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Learning a new language changes the brain’s division of labor

Learning a language later in life changes how the two halves of the brain contribute. As skills improve, language comprehension changes hemisphere specialization, but production does not, according to new research.

Motor neural population activity patterns are different for reach and grasp behaviors

A new study has found that neuronal population dynamics in the motor cortex are very different during reaching and grasping behavior, challenging a popular theory that indicated intrinsic, dynamic patterns control motor behaviors.

Changes to the brain’s reward system may drive overeating in mice

A combination of innate differences and diet-induced changes to the reward system may predispose some mice to overeat, according to research recently published in JNeurosci.

Chronic alcohol use reshapes the brain’s immune landscape, driving anxiety and addiction

Deep within the brain, a small almond-shaped region called the amygdala plays a vital role in how we exhibit emotion, behavior and motivation; it’s also strongly implicated in alcohol abuse. Now, for the first time, a team has identified important chan…

‘Alarming’ COVID-19 study shows 80 percent of respondents report significant symptoms of depression

A new national survey, looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted young U.S. adults’ loneliness, reveals ‘significant depressive symptoms’ in 80 percent of participants.

Scientists discover new mechanism controlling brain size

International research has led to the discovery of a new mechanism that controls the size of our brains. The finding, which is based on studies on a rare congenital brain disease, delivers an important piece of data in our knowledge about how the human…

Parasite infection discovery could assist mental health treatments

New research into how a common parasite infection alters human behavior could help development of treatments for schizophrenia and other neurological disorders. T. gondii currently infects 2.5 billion people worldwide and causes the disease Toxoplasmos…

Overly reactivated star-shaped cells explain the unpredictability of Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers have demonstrated that the severity of ‘reactive astrocytes’ is a key indicator for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Worms reveal why melatonin promotes sleep

Melatonin is used as a dietary supplement to promote sleep and get over jet lag, but nobody really understands how it works in the brain. Now, researchers show that melatonin helps worms sleep, too, and they suspect they’ve identified what it does in us.

From the inside out: How the brain forms sensory memories

A new study identifies a region of the thalamus as a key source of signals encoding past experiences in the neocortex.