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How the brain changes during depression treatment

Researchers have shown what happens to the brain when a person receives a depression treatment known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). rTMS is a depression treatment typically used when other approaches — such as medications — h…

Concussion symptoms in children may have multiple underlying causes

Different types of brain damage caused by a concussion may lead to similar symptoms in children, according to new research. A new way of studying concussions could help develop future treatments.

Statins may provide protection against depression

Statins have been hailed as a wonder drug; the cholesterol-lowering drugs have been prescribed to tens of millions of people since their approval in the late 1980s to prevent heart attack and stroke. But the drugs may yet have additional benefits, some…

Scientists see signs of traumatic brain injury in headbutting muskox

Scientists saw for the first time hallmarks of concussions and other head trauma in the brains of deceased headbutting animals — muskoxen and bighorn sheep. The results may contradict the commonly-held belief that ramming animals do not suffer brain i…

Protein linked to intellectual disability has complex role

Researchers have identified a previously unknown function for the fragile X protein, the loss of which is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. The researchers showed that the protein modulates how neurons in the brain’s memory center…

Ultra-powerful brain scanners offer hope for treating cognitive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease

Ultra-powerful 7T MRI scanners could be used to help identify those patients with Parkinson’s disease and similar conditions most likely to benefit from new treatments for previously-untreatable symptoms, say scientists.

Stimulating brain circuits promotes neuron growth in adulthood, improving cognition and mood

Targeting specific brain cells modulated memory retrieval and altered anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Essentially, scientists boosted the electrical activity between cells in the hypothalamus and the hippocampus to create new neurons — an important pr…

Boost in nerve-growth protein helps explain why running supports brain health

Exercise increases levels of a chemical involved in brain cell growth, which bolsters the release of the ‘feel good’ hormone dopamine, a new study shows. Dopamine is known to play a key role in movement, motivation, and learning. Experts have long unde…

Circuit model may explain how deep brain stimulation treats Parkinson’s disease symptoms

Stimulation of subthalamic nucleus interrupts a cycle of runaway beta-frequency rhythms and restores ability of interneurons to regulate rhythms in the brain’s striatum, improving movement, study suggests.

How sleep helps to process emotions

Researchers have identified how the brain triages emotions during dream sleep to consolidate the storage of positive emotions while dampening the consolidation of negative ones. The work expands the importance of sleep in mental health and opens new wa…