Gene Mutation Causes Higher Intelligence – Neuroscience News

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Summary: A rare genetic mutation that causes blindness also appears to be associated with above-average intelligence, a new study reports. Source: Leipzig University Synapses are the contact points in the brain through which nerve cells “talk” to each other. Disturbances in this communication lead to diseases of the nervous system, because altered synaptic proteins, for … Read more

Mediterranean diet helps beat depression in young men – Neuroscience News

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Summary: Switching to a Mediterranean diet significantly improved symptoms of depression in young men, a new study reports. Source: University of Sydney According to a new study, young men with poor diets saw significant improvement in their symptoms of depression when they switched to a healthy Mediterranean diet. Depression is a common mental health problem … Read more