Certain cues — whether they be particular people, places, or things — can elicit potent cravings for frequent use in people who are addicted to drugs. A new University of Michigan study has discovered that brain signals previously associated with inflammation contribute to people’s susceptibility to addiction. Some people develop an inability to control their…
Author: D.C.Demetre
A team led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has identified a specific intestinal immune cell that influences the gut microbiome, which in turn may affect brain functions linked to stress-induced disorders such as depression in mice and humans. Targeting changes mediated by these immune cells in the gut with drugs or other therapies could lead…
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig discovered evidence that the language we speak shapes brain connectivity, which may underpin how we think. They examined the brains of native German and Arabic speakers using magnetic resonance tomography and discovered differences in the wiring of the language regions in…
According to new research from Washington University in St. Louis, modern gender norms and biases in Europe have deep historical roots dating back to the Middle Ages and beyond, implying that DNA is not the only thing we inherit from our forefathers. The findings explain why, despite significant advances made by the international women’s rights…
Parkinson’s disease, the world’s fastest-growing brain condition, may be fueled by a common and widely used chemical, new research indicates. Since the beginning of the 20th century, trichloroethylene (TCE) has been utilized to decaffeinate coffee, degrease metal, and dry clean clothing. It contaminates the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune, fifteen toxic Superfund sites in Silicon…
Wen Li, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, has written two papers that show how the brain’s sensory cortex plays a much bigger role in processing possible threats than scientists thought before. “We are translating basic science done in the lab into treatment at the clinic,” Li said. Researchers are developing new treatments for these…
A unique cancer therapy combining antibody fragments with molecularly engineered nanoparticles permanently eradicated gastric cancer in mice, a multi-institutional team of researchers reports. “I’ve seen beautiful results before, but I’ve never seen something that eradicates a tumor like this,” said Dr. Michelle Bradbury, co-lead author and professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. The “hit…
A new study suggests that consuming a traditional Mediterranean-style diet may reduce the risk of dementia by nearly a quarter. Experts at Newcastle University found that people who ate a diet rich in foods such as seafood, fruit, and nuts had up to 23% lower risk for dementia compared to those who did not. This…
Proteins involved in the innate immune system may be at the root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal motor neuron disease, new research from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School suggests. “The unmet need for therapies for neurodegenerative diseases is huge, and our work opens up a whole new pathology that we could…