Nervous System News

May 9, 2025

Top Headlines

May 8, 2025 — How well our brain functions depends heavily on the performance of our nerve cells. That is why they are regularly checked for their proper function -- defective cell components are marked, disposed of and recycled. This includes the mitochondria, ...

Sleep Apnea During REM Sleep Linked to Memory-Related Brain Changes

May 7, 2025 — Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes lower oxygen levels during sleep, is linked to degeneration of brain regions associated with memory through damage to the brain's small blood vessels, according to a new study. The study found the ...

A Pipette That Can Activate Individual Neurons

May 7, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new type of pipette that can deliver ions to individual neurons without affecting the sensitive extracellular milieu. Controlling the concentration of different ions can provide important insights into how individual ...

Decoding the Brainstem: A New Window Into Brain--Body--Mind Interactions

May 2, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new imaging method, D-PSCAN, which enables minimally invasive, wide-field, high-resolution imaging of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) in living mice. This technique allows detailed investigation of NTS activity and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:44pm EDT

Molecular Double Agent: Protein 'Eato' Plays Surprising Role in Protecting the Brain

May 1, 2025 — A team of researchers has made a discovery in fruit flies that could change the way we understand brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in ...

New Technology Facilitates Delivery of Advanced Medicines

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have developed a technique that enables efficient delivery of therapeutic proteins and RNA to cells. The method shows promising results in animal studies to deliver gene editors and ...

Brain Decoder Controls Spinal Cord Stimulation

Apr. 28, 2025 — A lab develops brain wave decoder that may help in spinal cord injury ...

New Body-Fluid Biomarker for Parkinson's Disease Discovered

Apr. 25, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new biomarker for Parkinson's disease. A misfolded protein facilitates reliable diagnosis even in the early stages of Parkinson's disease in body ...

In Down Syndrome Mice, 40Hz Light and Sound Improve Cognition, Neurogenesis, Connectivity

Apr. 25, 2025 — A new study provides new evidence that sensory stimulation of a gamma-frequency brain rhythm may promote broad-based restorative neurological health ...

Immune Cells Drive Congenital Paralysis Disease

Apr. 25, 2025 — Patients with spastic paraplegia type 15 develop movement disorders during adolescence that may ultimately require the use of a wheelchair. In the early stages of this rare hereditary disease the ...

Building 'Cellular Bridges' for Spinal Cord Repair After Injury

Apr. 21, 2025 — Capitalizing on the flexibility of tiny cells inside the body's smallest blood vessels may be a powerful spinal cord repair strategy, new research ...

Engineered Microglia Show Promise for Treating Alzheimer's and Other Brain Diseases

Apr. 21, 2025 — A new way to deliver disease-fighting proteins throughout the brain may improve the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological ...

How Disturbed Signaling Pathways Could Promote Epileptic Seizures

Apr. 16, 2025 — Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type 2 is a congenital malformation of the cerebral cortex that is often associated with difficult-to-treat epilepsy. In the affected areas, nerve cells and their layer ...

Researchers Have Mapped the Hidden Control System of Vision

Apr. 15, 2025 — The smallest control system of vision in mammals has been mapped -- a discovery that opens entirely new insights into how our vision works and how it can be affected by ...

The Brain Resorts to Myelin When Other Brain Nutrients Are Depleted

Apr. 10, 2025 — Marathon runners experience reversible changes in their brain myelin. These findings indicate that myelin (a substance that surrounds the neurons) exhibits behavior that was previously unknown, and ...

Discovery Reveals Protein Involved in Parkinson's Disease Also Drives Skin Cancer

Apr. 9, 2025 — A small protein involved in neurodegeneration leading to Parkinson's disease also drives a type of skin cancer known as melanoma, according to new ...

New Insights Into Neurodegeneration Using Human 'Mini Brains'

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new way that neurons act in neurodegeneration by using human neural organoids -- also known as 'mini-brain' models -- from patients with frontotemporal lobar ...

