THEPSYCHOLOGYTURKEY

Scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) tests more quickly and precisely, enabling neurologists to find early signs of dementia among data that typically go unexamined. http://dlvr.it/TBKpbQ

Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can indicate brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. However, the protective blood-brain barrier (BBB) makes delivering fluorescent sensors that can detect these small molecules to the brain difficult. Now, researchers demonstrate a way of packaging these sensors for easy passage across the BBB in mice, allowing for improved brain imaging. With further development, the technology could help advance Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and treatment. http://dlvr.it/TBKpR0

Neuroscientists reveal that the part of the brain that receives and processes visual information in sighted people develops a unique connectivity pattern in people born blind. They say this pattern in the primary visual cortex is unique to each person -- akin to a fingerprint. http://dlvr.it/TBKpDR

Researchers have identified mouse brain regions vulnerable to blood vessel degeneration, offering clues to the connection between vasculature and neurodegenerative disease. http://dlvr.it/TBJnwP

Bipolar disorder and alcohol problems seem to go hand-in-hand, leading to a widespread belief that drinking acts as a kind of 'self medication' to ease bipolar's life-altering symptoms of mania, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and more. But a new study suggests a much more complex interaction between the two. http://dlvr.it/TBF267

Researchers have created a new cortical surface template called 'OpenNeuro Average,' or 'onavg' for short, which provides greater accuracy and efficiency in analyzing neuroimaging data. http://dlvr.it/TBDqrC

The processes in the brain and body through which physical exercise reduces depressive symptoms have been explored. http://dlvr.it/TBDHNg

In an important study for understanding how memories are made, cientists show that the flexibility of chromatin -- packaged DNA inside the cell -- plays a crucial role in 'deciding' which neurons are involved in forming a specific memory. http://dlvr.it/TB6Y54

Mammals that have evolved more developed brains tend to have a smaller size difference between males and females of that species, according to new research. http://dlvr.it/TB4fr7

Years of high systolic blood pressure are linked to a greater risk for the two most common types of stroke. The results suggest that early diagnosis and sustained control of high blood pressure over the lifespan are critical to preventing stroke, especially in Black and Hispanic patients who are more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension. http://dlvr.it/TB4fjP

Scientists created new tools to study brain messenger proteins called neuropeptides in the brains of behaving animals, discovering they are the primary messengers in the fear circuit in mouse brains, and that multiple neuropeptides work together to achieve this--explaining why some clinical trials that target just one neuropeptide have failed. The new tools and findings can be used to direct drug development for fear-related neurological disorders like PTSD and anxiety, design better painkillers, and uncover new information for other neural circuits in the brain. http://dlvr.it/TB4SJ6

Researchers have discovered a novel pain control pathway that links the cingulate cortex in the front of the brain, through the pons region of the brainstem, to cerebellum in the back of the brain. http://dlvr.it/TB2FZp

Ultrafine particles, UFPs, the smallest contributors to air pollution, hinder the function of mitochondria in human olfactory mucosa cells, a new study shows. The study showed that traffic-related UFPs impair mitochondrial functions in primary human olfactory mucosa cells by hampering oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance. http://dlvr.it/TB2FP2

Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition. http://dlvr.it/TB22l7

Resulting atlas of the aging human brain holds molecular insights into the brain's vulnerability and resilience. http://dlvr.it/TB22Zl

Researchers have shown that a higher Brain Care Score is also associated with a lower risk of late-life depression. The findings provide further evidence of shared biological risk factors for stroke, dementia and depression and highlight the potential of the BCS to help patients make lifestyle changes to better care for their brain health. http://dlvr.it/T9zrqK

Psychologists have used the hit TV series Game of Thrones to understand how the brain enables us to recognize faces. Their findings provide new insights into prosopagnosia or face blindness, a condition that impairs facial recognition. http://dlvr.it/T9zgJs

A new study reveals that neurons establish 'mini-computers' very early in life to make the brain computationally powerful. http://dlvr.it/T9xTGL

Is it possible to assess an individual's risk of psychosis? Identifying predictive markers is a key challenge in psychiatry. A team now shows that overly strong or weak interconnections between certain brain areas could be a predictive marker of the disease. http://dlvr.it/T9xHCz

Ever hear the old adage that time flies when you're having fun? A new study suggests that there's a lot of truth to the trope. http://dlvr.it/T9pJvg

In a new study on the impact of doomscrolling from an existential perspective, researchers warn that habitual checking of disturbing stories on social media is linked with changes to how we view humankind and the meaning of life. http://dlvr.it/T9myqg

A new collaboration explores the neural substrates of blushing in a MRI scanner. http://dlvr.it/T9mygs

Burst sine wave electroporation was found to cause less damage to cells and tissue but more disruption to the blood-brain barrier. http://dlvr.it/T9kxBw

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, which is critical for many aspects of behavior, cognition and emotion. http://dlvr.it/T9jvdw

The largest study of CTE to date has found a new link between playing contact sports, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and the development of a movement disorder known as parkinsonism. http://dlvr.it/T9jVR2

