Nervous System News

March 18, 2025

Top Headlines

Slow, Silent 'Scream' of Epithelial Cells Detected for First Time

Mar. 17, 2025 — It has long been thought that only nerve and heart cells use electric impulses to communicate, while epithelial cells -- which compose the linings of our skin, organs and body cavities -- are mute, serving mostly as protective barriers that can ...

Innovative in Vivo Imaging Offers New Treatment, Hope for Sufferers of Chronic TMJ-Related Pain

Mar. 13, 2025 — Study uncovers new insights into pain pathways associated with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. Using an innovative in vivo imaging tool to capture functional activity in mouse models of TMJ ...

Engineers Turn Skin Cells Directly Into Neurons for Cell Therapy

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers devised a process to convert a skin cell directly into a neuron, eliminating the need to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. Such neurons could be used to treat spinal cord injuries or diseases such as ...

Thinking Outside the Box: Uncovering a Novel Approach to Brainwave Monitoring

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers have found a new way to more precisely detect and monitor brain cell activity during deep brain stimulation, a common treatment for movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:23am EDT

Do Brain Changes Remain After Recovery from Concussion?

Mar. 12, 2025 — For college athletes with concussion, brain changes may remain visible in brain scans up to a year after they are cleared to return to play, according to a new ...

Neurotherapeutic to Address Muscle Weakness

Mar. 5, 2025 — While a gradual loss in muscle strength is a natural part of aging, for many older adults it's more than just feeling a little weaker. Sarcopenia -- a condition affecting nearly half of adults over ...

Intranasal Herpes Infection May Produce Neurobehavioral Symptoms

Mar. 10, 2025 — A study finds that herpes infection through the nose can lead to anxiety, motor impairment and cognitive issues. The research shows that by exploiting a cellular enzyme, the virus can produce ...

Smart Adhesive Electrode Avoids Nerve Damage

Mar. 3, 2025 — A research team has developed a three-dimensional neural electrode that deforms smoothly using soft actuation technology. It is expected to be used in various next-generation soft bioelectronic ...

Brain Mapping Unlocks Key Alzheimer's Insights

Mar. 6, 2025 — Researchers have used a new brain-mapping technique to identify memory-related brain cells vulnerable to protein buildup, a key factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease, an incurable, ...

How the Brain Distinguishes Between Pain and Itch

Mar. 4, 2025 — A research team has uncovered the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of pain and itch in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). This study provides new insights into how the brain ...

Study Establishes 'Ball and Chain' Mechanism Inactivates Key Mammalian Ion Channel

Mar. 4, 2025 — A new study has unveiled a precise picture of how an ion channel found in most mammalian cells regulates its own function with a 'ball-and-chain' ...

Novel Research Shows Brain Connections Can Predict Future Substance Use in Adolescents

Mar. 3, 2025 — Adolescent substance use is a significant predictor of future addiction and related disorders. Understanding neural mechanisms underlying substance ...

Sleep Patterns May Reveal Comatose Patients With Hidden Consciousness

Mar. 3, 2025 — Overnight bursts of brain waves seen in normal sleep can help doctors predict which unresponsive patients hospitalized with acute severe brain injuries will awaken and eventually ...

New 4D Brain Map Reveals Potential Early Warning Signs of Multiple Sclerosis

Feb. 27, 2025 — Using an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers have created a four-dimensional brain map that reveals how lesions similar to those ...

How to Clear the Toxic Tau Protein That Can Lead to Alzheimer's and Related Diseases

Mar. 5, 2025 — The neurotransmitter glutamate is essential for regulating everything from mood to memory, but it can also encourage a toxic buildup of protein, which can contribute to Alzheimer's and related ...

Key Protein Identified for Understanding and Treating Alzheimer's Disease

Feb. 28, 2025 — Researchers have identified a specific form of the tau protein that is responsible for mediating the toxicity of harmful protein clumps in human neurons and thus represents a target for future ...

Nasal Spray Shows Preclinical Promise for Treating Traumatic Brain Injury

Feb. 27, 2025 — A new study suggests a nasal spray developed to target neuroinflammation could one day be an effective treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI). By studying the effects of the nasal anti-CD3 in a ...

