THEPSYCHOLOGYTURKEY

Newly discovered sensory neurons send messages from fat tissue to the brain and could eventually be co-opted to treat obesity or metabolic disease. http://dlvr.it/SXZTZY

Researchers have shown that mice respond more to the antidepressant effects of the drug ketamine when administered by men and not by women. The group demonstrated that a stress response in a specific region of the mouse brain from handling by a man is essential for ketamine to work. http://dlvr.it/SXZDNN

Most of us think little of why we feel pleasantly full after eating a big holiday meal, why we start to cough after accidentally inhaling campfire smoke, or why we are hit with sudden nausea after ingesting something toxic. However, such sensations are crucial for survival: they tell us what our bodies need at any given moment so that we can quickly adjust our behavior. http://dlvr.it/SXYvqw

Fentanyl produces a specific EEG signature distinct from other anesthetic drugs, which could make it possible to monitor its effects to enable safer, more precise, and personalized opioid administration. http://dlvr.it/SXYXFF

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the aggregation of alpha-synuclein in the brain. Now, scientists have developed a radioligand that facilitates the imaging of alpha-synuclein aggregates in patients with MSA. Their findings have the potential to completely change the scenario of diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases. http://dlvr.it/SXWKZJ

A tiny bubble popping within a liquid seems more fanciful than traumatic. But millions of popping vapor bubbles can cause significant damage to rigid structures like boat propellers or bridge supports. Can you imagine the damage such bubbles could do to soft human tissues like the brain? During head impacts and concussions, vapor bubbles form and violently collapse, creating damage to human tissue. Fluid mechanics researchers are now one step closer to understanding these phenomena. http://dlvr.it/SXVk39

A growing body of research suggests that the disease may also flow from defects in glia, important support cells found in the brain. The new study expands our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease, and reinforces the potential of therapies that target glia cells. http://dlvr.it/SXVK0m

People with dementia often lose their ability to communicate verbally with loved ones. But a new study shows how that gap can be bridged with a new music intervention. Music memories remain in the brain after patients lose language. A live ensemble played music from a patient's youth. This created an emotional connection between a patient and their caregiver by allowing them to interact with the music together via singing, dancing and playing simple instruments. http://dlvr.it/SXRbMM

About 50% of all mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had elevated levels of depressive symptoms over 18 months, while rates were much lower (6% to 13.6%) for mothers with neurotypical children in the same period, researchers report. http://dlvr.it/SXRCG3

When our eyes move during REM sleep, we're gazing at things in the dream world our brains have created, according to a new study. The findings shed light not only into how we dream, but also into how our imaginations work. http://dlvr.it/SXL3qf

An area of the brain specifically involved in putting in effort to help others out has been pinpointed by scientists. http://dlvr.it/SXJfsf

People who were more distressed -- showing signs of anxiety or depression -- during the COVID-19 pandemic were less likely to follow some best practice recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new study. However, those same people were more likely than their non-distressed peers to get vaccinated. The authors refer to this as differential distress: when people act safely in one aspect while disregarding safety in another, both in response to the same psychological distress. http://dlvr.it/SXFf9n

Research in mice illuminates the molecular mechanisms that underlie spatial mapping in the brain. Scientists found that a gene called Fos plays a key role in helping the brain use specialized navigation cells to form and maintain spatial maps. http://dlvr.it/SXBTb4

Researchers have made an important discovery about the way our brains process the sensations of sound and touch. The new study reveals how the brain's different sensory systems are all closely interconnected -- with regions that respond to touch also involved when we listen to sounds associated with touching objects (for example the sound of typing on a keyboard or crushing paper). It is hoped that understanding this key area of brain function may in future help people who are neurodiverse, or with conditions such as schizophrenia or anxiety. And it could lead to developments in brain-inspired computing and AI. http://dlvr.it/SXB9Sr

A new study provides for the first time the surprising evidence that four common nonexcitatory amino acids that usually make proteins which are essential to brain function, instead cause irreversible, destructive swelling of both the astrocytes that support neurons and the neurons themselves in the aftermath of stroke, TBI. http://dlvr.it/SX7194