A recent study identified beta frequency neural activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the brain's frontal lobe as the key neural signature underlying processes associated with recognizing rewards and determining subsequent choices and, thus, shaping future behaviors. http://dlvr.it/T9h5Hp

Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, induces unconsciousness by disrupting the brain's normal balance between stability and excitability. http://dlvr.it/T9h54n

New research could transform how we understand the way opioids affect the brain. Despite significant discussion surrounding the ongoing opioid crisis, current understanding of how opioids function in the brain is quite limited. This is primarily due to challenges in observing and measuring opioid effects in the brain in real-time. However, a recent technological breakthrough has overcome these limitations and is set to transform how scientists study opioid signaling in the brain. http://dlvr.it/T9h4xr

Scientists investigating Alzheimer's disease have determined the structure of molecules within a human brain. Their study describes how scientists used cryo-electron tomography, guided by fluorescence microscopy, to explore deep inside an Alzheimer's disease donor brain. This gave 3-dimensional maps in which they could observe proteins within the brain. http://dlvr.it/T9dnRg

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, asprosin, crosses from the periphery into the brain to activate Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum. This leads to an enhanced drive to seek and drink water. http://dlvr.it/T9dKnZ

Toddlers engage more regions of their brains around 16-months to help them develop important cognitive skills enabling them to follow simple instructions and control impulses. Findings from the study suggests 16 months is a critical period for brain development. http://dlvr.it/T9d0qC

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 accumbens, a brain region that regulates emotion, reward and pain processing. http://dlvr.it/T9Xw0X

In a new study, researchers used low-intensity ultrasound technology to noninvasively alter a brain region associated with activities such as daydreaming, recalling memories and envisioning the future. http://dlvr.it/T9WcM4

Even years after they have recovered, a person who once struggled with alcohol or opioid addiction can relapse--and that relapse is more likely to occur during particularly stressful times. Now, scientists have identified an area of the brain that plays a key role in stress-induced oxycodone relapse. Their findings explain why the drug suvorexant, which they previously found to reduce alcohol and oxycodone relapse when administered orally, works so well. http://dlvr.it/T9TFGp

A potential new treatment for bipolar disorder (BP) that significantly shortens treatment time has emerged, following a randomized clinical trial using accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS). While current theta burst stimulation (TBS) treatments can take between four and six weeks to administer, this new technique reduces treatment to five days. http://dlvr.it/T9Syds

Researchers have built the first-ever molecular atlas of the human brain vasculature at single-cell resolution, spanning from early development to adulthood and through disease stages such as brain tumors and brain vascular malformations. http://dlvr.it/T9SBsk

Research found the choroid plexus and cerebrospinal fluid play a key role in maintaining a pool of newly born neurons to repair the adult brain after injury. http://dlvr.it/T9RGs2

By prohibiting the Activin A protein from functioning, researchers were able to halt the development of dyskinesia symptoms and effectively erase the brain's 'bad memory' response to L-DOPA treatments. http://dlvr.it/T9RGkx

New research identifies novel path to protecting the brain from stroke-induced damage. http://dlvr.it/T9QbTB

A longitudinal study has found that high-intensity interval exercise improves brain function in older adults for up to 5 years. http://dlvr.it/T9PqYM

Scientists have found that in premature newborns with very low birth weight, salt and water transporters on immature neurons can cause brain tissue to shrink in response to a lack of oxygen, which in turn results in brain bleeding and lifelong neurological damages. http://dlvr.it/T9NjDb

The ability to recognize and respond to emotionally-charged situations is essential to a species' evolutionary success. A new study advances our understanding of how the brain responds to emotionally charged objects and scenes. http://dlvr.it/T9NDHQ

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 headaches and may serve as foundation for new migraine drugs. http://dlvr.it/T9MQFg

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 cells led by UCL scientists. http://dlvr.it/T9MPsg

Scientists show that specifying the timing pattern of neurostimulation -- impulses used to activate the brain's own electrical signaling mechanisms -- can rebalance the strength of synaptic connections between nerve cells, selectively up- or down-regulating those connections. http://dlvr.it/T9L1nr

The largest animals do not have proportionally bigger brains -- with humans bucking this trend -- a new study has revealed. http://dlvr.it/T9KkV1

A recent study found that the way cerebellar neurons communicate with other brain regions is different in various movement disorders. http://dlvr.it/T9KLHK

Scientists found the choroid plexus and cerebrospinal fluid play a key role in maintaining a pool of newly born neurons to repair the adult brain after injury. http://dlvr.it/T95rC4

Scientists have identified a gene which, when missing or impaired, can cause obesity, behavioural problems and, in mothers, postnatal depression. The discovery, reported today in Cell, may have wider implications for the treatment of postnatal depression, with a study in mice suggesting that oxytocin may alleviate symptoms. http://dlvr.it/T94yl1

A medical team has developed a minimally invasive neurosurgical technique using an endoscope for the removal of tumors in the base of the skull. The results compare favorably with the conventional microscopic approach, with the added benefit of shorter operative times, less blood loss, and smaller craniotomies. http://dlvr.it/T94ybM