By Re-Creating Neural Pathway in Dish, Stanford Medicine Research May Speed Pain Treatment

Apr. 9, 2025 — Scientists have rebuilt, in laboratory glassware, the neural pathway that sends information from the body's periphery to the brain, promising to aid research on pain ...

Researchers Discover Natural Compound May Slow ALS and Dementia

Apr. 8, 2025 — A new study shows a compound found in certain fruits and vegetables could hold key to treating neurodegenerative ...

Groundbreaking Study Reveals Changes in Brain Cell Composition and Gene Activity in Tourette Syndrome

Apr. 8, 2025 — In the first comprehensive, cell-by-cell analysis of brain tissue from individuals with Tourette syndrome, researchers have pinpointed exactly which cells are perturbed and how they malfunction, ...

ALS Drug Effectively Treats Alzheimer's Disease in New Animal Study

Apr. 8, 2025 — Experimental drug NU-9 -- a small molecule compound approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trials for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- improves ...

Brain's Own Repair Mechanism: New Neurons May Reverse Damage in Huntington's Disease

Apr. 7, 2025 — New research shows that the adult brain can generate new neurons that integrate into key motor circuits, findings that may point to a new way to treat neurogenerative ...

Molecules That Fight Infection Also Act on the Brain, Inducing Anxiety or Sociability

Apr. 7, 2025 — Scientists find the protein IL-17 that fights infection also acts on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability. This adds to evidence that immune molecules can influence behavior during ...

Estrogen and Progesterone Stimulate the Body to Make Opioids

Apr. 3, 2025 — Female hormones can suppress pain by making immune cells near the spinal cord produce opioids, a new study has found. This stops pain signals before they get to the brain. The discovery could help ...

Thirst and Hunger Neurons

Apr. 3, 2025 — New research shines light on how the brain interprets nutritional and hydration needs and turns them into ...

Could Targeting Parkinson's Outside of the Brain Improve Symptoms?

Apr. 3, 2025 — Parkinson's doesn't just affect movement and the brain -- it may also impact the heart, according to new research. Scientists suggest that targeting a key protein outside of the brain could ...

Balance Between Two Competing Nerve Proteins Deters Symptoms of Autism in Mice

Apr. 1, 2025 — In mice, autism symptoms arise when a certain pair of competing nerve proteins falls out of equilibrium, according to a new ...

Exposure to Air Pollution in Childhood Is Associated With Reduced Brain Connectivity

Apr. 1, 2025 — A new study has found that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution in early and mid childhood have weaker connections between key brain regions. The findings highlight the potential impact ...

Brain Channels 'Stopped in Time' Reveal Chemical Flow That Enables Learning and Thinking

Mar. 28, 2025 — The finding of a new study could advance the development of new drugs that block or open such signaling channels to treat conditions as varied as epilepsy and some intellectual ...

Study Unlocks How Diabetes Distorts Memory and Reward Processing

Mar. 26, 2025 — A research team says high blood sugar levels appear to weaken function in key part of brain, mimicking ...

How Did the Large Brain Evolve?

Mar. 26, 2025 — Two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. Researchers have provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary ...

Neurons in Brain That Regulate Energy Levels and Body Temperature

Mar. 26, 2025 — Scientists have gained greater clarity in the brain regions and neurons that control metabolism, body temperature and energy use. A team of researchers discovered which chemicals influence the ...

How Cells Respond to Stress Is More Nuanced Than Previously Believed

Mar. 26, 2025 — The body's cells respond to stress -- toxins, mutations, starvation or other assaults -- by pausing normal functions to focus on conserving energy, repairing damaged components and boosting ...

Stroke Rehabilitation Drug Repairs Brain Damage

Mar. 18, 2025 — A new study has discovered what researchers say is the first drug to fully reproduce the effects of physical stroke rehabilitation in model mice, following from human ...