Summary: Researchers have discovered that spontaneous eye-blink rate serves as a simple, noninvasive marker for tracking the development of executive function in early childhood. The study revealed that children aged…
Category: Featured
Disruption of Striatal D2 Receptor Neurons Drives ADHD and Impulsivity
Summary: Researchers have demonstrated that deleting the membrane-fusion protein NSF specifically from dopamine D2 receptor (D2R)-expressing neurons leads to striatal shrinkage, severe dopamine depletion, and classic ADHD-like hyperactivity and impulsivity…
Central Genetic Switch Controls Long-Distance Axon Navigation
Summary: Challenging the dogma that growing axons navigate exclusively via local cues processed at their tips, neuroscientists have discovered that a centralized genetic switch inside the neuron’s cell body directs…
Brain Activity Predicts Risky Choices Half a Second Before They Are Made
Summary: By recording directly from electrodes implanted in the human orbitofrontal cortex, neuroscientists discovered two neighboring circuits locked in a millisecond-by-millisecond “tug-of-war” between taking a risk and playing it safe.…
How Severe Illness During Pregnancy Alters Fetal Brain Development
Summary: Researchers have discovered that maternal immune activation during pregnancy alters the epigenome of fetal brain cells, disrupting deep-layer neurons and increasing the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. Key…
Aging Brains Maintain Robust Language Networks Despite Cognitive Decline
Summary: While executive functions like memory and problem-solving naturally decline as we age, new brain imaging research reveals that the neural network responsible for language remains preserved and fully functional.…
Youth Protein TIMP2 Restores Immune Function in the Aging Brain
Summary: Researchers have discovered that the youth-associated protein TIMP2 plays a critical role in maintaining the healthy function of microglia, the brain’s primary immune cells. Supplementing this protein in aged…
Shame, Stigma, and Culture Prevent Male Domestic Violence Survivors From Seeking Help
Summary: A new large-scale study identifies the primary barriers that prevent male victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) from seeking help. Researchers found that viewing the abuse as a private…
Study of Brain Immune Cells Reveals New Clues to Alzheimer’s Disease Progression
Summary: Researchers have mapped over 830,000 brain immune cells, discovering a protective subtype of microglia that expands as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. Driven by the TREM2 molecular pathway, these cells actively…
Regenerative Astrocytes Repair Brain Damage
Summary: Researchers discovered a previously unknown mechanism through which the adult mammalian brain repairs itself following focal injuries or autoimmune damage. Using two-photon microscopy and longitudinal gene mapping in living…
