A large psilocybin dose briefly improved advanced dementia symptoms in an isolated case study but experts warn of the dangers and ethical concerns.
Category: neuroscience
Brainwide blood volume reflects opposing neural populations
An interesting new approach to more accurately predicting blood flow in the mouse brain based on the activity of neurons correlated positively or negatively with arousal (as measured by whisking). Neuropixels and functional ultrasound imaging were used to simultaneously record from neurons and map blood flow, allowing the authors to derive their model.
Combined functional ultrasound imaging and Neuropixels recording of mouse brains identify two neuronal populations with opposing arousal-related activity and distinct haemodynamic response functions, that occur throughout the brain.
Resilience to autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease in a Reelin-COLBOS heterozygous man
Fascinating case study on the neuroprotective effects of a mutant reelin allele (RELN–COLBOS) which delayed disease progression in a patient with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD). A promising therapeutic target!
Case report of an individual heterozygous for a rare RELN–COLBOS variant that confers resilience, via a gain-of-function mechanism, to Alzheimer’s disease.
Common brain cancer mutation changes DNA shape to drive progression, exposing therapeutic target
A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has uncovered how one of the most common genetic alterations in glioma rewires the cancer cell genome to fuel tumor progression, suggesting a potential new therapeutic strategy for patients with ATRX-mutant gliomas.
The findings show that mutations in the ATRX gene fundamentally reprogram the epigenome and change the three-dimensional structure of chromatin, creating new interactions that activate developmental programs that tumors exploit to grow and spread. Targeting one of the genes downstream of ATRX in preclinical models—particularly in the HOXA family—slowed cancer progression.
The study, published in Nucleic Acids Research, was co-led by Jason Huse, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Anatomic Pathology, and Kunal Rai, Ph.D., professor of Genomic Medicine, with major contributions from Prit Benny Malgulwar, Ph.D., instructor of Translational Molecular Pathology, Anand Singh, Ph.D., senior research scientist in Genomic Medicine, and Ajay Saw, Ph.D., previous postdoctoral fellow in Genomic Medicine.
Two People With Severe Autoimmune Disease in Remission After Immune ‘Reset’
The severe and aggressive autoimmune disease known as neuromyelitis optica (NMO) just met a new match.
Without treatment, NMO can lead to serious disability, as rogue antibodies (AQP4-IgG) destroy the astrocyte support cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Therapies do exist to manage the condition, but they’re expensive, not always effective, and come with risks of their own – and relapses are common.
National identity reconfigures brain responses from “them” to “us”
The Neuroscience of Patriotism: From “Them” to “Us”
On the 4th of July, patriotism is often framed as flags, fireworks, and national pride. But neuroscience suggests something deeper: shared national identity can actually reshape how the brain processes other people.
A 2026 fMRI study published in PNAS found that when people were briefly reminded of a shared national identity, their brains began responding more inclusively to faces from ethnic outgroups.
The key region was the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area involved in self-referential and social processing. Under ethnic identity cues, this region responded more strongly to ethnic ingroup faces. But under national identity cues, it showed increased engagement toward ethnic outgroup faces too.
In other words, the brain’s sense of “us” is flexible.
The study did not show that ethnic identity disappears. Instead, it suggests that shared identity can partially expand the boundary of belonging while still allowing subgroup identities to remain intact.
That may be one of the healthier forms of patriotism: not “my group above yours,” but “a larger we.”
Mayo Clinic study identifies new brain targets for individualized epilepsy treatment
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have created a detailed map of the pulvinar, a deep brain region that could help doctors more precisely target brain stimulation therapies for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, reveal that brain regions separated by only a few millimeters connect to entirely different