Neuroscience

How excitatory/inhibitory balance is maintained in the brain

Just as a thermostat is used to maintain a balanced temperature in a home, different biological processes maintain the balance of almost everything in our bodies, from temperature and oxygen to hormone and blood sugar levels. ...

Neuroscience

Neurotransmitter GABA predicts learning

In an international collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA), neuroscientists at the Ruhr-University Bochum have determined a link between brain levels of the neurotransmitter GABA, the main source ...

Medical research

Toxoplasma gondii parasite may alter signaling in the brain

It's creepy, it's crawly, and it infects 20 percent of people in the United States. Fortunately, most people who carry the Toxoplasma gondii parasite don't develop the symptoms of the disease it can cause. Only a small fraction ...

Neuroscience

How your brain knows it's summer

Researchers led by Toru Takumi at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have discovered a key mechanism underlying how animals keep track of the seasons. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

Neuroscience

'Dimmer switch' for mood disorders discovered

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a control mechanism for an area of the brain that processes sensory and emotive information that humans experience as "disappointment."

Autism spectrum disorders

Common heart drug might dampen some autism symptoms

(HealthDay)—A medication typically prescribed to control high blood pressure that's commonly referred to as a water pill may ease some of the symptoms of autism, researchers say.

Medical research

Engineering a photo-switch for nerve cells in the eye and brain

(Medical Xpress)—Chemists and vision scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have designed a light-sensitive molecule that can stimulate a neural response in cells of the retina and brain—a possible first ...

Neuroscience

Balancing connections for proper brain function

Neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy involve an imbalance between two types of synapses in the brain: excitatory synapses that release the neurotransmitter glutamate, and inhibitory synapses ...

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