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Drinking linked to a decline in brain health from cradle to grave

The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol on brain health is compelling, but now experts have pinpointed three key time periods in life when the effects of alcohol are likely to be at their greatest.

Restoring a rudimentary form of vision in the blind

Restoration of vision in blind people through a brain implant is on the verge of becoming reality. Recent discoveries show that newly developed high-resolution implants in the visual cortex make it possible to recognize artificially induced shapes and …

How networks form: Charting the developing brain

Researchers use connectomic mapping in the developing cortex to uncover the developmental wiring rules for inhibitory neurons.

A new view of how the brain decides to make an effort

New research gives the first detailed view of ventral striatum activity during three phases of effort-based decision-making — the anticipation of initiating an effort, the actual execution of the effort and the reward, or outcome, of the effort.

What social distancing does to a fish brain

Researchers have discovered a brain molecule that functions as a ‘thermometer’ for the presence of others in an animal’s environment. Zebrafish ‘feel’ the presence of others via mechanosensation and water movements — which turns the brain hormone on.

The tree of cortical cell types describes the diversity of neurons in the brain

The tree of cortical cell types provides one of the most detailed and complete characterizations of the diversity of neural types in the brain so far.

Big data analysis suggests role of brain connectivity in epilepsy-related atrophy

An international study has found a link between the brain’s network connections and grey matter atrophy caused by certain types of epilepsy, a major step forward in our understanding of the disease.

Drinking blocks a chemical that promotes attention

Scientists studied the cascade of events that begins when alcohol diminishes norepinephrine release in a brain structure called the locus coeruleus.

COVID-19 may deepen depression, anxiety, and PTSD among pregnant and postpartum women

In a new study, researchers surveyed pregnant women and those who had recently given birth, finding concerning rates of depression, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which were found to be exacerbated by COVID-19-r…

Novel mechanisms that cause protein clumping in brain diseases

A team of researchers has taken a major step toward understanding the mechanisms involved in the formation of large clumps of tau protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease and several other neurodegenerative disorders.