Brain

A new imaging study has found neuroinflammation may be more common in neurodegenerative diseases than previously suspected. The Cambridge research revealed brain inflammation to be a common thread across three different types of dementia.

A study is suggesting the global popularity, or virality, of a video can be predicted by looking at how certain areas of a person’s brain are activated while they view the first few seconds of footage. The technique has been dubbed neuroforecasting.

Researchers in Europe and the UK have managed to connect biological and artificial neurons together. The biological neurons were grown in Italy, sent signals through an artificial synapse in the UK to communicate with artificial neurons in Zurich.

New research has analyzed hundreds of brain scans from patients with schizophrenia revealing two distinct subtypes with differences in gray matter volumes, busting the previously held notion that all schizophrenia patients' brains are the same.

Data presented at the International Stroke Conference suggests non-invasive magnetic brain stimulation can enhance brain activity in patients after stroke. It's hoped the device can speed up recovery and promote motor function in stroke survivors.

A paper is adding weight to the growing hypothesis suggesting the toxic protein clusters that cause Parkinson’s disease first aggregate in the gut before moving to the brain, and deficiency in a certain enzyme may help this mechanism.

Much research into treatments for Parkinson's concentrates on developing therapies that can arrest a slide in dopamine production, and scientists have now uncovered a new path forward in the form of a molecule found to boosts its levels in mice.

University of Wisconson, Madison researchers have found a kind of "consciousness switch" in a specific area of the brain. When they hit this spot with electrical stimulation, monkeys immediately woke up from an anesthetized state.

A study has found an infusion of the naturally occurring hormone called kisspeptin can enhance brain activity related to sexual attraction in response to visual and odor cues. This suggests the hormone may be an effective treatment for low libido.

Researchers in Australia studying the cognitive benefits of exercise have turned their attention to neuroplasticity, finding two styles of workout in particular that give this key brain function the biggest boost.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin have published a new study describing a relationship between regular aerobic exercise and improved cognitive function, leading to a reduced vulnerability to Alzheimer’s among high-risk adults.

The search is very much on for technologies that can produce unequivocal evidence of concussion, and scientists have taken an exciting step forward with a device that can assess brain cells by pulsing ultra-bright lasers through a patient’s forehead.