Researchers Challenge Textbook Ideas of How the Brain Specifies Movement

Feb. 27, 2025 — Using a novel system, researchers found that a part of the basal ganglia called the striatum is not involved in action selection as previously thought. Instead, the striatum and the motor cortex work ...

Promising Results from First Prenatal Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists report results from a promising new approach to treat the rare neurodegenerative ...

Nerves Electrify Stomach Cancer, Sparking Growth and Spread

Feb. 19, 2025 — Researchers have found that a cancer outside the brain makes electrical connections with the nervous system to fuel cancer growth and aid its ...

'Healthy' Vitamin B12 Levels Not Enough to Ward Off Neuro Decline

Feb. 18, 2025 — Meeting the minimum requirement for vitamin B12, needed to make DNA, red blood cells and nerve tissue, may not actually be enough -- particularly if you are older. It may even put you at risk for ...

A Geometric Deep Learning Method for Decoding Brain Dynamics

Feb. 17, 2025 — Scientists have developed a geometric deep learning method that can create a coherent picture of neuronal population activity during cognitive and motor tasks across experimental subjects and ...

Researchers Discover How Opsin 3, a Light-Sensitive Brain Protein, Regulates Food Consumption in Mice

Feb. 14, 2025 — Scientists discovered years ago that the hypothalamus -- which helps to manage body temperature, hunger, sex drive, sleep and more -- includes neurons that express the protein opsin 3 (OPN3). Far ...

Worm Study Shows Hyperactivated Neurons Cause Aging-Related Behavioral Decline

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers found that excessively activated neurons over time, rather than decreased neuronal activity, cause aging-related decline in brain function in ...

Dessert Stomach Emerges in the Brain

Feb. 13, 2025 — Who hasn't been there? The big meal is over, you're full, but the craving for sweets remains. Researchers have now discovered that what we call the 'dessert stomach' is rooted in ...

Fungus 'Hacks' Natural Immune System Causing Neurodegeneration in Fruit Flies

Feb. 13, 2025 — A fungal infection has been shown to trigger a fruit fly's own immune system to destroy brain cells leading to signs of neurodegeneration, a new study has ...

Mapping Connections in a Neuronal Network

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have mapped and catalogued more than 70,000 synaptic connections from about 2,000 rat neurons, using a silicon chip capable of recording small yet telltale synaptic signals from a large ...

Meet the Newly Discovered Brain Cell That Allows You to Remember Objects

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new type of neuron that plays a fundamental role in recognition memory -- how the brain registers the difference between new and familiar objects and forms long-term ...

Cracking the Alzheimer's Code: How Brain Trauma Triggers Disease

Feb. 12, 2025 — A study reveals that traumatic brain injury alters the small vessels in the brain, resulting in an accumulation of amyloid beta -- a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The findings suggest that ...

Opening for a New Type of Drug for Alzheimer's Disease

Feb. 11, 2025 — A complementary drug to combat Alzheimer's disease could target a specific part of the nerve cell protein tau. This is the finding of new research which also offers a better way to measure the ...

How Does the Brain Differentiate New Stimuli from Old Ones?

Feb. 10, 2025 — A study sheds light on how networks in the brain detect new information, offering insight into disorders like ...

From Muscle to Memory: New Research Uses Clues from the Body to Understand Signaling in the Brain

Feb. 7, 2025 — New research shows that a network of subcellular structures similar to those responsible for propagating molecular signals that make muscles contract are also responsible for transmitting signals in ...

Scientists Discover Brain Mechanism That Helps Us Overcome Fear

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers have unveiled the precise brain mechanisms that enable animals to overcome instinctive fears. The study in mice could have implications for developing therapeutics for fear-related ...

Spinal Cord Stimulation Restores Neural Function, Targets Key Feature of Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease

Feb. 5, 2025 — Boosting communication between the spinal nerves and the muscles using the spinal cord stimulation reverses spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) progression and could be applied to other motoneuron diseases, ...