Stimulating a population of neurons in the midbrain with carbon dioxide (CO2) awakens adult male mice without enhancing breathing, finds a study published in JNeurosci. These findings are relevant to understanding disorders ...
Jan 29, 2018
0
5
In a study looking at brain scans of people with mild loss of thought and memory ability, Johns Hopkins researchers report evidence of lower levels of the serotonin transporter—a natural brain chemical that regulates mood, ...
Aug 14, 2017
0
59
Narcolepsy is a disorder caused by losing orexin neurons, marked by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy, and sudden weakening of muscle control. Previously, we found two kinds of neurons preventing narcolepsy by receiving ...
May 15, 2017
0
211
Columbia scientists have identified a gene that allows neurons that release serotonin—a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and emotions—to evenly spread their branches throughout the brain. Without this gene, these ...
Apr 27, 2017
0
1070
Pain serves as a warning signal to indicate the intensity and location of damage to the body. In addition to unpleasant sensations, painful events trigger negative emotional responses that may serve to reinforce pain-avoiding ...
Mar 13, 2017
0
5
Dr. Kevin Collins carefully places a petri dish with what looks like a blotch of yellowish slime under a microscope. Magnified, the slime comes alive as hundreds of translucent worms, known as Caenorhabditis elegans, slither ...
Jan 19, 2017
0
19
How does a small cluster of fairly homogeneous brain cells that make the neurotransmitter serotonin regulate so many functions, from breathing to mood to appetite?
Nov 16, 2016
0
101
More than 100 million people worldwide take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac and Zoloft, to treat depression, anxiety and related conditions, but these drugs have a common and mysterious side ...
Aug 24, 2016
1
34
While binge eating affects about 10 percent of adults in the United States, the neurobiological basis of the disease is unclear. Researchers at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine ...
Aug 8, 2016
0
152
Babies born to mothers whose immune systems had to grapple with a viral assault—even a mild one—have increased risk of brain and central nervous system abnormalities, according to a new study.
Jun 1, 2016
0
52
