The human brain is about three times the size of the brains of great apes. This has to do, among other things, with the evolution of novel brain structures that enabled complex behaviors such as language and tool production. A study by anthropologists now shows that changes in the brain occurred independent of evolutionary rearrangements of the braincase.
Read moreResearchers decipher assembly of glutamate receptors and its importance for memory formation.
Read moreThe new function of unused cortical regions is not necessarily determined by the function of nearby cortical regions, according to new research in adults born without one hand.
Read moreUsing advanced imaging, researchers have uncovered new information regarding traumatic microbleeds, which appear as small, dark lesions on MRI scans after head injury but are typically too small to be detected on CT scans. The findings published in Brain suggest that traumatic microbleeds are a form of injury to brain blood vessels and may predict worse outcomes. The study was conducted in part by scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Read moreResearchers showed in animal models that the default injury response of spinal discs can be temporarily stopped to allow for better treatment.
Read moreScientists used maps of brain connections to predict how brain atrophy would spread in individual patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), adding to growing evidence that the loss of brain cells associated with dementia spreads via the synaptic connections between established brain networks.
Read moreFor the first time, scientists have identified a simple way that can effectively transport medication into the brain – which could lead to improved treatments for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.
Read moreA study has found that microglia drive neurodegeneration in diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, that are linked to tau protein. Targeting microglia may help treat such diseases.
Read moreFor years, scientists thought that these powerful sedatives, which are used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, and sleeping disorders, worked alone to calm nerves. Now, researchers show that this view of the drugs and the neural circuits they affect may have to change. In a study of mice, scientists discovered that both may need the assistance of a 'sticky' gene, named after a mythological figure, called Shisa7.
Read moreBecause pain is a complex condition, treating it efficiently continues to pose challenge for physicians. Past pain research typically has focused upon the spinal cord or the peripheral areas of the nervous system located outside the spinal cord and brain. However, a research team recently investigated how some mechanisms in the brain contribute to pain.
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