THEPSYCHOLOGYTURKEY

Researchers report that the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain is linked to waking brain activity. The study demonstrates that manipulating blood flow in the brain with visual stimulation induces complementary fluid flow. The findings could impact treatment for conditions like Alzheimer's disease, which have been associated with declines in cerebrospinal fluid flow. http://dlvr.it/SlpShp

Blind people are better at sensing their own heartbeats than sighted, shows a new study. The study indicates that blindness leads to a heightened ability in feeling signals from the inner body. http://dlvr.it/Slj1RZ

New research advances scientific understanding of how the brain weighs decisions involving what people like or value, such as choosing which book to read, which restaurant to pick for lunch -- or even, which slot machine to play in a casino. http://dlvr.it/SlfKCh

More magnesium in our daily diet leads to better brain health as we age, according to scientists. http://dlvr.it/SldVLL

Many people who have dieted are familiar with the yo-yo effect: after the diet, the kilos are quickly put back on. Researchers have now shown in mice that communication in the brain changes during a diet: The nerve cells that mediate the feeling of hunger receive stronger signals, so that the mice eat significantly more after the diet and gain weight more quickly. In the long term, these findings could help developing drugs to prevent this amplification and help to maintain a reduced body weight after dieting. http://dlvr.it/SlZ9dP

Scientists have gained new insights into the part of the brain that gives us a sense of direction, by tracking neural activity with the latest advances in brain imaging techniques. The findings shed light on how the brain orients itself in changing environments -- and even the processes that can go wrong with degenerative diseases like dementia, that leave people feeling lost and confused. http://dlvr.it/SlNRWT

Sleep quality is much more significantly linked to quality of life over time than sleep duration or 'social jetlag,' according to a new study. http://dlvr.it/SlKxwK

While listening to a favorite song is a known mood booster, researchers have discovered that music-listening interventions also can make medicines more effective. http://dlvr.it/SlKjxg

Scientists have gleaned new insights into how psychedelics alter conscious experience via their action on brain activity. http://dlvr.it/SlGQ03

In experiments with mice and humans, a team led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers says it has identified a particular intestinal immune cell that impacts the gut microbiome, which in turn may affect brain functions linked to stress-induced disorders such as depression. Targeting changes mediated by these immune cells in the gut, with drugs or other therapies, could potentially bring about new ways to treat depression. http://dlvr.it/SlD8Rm

Certain personality traits are associated with satisfaction in life, and despite the changes people may experience in social roles and responsibilities over the course of their adult lives, that association is stable regardless of age, according to new research. http://dlvr.it/SlC0N6

A small nucleus in the brainstem called locus coeruleus (literally the 'blue spot,') is the primary source of a major neuromodulator, norepinephrine (NE), an important mediator of the 'fight or flight' response in animals. However, very little is known about the local connections of this small albeit critically important group of neurons. A recent pioneering study now reveals the cellular composition and circuit organization of the locus coeruleus in adult mice. http://dlvr.it/Sl212k

Cognitive decline associated with aging is caused by the loss of cholinergic nerve supply to the hippocampus of our brain. Since the hippocampus is the center of learning and memory, a reduction in its synaptic functions leads to cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease. To prevent cognitive diseases, it is critical to understand the role of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in regulating synaptic functions. Scientists now demonstrate the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions. http://dlvr.it/Sl0xcm

Learning, remembering something, and recalling memories is supported by multiple separate groups of neurons connected inside and across key regions in the brain. If these neural assemblies fail to sync together at the right time, the memories are lost, a new study has found. http://dlvr.it/SkyWcB

Using vision to efficiently move through an area by foot uses a unique region of the brain's cortex, according to a small study. http://dlvr.it/SkxTQp

