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Brain learns to recognize familiar faces regardless of where they are in the visual field

A new study finds that recognition of faces varies by where they appear in the visual field and this variability is reduced by learning familiar faces through social interactions. The findings suggest that repeated social interactions may tune populati…

Unraveling the neural code of the anxious brain

By measuring the brain activity of participants across a series of days, scientists have encountered the neural signature of low mood in anxious brains.

One type of brain cell might hold key to inflammation after head injury

By eliminating one type of immune cell in the brain, researchers were able to erase any evidence of inflammation following traumatic brain injury, according to a new study.

Tiny molecule has big effect in childhood brain tumor studies

A very small molecule under study is able to kill a childhood brain cancer, and the lead researcher said it may be possible to reduce by 90 percent the amount of chemotherapy and radiation required to kill such tumors.

Singing may reduce stress, improve motor function for people with Parkinson’s disease

Singing may provide benefits beyond improving respiratory and swallow control in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to new data. The results from the pilot study revealed improvements in mood and motor symptoms, as well as reduced physiological…

Ultrasound releases drug to alter activity in targeted brain areas in rats

Scientists have developed a noninvasive way of delivering drugs to within a few millimeters of a desired point in the brain. The method, tested in rats, uses focused ultrasound to jiggle drug molecules loose from nanoparticle ‘cages’ that have been inj…

Selective amnesia: How rats and humans are able to forget distracting memories

Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability — and in similar brain regions — suggests that the capacity to for…

Preschool children show awake responses to naptime nonsense words

Hearing has long been suspected as being ‘on’ all the time — even in our sleep. Now scientists are reporting results on what is heard and not heard during sleep and what that might mean for a developing brain. Preliminary results show preschool childr…

Immune system and postpartum depression linked?

The immune system might play an important role in the development of postpartum depression after a stressful pregnancy, new research suggests.

Cancer: Brain-derived compounds show surprising benefits

In a Veterans Affairs study, a humanmade compound based on a brain hormone spurred the growth of cancer in Petri dishes but enigmatically had the opposite effect in mice. The compound and others like it are being looked at not only for their effect on …