Neuroscience

Timing is everything: How circadian rhythms influence our brains

Why are we mentally sharper at certain times of day? A study led by Jonathan Lipton MD, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital spells out the relationship between circadian rhythms—the body's natural day/night cycles—and ...

Health

Marijuana use linked to epigenetic changes

Recent and long-term marijuana use is linked to changes in the human epigenome, a new Northwestern Medicine study published in Molecular Psychiatry has found.

Medical research

Understanding the role of octopamine in neurodegeneration

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered how octopamine, the major "fight-or-flight" neurotransmitter in invertebrates, communicates with other cells in mammalian brains to prevent cell death, according to a study ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Common brain network for psychiatric illness discovered

Psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and depression, affect nearly one in five adults in the United States and nearly half of patients diagnosed with a psychiatric illness also meet the criteria for a second. With ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Mutation links bipolar disorder to mitochondrial disease

Mutations in the gene ANT1 may confer a risk for bipolar disorder through a complex interplay between serotonin and mitochondrial signaling in the brain. These two pathways have been separately implicated in bipolar disorder, ...

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