Since the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging in the 1990s, the reliance on neuroimaging has skyrocketed as researchers investigate how fMRI data from the brain at rest, and anatomical brain structure itself, can be used to predict individual traits, such as depression, cognitive decline, and brain disorders. But how reliable brain imaging is for detecting traits has been a subject of wide debate. Researchers now report that stronger links between brain measures and traits can be obtained when state-of-the-art pattern recognition (or 'machine learning') algorithms are utilized, which can garner high-powered results from moderate sample sizes. http://dlvr.it/SkvjJF

Researchers have uncovered a novel regulatory mechanism in the brain that is essential for making the right kinds of proteins that promote healthy brain function, and its malfunctioning may be an early contributor of the development of Alzheimer's disease. http://dlvr.it/SkvSjf

When astrocyte function is disrupted, neurons in the brain's motor cortex struggle to execute and refine motion, a new study in mice shows. http://dlvr.it/Skj2lQ

Sometimes the best things in life come by chance, when we happen to be in the right place at the right time. Now, researchers have found a way to ensure that new medications are delivered to the right place in the body and at the right point in time during disease progression, so that they have the best effect. http://dlvr.it/SkhkDx

Scientists have shed new light on aging processes in the brain. By linking the increased presence of specialized immune cells to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury for the first time, they have unearthed a possible new target for therapies aimed at treating age-related neurological diseases. http://dlvr.it/SkbLLt

Researchers have learned that the same molecular pathway is involved in both the infectious and hemorrhagic forms of acquired hydrocephalus, a life-threatening disease that triggers a massive neuroinflammatory response and swelling of the ventricles of the brain. http://dlvr.it/Skb4Zr

In Alzheimer's and related neurodegenerative diseases, the brain protein tau is closely linked to brain damage and cognitive decline. A new study indicates that T cells play a key role in tau-related neurodegeneration, a finding that suggests new treatment strategies for Alzheimer's and related diseases. http://dlvr.it/SkZlJ4

A review of evidence from prior research provides new support for the possibility that the evolution of larger brains in some species was enabled through increased energy investment by parents in their offspring. http://dlvr.it/SkX2FP

Recent findings point toward a potential new drug target for treating alcohol use disorder. http://dlvr.it/SkWg8N

Reconciling previously contradictory results, researchers find that for most people, there's a steady link between higher happiness and more money. The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy; for them, more money does not help. http://dlvr.it/SkVj5g

CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently found in contact sports athletes. However, many former contact sports athletes suffer from thinking problems and impulsive behavior in the absence of CTE, or with very mild CTE. This new study suggests that a separate type of brain damage, which can appear earlier than CTE, may underlie some of these symptoms. http://dlvr.it/SkTT23

A research team proposes an innovative sequential narrow-field deep brain stimulation procedure to treat intractable epilepsy. http://dlvr.it/SkTCwq

Researchers have taken an important new step in understanding the complex effects of Alzheimer's disease on the retina, a layer of tissue at the back of the eye. http://dlvr.it/SkSy0t

The immune system of pregnant women with anxiety is biologically different from that of pregnant women without anxiety, according to new research. http://dlvr.it/SkScHc

Neurons perform numerous complex tasks by communicating with each other via small messenger molecules called neurotransmitters. Accurately detecting them is crucial to understanding the functioning of our brain. To this end, researchers have demonstrated that fluorescent nanoparticles imprinted with the molecular structure of a target neurotransmitter, immobilized on glass beads at a controlled surface density, can detect specific neurotransmitters based on their expansion during interaction with the target transmitters. http://dlvr.it/SkLWd5

Seizures can be predicted more than 30 minutes before onset in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, opening the door to a therapy using electrodes that could be activated to prevent seizures from happening, according to new research. http://dlvr.it/SkK589

A new study focused on defense veterans' mental health has found strong evidence that assistance dogs used in conjunction with traditional therapies provide the most effective treatment outcomes. http://dlvr.it/SkDc8t

A research group has developed a simple and effective artificial blood-brain barrier model that can be used to determine how well antibody-based therapies can enter the brain. Today animal experimentation is the most common method for testing an antibody's function and the new model could reduce the need for animal testing. http://dlvr.it/SkBxkV