Collaboration and cooperation are key elements of human social interactions, which can contribute to the efficient achievement of shared goals. While many psychology and neuroscience studies have investigated cooperative behaviors among humans, the complex interplay between these behaviors and their neural underpinnings remain poorly understood.

A research team at Beijing Normal University, supervised by Dr. Yina Ma set out to further explore the neural basis of human cooperation, using a combination of behavioral tasks and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG). Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, delineates distinctive neurocognitive profiles for different states during cooperative tasks.

“Our lab has long been dedicated to understanding how human brains communicate and interact in social contexts, such as collective decision-making, intergroup conflict and social cooperation,” Jiaxin Wang, co-first author of the paper, told Medical Xpress.

Researchers have discovered how a cell surface protein called Aplp1 can play a role in spreading material responsible for Parkinson’s disease from cell-to-cell in the brain.

Promisingly, an FDA-approved cancer drug that targets another protein called Lag3 – which interacts with Aplp1 – blocks the spread in mice, suggesting a potential therapy may already exist.

In a paper published last year, an international team of scientists describes how the two proteins work together to help harmful alpha-synuclein protein clumps get into brain cells.

Researchers at Texas Biomed have identified nine mutations in a strain of bird flu found in a person in Texas. Bad news: This strain shows an increased ability to cause disease and is more effective at replicating in the brain. Good news: Current approved antiviral treatments remain effective against this strain.

Researchers at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) have identified a strain of bird flu isolated from a human in Texas that carries a distinctive set of mutations, making it more adept at replicating in human cells and causing severe disease in mice. This strain was compared to one found in dairy cattle, and the findings are detailed in Emerging Microbes & Infections.

The discovery underscores a significant concern about the H5N1 strains of bird flu currently circulating in the U.S.: the virus.