Study suggests anxiety boosts sense of smell
From the Springer press release via AlphaGalileo: Anxious people have a heightened sense of smell when it comes to sniffing out a threat, according to a new study by Elizabeth Krusemark and Wen Li from…
Mouse study links early disruptions in serotonin signaling to autism spectrum disorder
From the Vanderbilt University Medical Center via EurekAlert!: Early disruptions in serotonin signaling in the brain may contribute to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other “enduring effects on behavior,” Vanderbilt University researchers report. Serotonin is…
Study suggests Alzheimer’s may spread within brain by moving directly between connected neurons
From the UC San Francisco press release: Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may spread within nerve networks in the brain by moving directly between connected neurons, instead of in other ways proposed by…
Study suggests there may be neurological basis for math anxiety
From the Stanford University press release by Erin Digitale: Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time how brain function differs in people who have math anxiety from those…
Researchers look at how the brain processes information about odours
From the Stowers Institute for Medical Research press release via Newswise: Just like a road atlas faithfully maps real-word locations, our brain maps many aspects of our physical world: Sensory inputs from our fingers are…
Researchers look at brain mechanism that controls reward enjoyment
From the UNC press release: What characterizes many people with depression, schizophrenia and some other mental illnesses is anhedonia: an inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences. Exactly why this happens is unclear. But…
Study suggests genes can alter brain circuit hub and shape temperament
From the NIH/National Institute of Mental Health via EurekAlert!: A personality profile marked by overly gregarious yet anxious behavior is rooted in abnormal development of a circuit hub buried deep in the front center of…
Study suggests neurological basis for caregiving impulse
From the NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development press release via ScienceDaily: Distinct patterns of activity — which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants– appear in the brains of adults who…
Study looks at how brain processes facial recognition
From the University of Southern California press release via EurekAlert!: A team of researchers that includes a USC scientist has methodically demonstrated that a face’s features or constituents – more than the face per se…
Researchers manage to halt symptoms of Rett syndrome in mice
From the University of Virginia press release via HealthCanal: Researchers led by Jonathan Kipnis at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have, for the first time, used an immune therapy to halt the symptoms…