Key Biochemical Trigger of Huntington’s Disease Progression Identified

Summary: Researchers have identified a crucial biochemical mechanism that could allow Huntington’s disease to be studied before symptoms appear, offering hope for early intervention. The team found that disrupted dopamine…

Childhood Attention Problems and Genes Linked to Psychosis Risk

Summary: Childhood attention issues, coupled with genetic predispositions, increase the likelihood of experiencing psychotic-like symptoms in adolescence. By analyzing data from 10,000 youths, researchers discovered that variability in attention spans…

Prenatal Cannabis Use Linked to Child Aggression and Cognitive Deficits

Summary: New research shows that prenatal exposure to cannabis can negatively impact children’s thinking and behavioral skills, including impulse control, attention, and aggression, which are key for academic and social…

Researchers identify deletions in long noncoding RNA that lead to severe neurodevelopmental disorder

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Broad Institute-led research has revealed that deletions in the CHASERR gene cause a distinct neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in severe encephalopathy, cortical atrophy, and cerebral hypomyelination. Developmental…

How Curiosity Styles Shape Wikipedia Use and Learning

Summary: A study of global Wikipedia browsing patterns reveals three curiosity styles: the focused “hunter,” the exploratory “busybody,” and the creative “dancer.” Data from 482,760 readers in 50 countries shows…

Depression Alters Brain Circuits, Heightening Negative Perception

Summary: Scientists have identified how depression alters the brain’s response to positive and negative stimuli, particularly in the amygdala, a key emotional processing center. The study found that depression reduces…

Individual Reward-Seeking Predicts Nicotine Response

Summary: A new study finds that individualistic reward-seeking behaviors in mice can predict their responses to nicotine. Conducted in a semi-natural environment called Souris-City, the research observed how male mice…

Chick Calls Reveal Emotional States

Summary: Researchers have developed a way to measure stress in baby chicks using vocalizations, offering new insights into animal emotions. The study found that chicks alone produced higher-pitched, louder calls,…

How Social Learning Guides Decisions When Preferences Differ

Summary: A new study shows that humans use social information to guide their decisions, even when others’ preferences differ from their own. Researchers found that people treat social cues as…

Study links poor sleep in middle age to signs of brain aging

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain People in early middle age who have poor sleep quality, including having difficulty falling or staying asleep, have more signs of poor brain health in late…