Brain/Neuroscience
Expensive tastes? Testosterone linked to quest for status symbols
Whether it’s in his choice of top-shelf alcohol at the club, the watch on his wrist or the clothes he ...
Thinking like mom: Fatherhood makes male brains more maternal
The amount of time bat-eared fox fathers spend monitoring their young is an even bigger predictor of pup survival than maternal investment ...
‘Overactive immune system’: Is schizophrenia a body-wide disorder?
While some may believe that schizophrenia is only affects the mind, a new study shows that the disease actually affects ...
Deadly brain disease could be treated in the womb with gene therapy
A research team from the UK and Singapore showed that a neurodegenerative condition called Gaucher disease, which can be fatal, ...
Why our brains are in the business of predicting the future
According to [the] “predictive coding” theory, at each level of a cognitive process, the brain generates models, or beliefs, about ...
One researcher’s unorthodox approach to understanding memory
Mostafa “Neo” Mohsenvand often walks around with a fisheye lens on a smartphone strapped to his chest and a black, ...
Infographic: Examining shared genetics of different psychiatric disorders
People who have autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may have different challenges, but the ailments might arise from a common ...
Could a good night’s sleep ‘clear away’ Alzheimer’s plaques from our brains?
Neuroscientist Barbara Bendlin studies the brain as Alzheimer’s disease develops. When she goes home, she tries to leave her work ...
Dementia affects men and women differently—and we’re just beginning to understand why
Globally, experts estimate that 75 million people will live with dementia by 2030 and 131.5 million by 2050. Most are women. … ...
No longer a fringe theory? Herpes virus can spark ‘cascade of events’ leading to Alzheimer’s
For decades, the idea that a bacteria or virus could help cause Alzheimer’s disease was dismissed as a fringe theory ...
Can we slow cancer through the power of positive thinking?
From savoring a piece of cake to hugging a friend, many of life’s pleasures trigger a similar reaction in the ...
Is our genome altered by things that happen to us as children?
[A] new study makes a remarkable connection between experience and the genetic diversity of the brain. It suggests that experience can change ...
Using brain ‘fingerprints’ to study and refine autism treatment
[T]he National Institutes of Health has been supporting research into the ‘human connectome’— the collection of information pathways in the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Worrisome conflicts’ created by lack of diversity in biotech research funding
You exit a cramped, hazy subway car with a throng of professionals. As you emerge blinking into Kendall Square in ...
Why almost all psychologists are ideologically liberal, and why it matters
When New York University psychologist Jonathan Haidt asked about a thousand attendees at the annual meeting of the Society for ...
Patients with suicidal thoughts can be included in depression clinical trials, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration is overhauling its guidance for developing treatments for major depressive disorder for the first time ...
Is the key to treating or preventing autism hiding in the gut microbiome?
Studies have connected the brain and the microbiome through what’s becoming known as the “gut-brain-axis.” The mystery of our microbiota ...
Viewpoint: Why we need better tools to identify depression in autistic people
Depression is more common among autistic people than it is among the general population, based on both clinical experience and ...
Could genetically modified polio virus treat brain tumors?
A genetically modified polio virus improved the longer-term survival of patients with a lethal type of brain tumor, according to ...
Editing the brain? CRISPR and gold nanoparticles could make it possible
Add this to the list of possible applications for the seemingly-magical gene editing technology CRISPR: helping people with neurological disorders edit ...
Video games as treatment for autism: Do gains translate to real life?
Over the past year, several small pilot studies have produced promising results for games designed to help children with autism, ...
Schizophrenia, depression, biopolar disorder share ‘overlapping’ mutations
Is lower academic achievement in early life tied to the same gene changes as an increased risk for Alzheimer’s in ...
‘Trying to recreate Neanderthal minds’ using minibrains
[R]esearch teams are engineering stem cells to include Neanderthal genes and growing them into "minibrains" that reflect the influence of ...
When antidepressants fail: Are we looking at a new kind of depression?
Depression is one of the most frequently diagnosed mental illnesses, with an estimated 15 percent of the global adult population ...
Mixing psychiatry and neurology: This doctor treats patients other doctors have given up on
[Neuroscientist Alice Flaherty] has been toying with the boundaries of illness itself. She likes seeing patients other doctors have given ...
Here’s what happened when a promising clinical trial for depression was halted
Many clinical trials never actually go to completion, however the preliminary results may be promising. What can we get out ...
Can we treat autism with CRISPR gene editing?
Scientists have figured how to use a form of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR to erase genetic traits normally associated ...
