Tag

Neuroscience

All articles tagged with #neuroscience

science16 hours ago•18 min saved

Five psychedelics converge on a common brain pattern, despite different chemistries

A multi-dataset analysis of over 500 brain scans from 267 participants shows psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, DMT, and ayahuasca produce a shared brain-state: weakened within-network connections and increased cross-network communication. This common neural signature could help standardize psychedelic research and guide future mental-health therapies, though the study used healthy adults and variations across datasets mean more work is needed.

via Earth.com|

#brain #functional-connectivity #mental-health

science1 day ago•5 min saved

Common neural fingerprint linked to five psychedelics, study suggests

A multinational reanalysis of 11 datasets (267 participants, 519 brain scans) across five psychedelics—psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca—identified a shared neural fingerprint: increased cross-network communication and selective reductions within certain networks across cortical and subcortical regions, suggesting a flattening of the brain's hierarchy. The pattern was most similar for psilocybin and LSD. While promising for understanding psychedelics and potential therapies, the study emphasizes the need for standardized, larger trials and notes that existing datasets used varied methods and doses.

via ScienceAlert|

#brain-connectivity #fmri #mental-health

health-and-medicine1 day ago•7 min saved

Autism traits shape brain networks shared by ASD and ADHD

A Molecular Psychiatry study shows that the severity of autism-like symptoms, not the diagnostic label, is linked to specific brain connectivity patterns and gene activity shared by autism and ADHD, suggesting a common biology and supporting a dimensional, biomarker-informed approach to neurodevelopmental conditions.

via ScienceDaily|

#adhd #autism #brain-imaging

science2 days ago•6 min saved

Global Mega-Analysis Finds Common Brain Signature Across Psychedelics

An international mega-analysis pooling over 500 brain-imaging sessions from 267 participants across five countries shows that psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, DMT, ayahuasca) produce a shared brain fingerprint: weakening within-network connectivity and increasing cross-network communication, leading to a more flexible, less modular brain state. This two-part pattern explains common therapeutic and perceptual effects across diverse drugs and provides a benchmark to guide future research and regulatory considerations.

via Neuroscience News|

#brain-imaging #mental-health #meta-analysis

science2 days ago•7 min saved

Researchers identify dedicated brain circuit fueling chronic pain

Stanford researchers mapped a previously unknown brain circuit that specifically drives chronic pain after injury. Turning off this circuit stopped exaggerated responses to gentle touch in mice and reduced chronic pain without affecting acute pain, while activating it induced lasting pain sensitivity. The circuit forms a loop from the spinal cord through the thalamus, cortex, and brainstem back to the spinal cord, suggesting two separate networks for chronic and protective acute pain and pointing to targeted therapies that block chronic pain signals while preserving normal pain responses; human data is being explored to confirm applicability in people.

via SciTechDaily|

#acute-pain #brain-circuit #chronic-pain

science11 days ago•5 min saved

Ultrasound Targeting the Amygdala Accelerates Fear Unlearning

A wearable transcranial ultrasound device dampened amygdala activity during fear conditioning with snakes, slowing fear learning and, notably, accelerating the unlearning of fear after the trials ended—suggesting a noninvasive approach to enhance exposure therapy for anxiety and trauma-related disorders.

via Neuroscience News|

#amygdala #fear-extinction #neuroscience

science14 days ago•6 min saved

Hippocampus Changes Explain Why Chronic Pain Fuels Depression

A large neuroimaging study shows chronic pain progressively reshapes the hippocampus: early adaptive increases in dentate gyrus activity give way to abnormal microglial activation and hippocampal shrinkage, linked to cognitive decline and depression across various pain types. Animal data suggest minocycline can dampen this process and preserve hippocampal structure; meanwhile, lifestyle factors and mindfulness may boost hippocampal volume and reduce depression risk, implying early, targeted treatment of pain could prevent depressive outcomes.

via ScienceAlert|

#chronic-pain #depression #hippocampus

science16 days ago•6 min saved

Lifespan Atlas Maps How Brain Networks Evolve Across Life

Researchers publish the first lifespan atlas of brain functional connectivity, using fMRI data from about 3,600 people aged from infancy to 100 years to chart how brain networks reorganize from sensory processing to higher‑order cognition and relate to cognitive performance in young adults.

