Brain’s ‘Traffic Directors’: Neurons That Keep Us Focused on Tasks

Summary: Researchers have illuminated how our brain maintains focus amidst distractions. Their study identifies “visual-movement” neurons in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) that use coordinated activity called “beta bursts” to…

Baby Gut Microbes: A Link to Early Cognitive Skills?

Summary: Researchers discovered associations between specific microbes in infants’ guts and early cognitive development performance. This exploratory study examined 56 infants, revealing that certain microbiome compositions corresponded with success in…

Long-term Acid Reflux Drugs Linked to Higher Dementia Risk?

Summary: Long-term use (over 4.4 years) of proton pump inhibitors, prescribed for acid reflux, may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, this research does not establish a…

Dopamine Tunes the Brain for Both Singing and Speech

Summary: Contrary to popular belief, speech and singing use overlapping brain circuits, primarily located in the left hemisphere. This discovery challenges the 50-year notion that the right hemisphere supports the…

Tactile imagery used to improve rehabilitation of patients with motor disorders

Brain MRI projection. Credit: Skoltech Skoltech researchers in collaboration with Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian…

The role of the bilateral motor cortices in speech perception

The motor cortex helps restore auditory speech representation in noise. Inspired by archaeology, the “relics” of syllables (i.e., auditory representations) are placed on the “land” of the auditory cortex. The…

Wheat Gluten Spurs Brain Inflammation

Summary: Researchers found that wheat gluten induces brain inflammation in mice, a finding that could have implications for human health. The study revealed that when mice consumed gluten, inflammation occurred…

Psychedelics Sync Neurons: A Glimpse into Consciousness & Psychosis

Summary: Researchers have pioneered a method to simultaneously measure electrical signals from 128 brain regions in conscious rats. Using this technique, they observed the effects of psychedelic drugs, LSD and…

Why Do We Like Certain Scents?

Summary: Researchers delved into understanding why certain smells appeal to us and others don’t by studying locusts. Through a series of experiments, they analyzed how locusts’ brains reacted to various…

Depression and Anxiety Are Not Cancer Risk Factors

Summary: The association between depression, anxiety and cancer risk has been a point of contention in scientific circles. In an new study a multi-national team refutes the idea that these…