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…
Tag: neurobiology
Dog Brains Differentiate Human Anger, Fear, and Sadness
Summary: A new study demonstrated that dogs possess specialized neural networks for processing human facial expressions. The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning to analyze canine…
Prefrontal Cortex Can Block Creative Problem-Solving
Summary: Researchers discovered an unexpected role for the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a region traditionally viewed as the executive driver of behavioral flexibility. The team demonstrated that the mPFC can…
Why Psychedelics Make Everything Feel Deeply Connected
Summary: Researchers introduce “apical hypercontextualisation”—a bottom-up neurobiological mechanism explaining how psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT, mescaline) transform perception and cognition. Moving beyond macro-scale whole-brain neuroimaging, the framework focuses on the cellular…
Early Stress Heightens Adult Anxiety
Summary: Researchers uncovered a fundamental epigenetic mechanism explaining how early-life adversity permanently alters the brain’s stress response networks. The study identified that childhood trauma increases levels of the enzyme SETD7…
How Overconfidence and Loss Aversion Co-Evolved
Summary: Researchers propose an evolutionary resolution to why human overconfidence persists despite causing costly decision-making errors. The study argues that overconfidence functions analogously to a peacock’s tail: a costly evolutionary…
Peripheral Blood Cells Replenish Aging Human Microglia
Summary: Researchers revealed that aging leads to a massive, previously unrecognized migration of peripheral blood stem cell-derived immune cells into the human brain. The team dismantled the long-held dogma that…
Depression Triggers Volume Loss in Memory Brain Areas
Summary: Researchers identified a specific structural brain change associated with depression in older adults. Examining high-resolution MRI scans from 2,009 cognitively unimpaired adults aged 50 to 90, the team discovered…
Nonordinary Experiences Lead to Long-Term Personal Growth
Summary: Researchers investigated how individuals perceive and process nonordinary experiences (NOEs), such as out-of-body experiences, extrasensory perception, and sensing an unseen presence. Utilizing a newly validated 47-item Inventory of Nonordinary…
Phase 1 Trial Validates Anti-PD-L1 Antibody for Alzheimer’s
Summary: Researchers announced the successful completion of a Phase 1b clinical trial for a novel immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s disease. The trial evaluated IBC-Ab002, a humanized anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody specifically engineered…