via Nature|

#brain #fmri #functional-connectivity

neuroscience16 days ago•80 min saved

Three Gradients Shape Lifespan Cortical Hierarchy

A large-scale lifespan study maps three core functional gradients—sensory–association (SA), visual–somatosensory (VS), and modulation–representation (MR)—across birth to 100 years, showing early anchoring to primary sensory systems, differentiation along association and control axes through development, and later dedifferentiation with aging; these gradients relate to cognitive performance, structure–function coupling, and transcriptomic patterns, providing a normative lifespan atlas for brain organization.

via Nature|

#brain-development #fmri #functional-gradients

science17 days ago•6 min saved

One-shot SEAD1 therapy reverses schizophrenia-like brain issues in mice

Northwestern researchers found reduced Cacna2d1 protein in schizophrenia; they created a synthetic replacement, SEAD1, and showed that a single injection in mice with a schizophrenia-like genetic duplication normalized brain circuit activity and behavior, with no observed side effects. Human trials are planned but not yet underway.

via Boing Boing|

#cacna2d1 #mice #neuroscience

science17 days ago•7 min saved

New Progeroid Neuropathy Reveals Actin Scaffolding Failure in Aging Brain

Researchers identify a homozygous IVNS1ABP mutation that creates a progeroid syndrome with severe neurological decline. By reprogramming patient cells into iPSCs and neural progenitors, they show the mutation disrupts actin dynamics during cell division, causing DNA damage and cellular senescence; in lab models, actin-stabilizing compounds partly fix division defects and improve cell growth, pointing to a potential drug target for this rare disease.

via Neuroscience News|

#actin-dynamics #aging #cellular-senescence

science18 days ago•41 min saved

Decades of Coffee Data Hint at an 18% Dementia Risk Reduction

A 43-year study of 131,821 healthcare professionals (Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study) found that regular caffeinated coffee intake (2–3 cups daily) or tea (1–2 cups daily) was associated with about an 18% lower risk of developing dementia versus those who rarely or never drank them. Decaf coffee did not confer the same benefit. The analysis included 11,033 dementia cases and showed similar patterns across genetic risk groups, but as an observational study it cannot establish causation, calling for further research into the mechanisms behind caffeine’s brain health effects.

via Good News Network|

#caffeine #coffee #dementia

neuroscience18 days ago•20 min saved

Psilocybin’s 5-HT2A activation linked to lasting brain plasticity in mice

A mouse study shows psilocybin dose-dependently activates the brain’s 5-HT2A receptors in the prefrontal cortex, with an inverted-U relationship for acute behaviors. The following day, moderate doses reduced anxiety-like exploration and higher doses decreased depression-like immobility, coinciding with changes in microtubule dynamics and increased synaptic plasticity proteins—primarily in the prefrontal cortex, not the amygdala—suggesting a neural mechanism for lasting antidepressant effects, though results in animals may not directly translate to humans.

via PsyPost|

#5-ht2a #amygdala #neuroplasticity

science20 days ago•3 min saved

Reviving Frozen Brain Slices Signals a Leap Toward Cryopreserved Organs

German researchers vitrified 350-micron mouse brain slices, cooled them to -320°F, and after thawing found intact neuronal membranes and preserved hippocampal long-term potentiation, with neurons still responsive to stimulation, suggesting brain function can resume after complete molecular shutdown and opening a path to organ preservation and potential cryopreservation of whole mammals, though translating this to humans and larger organs will require improved vitrification, cooling, and rewarming techniques.

via Futurism|

#cryopreservation #hippocampus #long-term-potentiation

psychology20 days ago•10 min saved

Reading Before Bed Rewires the Brain More Than Watching TV

Neuroscience suggests reading before bed actively engages the brain, boosting language connectivity and even leaving ‘shadow activity’ into the next morning, while watching TV delivers passively processed content that can reduce language skills and impair sleep. Over weeks and months, regular reading strengthens neural networks tied to language, memory, empathy, and cognitive control, whereas late-night screen use can hinder sleep quality and cognitive function. The practical takeaway: swap 10 minutes of screen time for reading to foster calmer sleep and long-term brain benefits.

via Silicon Canals|

#brain #neuroscience #psychology