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The Epigenetic Secrets Behind Dopamine, Drug Addiction and Depression
New research links serotonin and dopamine not just to addiction and depression, but to the ability to control genes.
Mitochondria May Hold Keys to Anxiety and Mental Health
Research hints that the energy-generating organelles of cells may play a surprisingly pivotal role in mediating anxiety and depression.
Random Search Wired Into Animals May Help Them Hunt
The nervous systems of foraging and predatory animals may prompt them to move along a special kind of random path called a Lévy walk to find food efficiently when no clues are available.
Spreading the Word on a Possible Alzheimer’s Treatment
Neuroscientists could use brain waves to spur immune cells into action against the disease — but the process is almost too fantastic to believe.
The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World
How does experience alter our perceptions? This adapted book excerpt from We Know It When We See It describes how the brain’s visual system rewires itself to make the best use of its neural resources.
In Brain Waves, Scientists See Neurons Juggle Possible Futures
Faced with a decision, the brain weighs its options by bundling them into rapidly alternating cycles of brain waves.
An Ethical Future for Brain Organoids Takes Shape
Collaborations in progress between ethicists and biologists seek to head off challenges raised by lab-grown “organoids” as they become increasingly similar to human brain tissue.
Hidden Computational Power Found in the Arms of Neurons
The dendritic arms of some human neurons can perform logic operations that once seemed to require whole neural networks.
Sleeping Brain Waves Draw a Healthy Bath for Neurons
An organized tide of brain waves, blood and spinal fluid pulsing through a sleeping brain may flush away neural toxins that cause Alzheimer’s and other diseases.