By participating with the Brendan Smile Team in the Out of the Darkness Walk, you are joining the effort with...
Science News » Scientists Give Star Treatment to Lesser-Known Cells Crucial for Brain Development
Star-shaped support brain cells, astrocytes, growing in 3-D “organoids” in a dish develop similarly as those in human brain tissue....
Science News » Breakthrough Method Yields Trove of Neuron Subtypes, Gene Regulators
Scientists have discovered a trove of neuronal subtypes by identifying their unique epigenomic signatures....
Science News » Patient-Derived Support Cells Stunt Mouse Brain Development
Support cells generated from patients with childhood onset schizophrenia stunted neural circuit development when grafted into developing mouse brains....
Science News » Our Brains Harbor “Residual Echo” of Neanderthal Genes
Researchers have produced the first direct evidence that parts of our brains implicated in mental disorders may be shaped by a “residual echo” from our ancient past. The more a person’s genome carries genetic vestiges of Neanderthals, the more certain parts of his or her brain and skull resemble those of humans’ evolutionary cousins that went extinct 40,000 years ago....
Science News » Guidelines published for treating PANS/PANDAS
An expert panel has published guidelines for treatment of Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and a subset of patients diagnosed with PAN Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS)....
Science News » The NIH NeuroBioBank: Addressing the Urgent Need for Brain Donation
The directors of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke discuss the importance of post-mortem brain donation in a joint message....
Science News » NIH Names Winners of “Follow that Cell” Phase 2 Competition
Two biological engineering researchers are winners in Phase 2 of NIH’s Follow that Cell Challenge. The winners will share $400,000 in prizes awarded for development of new tools and methods for predicting the behavior and function of a single cell in complex tissue over time – and how that reflects the health of the tissue....
Science News » Neuroimaging technique may help predict autism among high-risk infants
Functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) may predict which high-risk, 6-month old infants will develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by age 2 years....
Science News » Brain Circuit Tweak Wins Her Affection (if she’s a vole)
For the first time, neuroscientists have boosted a female rodent’s partnering with a male by stimulating connectivity of a brain reward circuit. Understanding the circuitry of such affiliative behaviors may lead to improved treatments for social impairment in severe mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder....