Neuroscience News

Altered microRNAs in anxiety and metabolic disorders. Image credit: Chanan Meydan et al, doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2016.07.001.

Scientists Find Molecular Link between Anxiety and Metabolic Disorders

Oct 12, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists in Israel have identified molecular elements that bridge anxiety and metabolism — a type of microRNA that influences shared biological...

Drink water according to thirst rather than a schedule, researchers recommend. Image credit: Photoshot.

New Study Challenges Popular Idea of Mandatory Water Intake

Oct 11, 2016 by News Staff

A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences challenges the popular idea that we should drink 8 glasses of water...

This image shows thirst neurons (blue) in mouse SCN. Image credit: C. Gizowski et al / McGill University.

Study Says Biological Clock Stimulates Thirst before Sleep

Sep 29, 2016 by News Staff

According to a study in rodents led by Prof. Charles Bourque of McGill University, the brain’s biological clock stimulates thirst in the hours before...

Oxytocin supports spirituality. Image credit: Duke University.

Research: Oxytocin Enhances Spirituality

Sep 27, 2016 by News Staff

Oxytocin – a polypeptide hormone produced mainly by the hypothalamus and stored in the pituitary gland – gives greater sense of spirituality...

Transmission electron micrographs of brain thin sections, identifying two distinct types of magnetite morphologies: rounded particles (left) and angular particles (right). Image credit: Barbara A. Maher et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1605941113.

Pollution-Derived Magnetic Particles Detected in Human Brain

Sep 6, 2016 by News Staff

Anthropogenic (combustion-derived) nanoparticles of magnetite, a strongly magnetic mineral, have been discovered to be lodged in human brains — and...

Normal anatomy of the human eye and orbit, anterior view. Image credit: Patrick J. Lynch / CC BY 2.5.

Researchers Discover New Type of Eye Movement

Aug 23, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of Tübingen in Germany has discovered a new type of eye movement that is synchronized with blinking. Normal anatomy...

An ‘out of body experience’ could help people suffering from chronic pain.

‘Out of Body Experience’ Can Tackle Chronic Pain, Research Shows

Aug 11, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the European Journal of Pain shows that inducing a virtual ‘out of body experience’ can significantly reduce the intensity...

Matthew Glasser et al. discovered that our brain’s cortex is composed of 180 distinct areas per hemisphere. For example, the image above shows areas connected to the three main senses -- hearing (red), touch (green), vision (blue) and opposing cognitive systems (light and dark). Image credit: Matthew Glasser / David Van Essen.

Neuroscientists Release New Map of Human Cortex

Jul 21, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of neuroscientists from the United States and Europe has mapped 180 distinct areas, including 97 that were previously unknown, in...

New study suggests an intriguing strategy to boost memory for what you’ve just learned: hit the gym 4 hrs later. Image credit: Skeeze.

Physical Exercise Four Hours after Learning Improves Long-Term Memory, Study Shows

Jun 17, 2016 by News Staff

A new study in the journal Current Biology shows that physical exercise after learning improves memory and memory traces, but only if the exercise is done...

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, build a semantic atlas to chart how the brain responds to language. Image credit: University of California, Berkeley.

Researchers Create Detailed ‘Semantic Atlas’ of the Mind

Apr 29, 2016 by News Staff

A team of neuroscientists and psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, has created a detailed ‘semantic atlas’ showing which human...

An anatomical illustration from Sobotta's Human Anatomy, 1908, shows the structure of a human brain. Image credit: Dr Johannes Sobotta.

Scientists Identify Brain Circuit that Controls Binge Drinking

Apr 28, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr. Todd Thiele from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a circuit between two brain regions that...

A woman wearing an EEG headset. Image credit: Jonathan Cohen / Binghamton University.

Neuroscientists Can Identify You by Your ‘Brainprint’ with 100% Accuracy

Apr 20, 2016 by News Staff

A novel technology being developed by a team of researchers at Binghamton University has delivered outstanding results over the ability to identify persons...

Top image: filtered signals recorded in the two brain regions identify the almost perfect synchronization between the two regions during the expression of fear memories. Bottom image: spectral decomposition of the brain signals allows researchers to identify the frequency and power of neuronal rhythmic oscillations during fear behavior. Image credit: Nikolaos Karalis et al.

Neuroscientists: Specific Brain Waves Synchronize Brain Regions During Fear Behavior

Feb 23, 2016 by News Staff

A new study led by Nikolaos Karalis of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München and Dr. Cyril Herry of the Neurocentre Magendie has shed light on what...

Lonchura striata. Image credit: Thimindu Goonatillake / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Songbirds Sing Like Humans, Researchers Say

Jan 12, 2016 by News Staff

Vocal muscles of songbirds work like those of human speakers and singers, according to Emory University scientist Dr Samuel Sober and his colleagues from...

Heatmap of gradient of expression of M1 and M3 spanning fetal development to late adulthood and in topographically distinct cortical regions: A1C - auditory cortex; AMY - amygdala; CBC - cerebellar cortex; DFC - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; HIP - hippocampus; IPC - posterior inferior parietal cortex; ITC - inferior temporal cortex; M1C - primary motor cortex; MD - mediodorsal nucleus of thalamus; MFC - medial prefrontal cortex; OFC - orbital prefrontal cortex; S1C - primary somatosensory cortex; STC - superior temporal cortex; STR - striatum; V1C - primary visual cortex; VFC - ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Image credit: Michael R. Johnson et al, doi: 10.1038/nn.4205.

Researchers Identify Intelligence Gene Networks

Dec 22, 2015 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Imperial College London researcher Michael Johnson has identified two ‘gene networks’ associated with human cognitive...

Simulation of electrical activity in a virtual brain slice formed from seven unitary digital reconstructions of neocortical microcircuits. Image credit: BBP / EPFL.

Scientists Digitally Reconstruct Section of Rat Brain

Oct 12, 2015 by News Staff

A large international team of researchers from the Blue Brain Project has digitally reconstructed and simulated a slice of a juvenile rat’s neocortex,...

Key molecular process in brain is different in males and females, according to a new study.

Female and Male Brains Operate Differently at Molecular Level, New Study Reveals

Aug 12, 2015 by News Staff

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience has revealed an intrinsic biological difference between males and females in the molecular regulation...

Neuroscientists Successfully Demonstrate Rat and Monkey ‘Brainets’

Jul 9, 2015 by News Staff

A team of neuroscientists at Duke University published two separate studies today, one involving rats and the other involving rhesus macaque monkeys, that...

Rats show regret too. Image credit: Duke University.

Rats ‘Dream’ about Future, New Study Finds

Jun 29, 2015 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal eLife, when rats (Rattus rattus) sleep or rest, their brains simulate journeys to a desired goal. Rats...