Measuring how the eyes' pupils change in response to light -- known as the pupillary light reflex -- could potentially be used to screen for autism in young children, according to a new study. http://dlvr.it/SX65rt

Brain cells with the same 'birthdate' are more likely to wire together into cooperative signaling circuits that carry out many functions, including the storage of memories, a new study finds. http://dlvr.it/SX3smJ

A new sensor that allows neuroscientists to image brain activity without missing signals, for an extended time and deeper in the brain than previously possible. http://dlvr.it/SWwbCv

Scientists used high-resolution MRI data to create a valuable new resource for the study of human brain development at key moments in utero and after birth. http://dlvr.it/SWwD7v

A study finds that blood tests taken the day of a traumatic brain injury can predict which patients are likely to die or survive with severe disability, allowing clinicians to make decisions earlier on possible treatment of TBI. Higher values of two protein biomarkers, GFAP and UCH-L1, are associated with death and severe injury. http://dlvr.it/SWvkgZ

Neuroscientists have discovered a feedback loop that modulates the receptivity of the auditory cortex to incoming acoustic signals when bats emit echolocation calls. The researchers show that information transfer in the neural circuits involved switched direction in the course of call production. It seems likely that this feedback prepares the auditory cortex for the expected echoes of the emitted calls. The researchers interpret their findings as indicating that the importance of feedback loops in the brain is currently still underestimated. http://dlvr.it/SWpjDl

It could be the world's tiniest EEG electrode cap, created to measure activity in a brain model the size of a pen dot. Its designers expect the device to lead to better understanding of neural disorders and how potentially dangerous chemicals affect the brain. This engineering feat, led by Johns Hopkins University researchers and detailed today in?Science Advances, expands what researchers can accomplish with organoids, including mini brains--the lab-grown balls of human cells that mimic some of a brain's structure and functionality. http://dlvr.it/SWpP8W

New research shows new insight in how our brain develops, that can pave the way for treating neurological disorders. http://dlvr.it/SWp1VZ

A novel peptide augments the brain's natural mechanism to help prevent seizures and protect neurons in research models of both Alzheimer's and epilepsy, scientists report. http://dlvr.it/SWlvV4

Fatigue and headache were the most common symptoms reported by individuals an average of more than four months out from having COVID-19, investigators report. http://dlvr.it/SWlfJ2

Researchers have made a surprising discovery linking Delta/Notch signaling in subperineurial glia (SPG) to the regulation of nerve ensheathment and neurotransmitter release at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ). SPG, the counterpart of the endothelial layer in the vertebrate blood-brain barrier, form the key cellular layer that is critical for axonal ensheathment and the blood-brain barrier in Drosophila. The results provide a mechanistic insight into the biology of barrier function and glia-neuron interactions. http://dlvr.it/SWlL9y

The discovery of how to shift damaged brain cells from a diseased state into a healthy one presents a potential new path to treating Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to a new study. http://dlvr.it/SWgHGn

Social isolation and loneliness are prevalent in the U.S., and they have harmful effects on heart and brain health. Older adults and people in socially vulnerable groups, such as individuals from disenfranchised racial or ethnic groups, people with disabilities, or those who are members of gender or sexual minority groups, may be at increased risk for social isolation and loneliness. Data also suggests that social isolation and loneliness may have increased among many groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. More research is needed to develop and implement public health interventions to reduce the adverse effects of social isolation and loneliness on cardiovascular health. http://dlvr.it/SWcx7g

A biomedical engineer has developed a way to measure mental activity using electrodermal activity (EDA) -- an electrical phenomenon of the skin that is influenced by brain activity related to emotional status. They describe a novel inference engine that can monitor brain activity through the skin in real time with high scalability and accuracy. http://dlvr.it/SWX7W8

It's no surprise that hard physical labor wears you out, but what about hard mental labor? Sitting around thinking hard for hours makes one feel worn out, too. Now, researchers have new evidence to explain why this is, and, based on their findings, the reason you feel mentally exhausted (as opposed to drowsy) from intense thinking isn't all in your head. http://dlvr.it/SWTd0l

Neuroscientists have documented a link between spatial and verbal reasoning by scanning students' brains while taking a course that emphasized spatial learning. http://dlvr.it/SWTHFw

