https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology When an important area of the human brain involved in language processing is temporarily disrupted, other areas of the brain take over much of its work. Researchers at Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig have shown how flexibly the brain can maintain performance even in the face of acute disruption, and how different brain networks work together in real time to achieve this. The researchers have just published their new study in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-reveals-language-networks-real.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 16:40:08 EST news713544302 Frontotemporal dementia often results in early changes in personality or behavior before changes in cognitive skills. People with this condition who have lower levels of conscientiousness, a personality trait related to organization, reliability and planning, may be more likely to have problems with their ability to complete everyday activities, according to a study published in Neurology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-personality-trait-clues-functioning-frontotemporal.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 16:00:22 EST news713441195 A genetic mutation linked to Parkinson's disease produced abnormalities in a subset of nerve cells, offering a clue about the disease's causes, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings offer new clues about how the neurodegenerative disorder begins and progresses, said D. James Surmeier, Ph.D., the Nathan Smith Davis professor and chair of neuroscience, who was a co-author of the study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-axonal-defects-linked-rare-parkinson.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:40:02 EST news713535001 A gene responsible for compacting trash inside the brain appears to be a key player in Alzheimer's disease, and doctors may be able to target it to better treat or help prevent the devastating condition, new UVA Health research suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-alzheimer-discovery-reveals-brain-wrong.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:01 EST news713532717 Awake deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery can provide information beyond what imaging alone can capture, helping clinicians personalize electrode placement for patients with essential tremor, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in Operative Neurosurgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-optimize-deep.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:40:01 EST news713525639 A naturally occurring molecule that helps the brain clear away damaged blood cells could open the door to new treatments for one of the deadliest forms of stroke, research led by University of Manchester scientists suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-cleanup-molecule-aid-recovery.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:20:01 EST news713525546 Before motor or cognitive impairments appear and before brain volume loss becomes evident, some individuals carrying the genetic mutation that causes Huntington's disease already show signs of neuronal injury. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by the Institut de Recerca Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau), which has detected elevated levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a protein that indicates this damage, in individuals classified in the earliest stage of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-neuronal-earliest-stage-huntington-disease.html Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:00:01 EST news713525483 Karl, a 28-year-old man living in the northeastern United States, has a gray tabby cat named Luna. In the morning, his cat is often the first face that he sees. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-surgery-cat-eyes-human.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 19:10:06 EST news713471761 Cognition has to be organized somehow. A new study by researchers in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides several lines of evidence that the needed organization is implemented across the brain's frontal cortex by low-frequency "theta" waves. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-theta-cognition.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:10:01 EST news713457915 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and their collaborators have identified two previously unknown forms of the protein amyloid-beta that may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's. The study, published in Nature Communications, also shows that a protein previously discovered by the researchers can counteract the formation of these harmful forms, suggesting a potential new treatment approach. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-newly-protein-play-role-alzheimer.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:20:09 EST news713450762 Malaria remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, there were more than 280 million cases in 2024, with 610,000 people dying from the parasitic infection. Ninety-five percent of deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where children under the age of 5 are particularly affected. Prompt treatment is crucial. Nevertheless, some patients die from malaria even when treated with medication. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-protein-contributes-blood-vessel-brain.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:00:01 EST news713449921 McGill researchers have discovered that serotonin, a brain chemical best known for its role in mood and mental health, also helps regulate attention. "Our findings suggest serotonin-producing neurons deep in the midbrain act like a dimmer switch on attention," said Arjun Krishnaswamy, associate professor in the Department of Physiology, who co-led the study with associate professor Erik Cook. The findings were published in Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-dimmer-attention-drifts.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 11:40:14 EST news713445661 New research published in JAMA Network Open finds anticholinergic medications, commonly prescribed for overactive bladder (OAB), may not increase dementia risk after all compared to beta-3 agonists, the newer drug class that has been presumed to be safer for the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-held-overactive-bladder-drugs-dementia.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 10:20:08 EST news713441204 Everyday life throws a whole range of emotional experiences our way, from exciting and relaxing moments to tense or gloomy encounters. Each experience is shaped by what's present around us in the moment, the sensations our body is experiencing and our past experiences. This entire scene is set by the brain, which draws on these experiences of the past, organizing the information it gathers into mental maps that help us predict what might happen and respond appropriately to different situations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-brain-emotional-concepts-hexagonal-grid.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 09:20:01 EST news713438324 A study led by cell biologist Dr. Arun Pal at the HZDR, in collaboration with research partners in Dresden and Rostock, has found that electromagnetic alternating fields can partially reverse key pathological changes in human nerve cells. The finding has been published in the journal Cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-magnetic-fields-revive-intracellular-als.html Mon, 09 Nov 2026 08:40:02 EST news713434191 A new mouse study that set out to test how sleep helps stabilize new memories has identified cells that may offer a genetic target for accessing circuits implicated in cognitive disorders. Researchers led by Min Xu and Wanling Peng from the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences focused on interneurons that gate the generation of ripples, which are brief bursts of electrical activity that are critical for memory consolidation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-mask-memory-problems.html Sat, 07 Nov 2026 10:40:01 EST news713167386 Cancer remains among the most deadly diseases worldwide. Globally, more than 300,000 new cases of brain cancer are reported each year, with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, accounting for over 250,000 deaths. The current standard of care involves the use of temozolomide (TMZ), a chemotherapy medication. However, the tumor can be difficult to control because cancer cells evolve to evade the effects of such treatments. Thus, finding new ways to target these cells is an important area in cancer research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-compounds-drug-resistant-brain-cancer.html Fri, 06 Nov 2026 15:00:06 EST news713196004 Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified 10 blood proteins that, when analyzed together, can distinguish people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from healthy individuals with nearly 98% balanced accuracy. The findings, published in Nature Communications, could pave the way for a blood test that helps doctors recognize ALS earlier. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-blood-protein-panel-outperforms-als.html Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:08 EST news713189079 How can we efficiently collect light returning from tissues while also identifying what it tells us about blood flow in the deeper tissues? Conventional interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy (iNIRS) can distinguish signals according to the amount of time that light takes to travel through tissue, but it collects only a few photons. Camera-based systems capture many more photons, but this distinction is not realized when living tissue changes rapidly. Researchers associated with ICTER combined both approaches in a hybrid system. They showed that an appropriately analyzed camera signal can reproduce the blood-flow response observed with iNIRS for late-arriving photons, which are more sensitive to deeper tissues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-hybrid-method-reveals-camera-probe.html Thu, 05 Nov 2026 17:00:03 EST news713117480