Classes of autism are uncovered with a generative mixture modeling approach leveraging matched phenotypic and genetic data from a large cohort, revealing different genetic programs underlying their phenotypic and clinical traits.
Category: neuroscience – Page 24
Scientists just solved the mystery of the missing ocean plastic—now we’re all in trouble
Millions of tons of plastic in the ocean aren't floating in plain sight—they're invisible. Scientists have now confirmed that the most abundant form of plastic in the Atlantic is in the form of nanoplastics, smaller than a micrometer. These particles are everywhere: in rain, rivers, and even the air. They may already be infiltrating entire ecosystems, including the human brain, and researchers say prevention—not cleanup—is our only hope.
Study finds genetics shape health impact of leisure versus work physical activity
The benefits of exercise and its positive influence on physical and mental health are well documented, but a new Yale and VA Connecticut study sheds light on the role genetics plays for physical activity, accounting for some of the differences between individuals and showing differences in biology for physical activity at leisure versus physical activity at work and at home.
Using data from the Million Veteran Program (MVP), a genetic biobank run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the researchers analyzed genetic influences on leisure, work, and home-time physical activity. They wanted to understand how genetics impacts these three types of physical activity and compare their health benefits.
The study included nearly 190,000 individuals of European ancestry, 27,044 of African ancestry, and 10,263 of Latin-American ancestry. To study the genetics of physical activity during leisure time, the researchers also added data from the UK Biobank, which included about 350,000 individuals.
Guided Nanoparticles Reconnect Brain Cells, Raising Hopes For Parkinson’s Treatment
Broken connections between brain cells play a critical role in multiple neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. Scientists have now come up with a novel way of repairing our neural wiring.
A team led by University of Pisa biologist Sara De Vincentiis used mini-brains grown in a lab to test a technique they’re calling “nano-pulling”, using tiny magnetic particles controlled by magnetic fields to guide axons (connective nerve fibers) into place.
With further development, the researchers believe this approach could help restore the nigrostriatal pathway, a vital connection in motor control that is compromised in Parkinson’s patients.
Electrical stimulation of facial muscles influences how people perceive others’ emotions, study finds
Psychology research suggests that the human body, particularly the muscles on our face, plays a key part in the processing of others’ emotions. For instance, past findings suggest that when we see another person smiling or frowning, we often unconsciously mimic their facial expression, and this helps us interpret their emotions.
Theories suggest that the mimicry of facial expressions sends signals from our facial muscles to the brain, broadly referred to as “facial feedback,” which in turn contributes to the interpretation of other people’s emotions. So far, however, the contribution of this feedback to emotion recognition and how its contribution unfolds over time remain poorly understood.
Researchers at the University of Essex recently carried out a study to investigate the effects of facial feedback on the perception of emotions at different stages of visual processing, using a technique known as facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES). Their findings, published in Communications Psychology, suggest that signals generated by the movements of muscles on people’s faces influence how they interpret the emotions of others, particularly during the earlier stages of visual processing.
Virtual reality therapy reduces voice hallucinations in schizophrenia trial
Copenhagen University Hospital’s VIRTU Research Group reports that an immersive virtual reality-assisted therapy called Challenge-VRT yielded a statistically significant, short-term reduction in auditory verbal hallucination severity among Danish adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Auditory verbal hallucinations rank among the most frequent and distressing features of schizophrenia, affecting roughly 75% of patients and resisting medication in about one-third. Approximately 13% of patients experience worsening hallucinations during their first decade of illness.
Current cognitive behavioral and relational psychotherapies show modest effects, leaving a clear unmet need for innovative treatment approaches.
Tiny brain circuit linked to cocaine withdrawal discomfort and relapse risk
Why do so many people relapse after quitting cocaine? A new study from The Hebrew University reveals that a specific “anti-reward” brain circuit becomes hyperactive during withdrawal—driving discomfort and pushing users back toward the drug. Surprisingly, this circuit may also serve as a built-in protective mechanism, offering new hope for addiction treatment.
Cocaine addiction has long been understood as a tug-of-war between reward and restraint. The rush of dopamine keeps users hooked, while withdrawal triggers anxiety, depression, and despair. But a new study by researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem reveals that it’s not just the craving for pleasure—but the brain’s aversion to pain—that plays a powerful role in relapse.
Led by Prof. Yonatan M. Kupchik and Ph.D. student Liran Levi from the Faculty of Medicine, the study, appearing in Science Advances, identifies a specific “anti-reward” network deep in the brain that undergoes lasting changes during cocaine use, withdrawal, and re-exposure. This glutamatergic network, located in the ventral pallidum, is emerging as a key player in addiction—and a promising target for future therapies.
Executive function may stem from schooling rather than innate cognition
A new study of children in schooled and unschooled environments, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, raises questions about some of the assumptions underlying the way psychologists and scholars of cognitive science think about these processes.
Instead of defining an innate, basic feature of human cognition, the executive functions supposedly captured in the assessments are likelier to depend on the influence of formal schooling.
The study, “The cultural construction of ‘executive function,’” tested children in the Kunene region of Africa, which spans the countries of Namibia and Angola, as well as children in the U.K. and Bolivia. Children in rural areas of Kunene who received limited or no formal schooling differed profoundly in so-called executive function testing from their schooled peers, or a “typical” Western schooled sample.