To study the relationship between age and fatigue, researchers conducted a novel study using neuroimaging and self-report data. http://dlvr.it/SWSsMb

New study shows that microglia cells 'listen in' to neighboring neurons and change to match them. http://dlvr.it/SWSKYj

Investigators have created the most bio-realistic and complex computer models of individual brain cells -- in unparalleled quantity. Their research details how these models could one day answer questions about neurological disorders -- and even human intellect -- that aren't possible to explore through biological experiments. http://dlvr.it/SWPX5j

A historically overlooked rod-like projection present on nearly every cell type in the human body may finally be getting its scientific due: A new study has found that these appendages, called cilia, on neurons in the brain have a key role in ensuring a specific dopamine receptor's signals are properly received. http://dlvr.it/SWLfDw

Did the 12th century B.C.E. -- a time when humans were forging great empires and developing new forms of written text -- coincide with an evolutionary reduction in brain size? Think again, says a team of researchers whose new paper refutes a hypothesis that's growing increasingly popular among the science community. http://dlvr.it/SWDSZV

By tracking feedback during tasks, the anterior cingulate cortex notices when a new step has become necessary and signals the motor cortex to adjust, a new neuroscience study shows. http://dlvr.it/SW7Y4h

A new study reviews the emerging insights and evidence that suggest COVID-19 infections may have both short- and long-term neurological effects. Major findings include that COVID-19 infections may predispose individuals to developing irreversible neurological conditions, may increase the likelihood of strokes and may increase the chance of developing persistent brain lesions that can lead to brain bleeding. http://dlvr.it/SW77wR

Although Aduhelm, a monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid beta (A?), recently became the first US FDA approved drug for Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on its ability to decrease A? plaque burden in AD patients, its effect on cognitive improvement is still controversial. Moreover, about 40% of the patients treated with this antibody experienced serious side effects including cerebral edemas (ARIA-E) and hemorrhages (ARIA-H) that are likely related to inflammatory responses in the brain when the A? antibody binds Fc receptors (FCR) of immune cells such as microglia and macrophages. Now there is a new option. http://dlvr.it/SW4cv0

Our brain works a bit like the autocomplete function on your phone -- it is constantly trying to guess the next word when we are listening to a book, reading or conducting a conversation. Contrary to speech recognition computers, our brains are constantly making predictions at different levels, from meaning and grammar to specific speech sounds. http://dlvr.it/SW3rh2

Even moderate physical activity has a positive effect on the brain. Researchers deduce this from examinations of 2,550 participants of the Bonn 'Rhineland Study'. According to the study's findings, certain areas of the brain are larger in physically active individuals than in those who are less active. In particular, brain regions that have a relatively high oxygen demand benefit from this effect. http://dlvr.it/SW0Xyn

Researchers propose objective criteria to examine subjective experiences and reveal their neuronal basis. http://dlvr.it/SW0Xvc

Two common viruses lie dormant in neurons -- herpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Lab models of the human brain show that activation or re-infection of VZV can trigger neuroinflammation and wake up HSV, leading to accumulation of Alzheimer's linked proteins and neural decline. http://dlvr.it/SVxd4q

Disease of the microscopic blood vessels that feed the white matter of our brain is associated with worse cognitive function and memory deficits in individuals with Alzheimer's, scientists report. http://dlvr.it/SVxBGx

CD8+ regulatory-like T cells reach the brain within 24 hours after stroke onset, where they release molecules that provide direct neuroprotective effects, as well as limit inflammation and secondary brain damage. http://dlvr.it/SVtyJt

It is well known that whole-body exposure to high frequency ultrasound increases brain activity in humans. However, little is known about its impact and associated mechanisms on emotional states like depression. Now researchers have recently demonstrated the anti-depressant effects of ultrasound exposure in a rodent model of depression. Their findings shed light on the potential of ultrasound exposure as a non-invasive treatment for mental disorders. http://dlvr.it/SVtLDH

Now, researchers have helped develop a nanobody capable of getting through the tough exterior of brain cells and untangling misshapen proteins that lead to Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and other neurocognitive disorders caused by the damaging protein. http://dlvr.it/SVsx6t