Nervous System News

July 19, 2024

Top Headlines

Youth With Conduct Disorder Show Widespread Differences in Brain Structure

July 16, 2024 — The largest neuroimaging study of conduct disorder to date has revealed extensive changes in brain structure among young people with the disorder. The largest difference was a smaller area of the brain's outer layer, known as the cerebral cortex, ...

Study Reveals How an Anesthesia Drug Induces Unconsciousness

July 15, 2024 — Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, induces unconsciousness by disrupting the brain's normal balance between stability and ...

Researchers Identify Potential Therapeutic Target for Management of Thirst Disorders

July 11, 2024 — In a recent mouse-model study researchers have now found that the cerebellum also controls thirst, a major function necessary for survival. Specifically, the research team found that a hormone, ...

Engineers' Probe Could Help Advance Treatment for Spinal Cord Disease, Injury

July 11, 2024 — Neuroscientists have used a nanosized sensor to record spinal cord neurons in free-moving mice, a feat that could lead to the development of better treatments for spinal cord disease and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:51pm EDT

New Target in Critical Pain-Regulating Brain Region

July 11, 2024 — A new study has found that prolonged nerve injury (in an experimental model of chronic pain) reduces the expression of the transcription factor, Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2C (MEF2C) in the nucleus ...

A New Material Derived from Graphene Improves the Performance of Neuroprostheses

July 10, 2024 — Neuroprostheses allow the nervous system of a patient who has suffered an injury to connect with mechanical devices that replace paralyzed or ...

Understanding the Roots of Chronic Pain

July 11, 2024 — Researchers have identified an ion channel that contributes to chronic pain, suggesting a new target for pain ...

Researchers Identify Cause of Serious Brain Bleeding Condition in Premature Newborns

July 9, 2024 — Scientists have found that in premature newborns with very low birth weight, salt and water transporters on immature neurons can cause brain tissue ...

Brain Fluid Dynamics Key to Migraine Mysteries, New Therapies

July 4, 2024 — New research details the connection between the neurological symptoms associated with aura and the migraine that follows. The study also identifies new proteins that could be responsible for ...

Discovery of Cellular Mechanism to Maintain Brain's Energy Could Benefit Late-Life Brain Health

July 3, 2024 — A key mechanism which detects when the brain needs an additional energy boost to support its activity has been identified in a study in mice and ...

Controlling the Precise Timing of Electrical Pulses May Offer Promise for Treating Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

June 11, 2024 — Scientists show that specifying the timing pattern of neurostimulation -- impulses used to activate the brain's own electrical signaling mechanisms ...

How Our Brains Develop Facial Recognition Skills: New Face-Detecting Brain Circuit

July 2, 2024 — Scientists have uncovered a brain circuit in primates that rapidly detects faces. The findings help not only explain how primates sense and recognize ...

How Does the Human Brain Switch Between Survival Tasks?

June 27, 2024 — The hypothalamus is a small region of the human brain typically associated with regulating body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and sleep. But it also has another important role: helping the ...

Personalized Magnetic Stimulation May Help in Treating Depression

June 24, 2024 — Not all patients with depression respond to medication. Two recently published studies provide additional information on how an alternative treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), could ...

Earlier Headlines

Removal of Ovaries Before Menopause Associated With Reduced White Matter in Brain

June 20, 2024 — Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause, particularly before the age of 40, have reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain later in life, a new study suggests. ...

New Technology Allows Researchers to Precisely, Flexibly Modulate Brain

June 17, 2024 — Researchers have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target affected neurons in the brain, creating the ...

Promising Gene Therapy for FOXG1 Syndrome

June 13, 2024 — A viral gene therapy has reversed some brain abnormalities in infant mice with FOXG1 syndrome, a significant step toward one day treating children with this severe neurodevelopmental ...

Mouse Study Identifies Unique Approach for Preventing Life-Threatening Complications After Spinal Cord Injury

June 12, 2024 — A new study identifies a druggable cellular target that, if controlled properly, could prevent or lessen autonomic dysfunction and improve quality of life for people with spinal cord ...

How the Brain Is Affected by Huntington's Disease

June 10, 2024 — The genetic disease Huntington's not only affects nerve cells in the brain but also has widespread effects on microscopic blood vessels according to research. These changes to the vasculature ...

How Does Oxygen Depletion Disrupt Memory Formation in the Brain?

June 7, 2024 — When we learn something new, our brain cells (neurons) communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. If the same group of neurons communicate together often, the connections ...

Omega-3 Therapy Prevents Birth-Related Brain Injury in Newborn Rodents

June 6, 2024 — A novel omega-3 injectable emulsion reduces brain damage in newborn rodents experiencing lack of oxygen at delivery, a major cause of disability in human infants and ...

The Body's Own Lipids Affect Mental Disorders: Can Specific Inhibitors Help?

June 6, 2024 — A genetic disorder leads to an increase in bioactive lipids in the brain, resulting in an imbalance between excitation and inhibition in neural circuits and promoting mental disorders. However, ...

Poor Quality Diet Makes Our Brains Sad

June 5, 2024 — Eating a poor quality diet might lead to brain changes that are associated with depression and anxiety. This is according to a first-of-its-kind study into the brain chemistry and structure, and diet ...

Zapping the Right Brain Cells: The Path to Improved Stimulation

June 4, 2024 — Researchers discovered that different types of neurons showed distinct patterns of 'syncing up' with electrical fields. These patterns varied depending on the rate at which the electrical ...

New Deep Brain Stimulation Algorithm May Help Personalize Parkinson's Disease Treatment

June 4, 2024 — Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown promise as a treatment for some symptoms of Parkinson s disease (PD). However, not all symptoms improve equally well with DBS. A better understanding of how ...

Mapping the Mind With BARseq

June 3, 2024 — A team has scaled up the powerful brain-mapping tool BARseq. The technology is now capable of mapping millions of neurons throughout the brain. Identifying how neural connections are wired up over ...

Researchers Have Located the Brain Network Responsible for Stuttering

May 28, 2024 — An international research group succeeded in identifying the probable origin of stuttering in the ...

Lght-Controlled 'Off Switch' for Brain Cells

May 24, 2024 — New genetic tool could help investigate brain function and psychiatric ...

How Neurons Build a 3-D Vascular Structure to Keep the Retina Healthy

May 24, 2024 — Scientists have known for years that a lattice of blood vessels nourishes cells in the retina that allow us to see -- but it's been a mystery how the intricate structure is created. Now, ...

Researchers Unveil Shared and Unique Brain Molecular Dysregulations in PTSD and Depression

May 23, 2024 — Researchers analyzed multi-omic data from 231 people with PTSD or depression to uncover distinct molecular differences that might affect systems such as the nervous and immune systems, to contribute ...

Study Uncovers Cell Type-Specific Genetic Insights Underlying Schizophrenia

May 23, 2024 — New research provides a map for how the genes known to increase risk of schizophrenia affect specific cells within the brain -- information researchers hope can drive the development of new, ...

Scientists Uncover New Molecular Drivers of Alzheimer's

May 22, 2024 — At least 5.8 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, in part because scientists do not ...

Scientists Learn How to Control Muscles With Light

May 22, 2024 — Researchers developed a way to help people with amputation or paralysis regain limb control. Their optogenetic technique could offer more precise control over muscle contraction, along with a ...

Flicker Stimulation Shines in Clinical Trial for Epilepsy

May 22, 2024 — Researcher leads a new clinical trial testing her flicker technology on patients with ...