Neuroscience News

Blocking an immune-related molecule lodged in blood vessels stops memory loss

Impeding VCAM1, a protein that tethers circulating immune cells to blood vessel walls, enabled old mice to perform as well on memory and learning tests as young mice, a Stanford study found.

Old mice suffered far fewer senior moments on memory tests when Stanford investigators disabled a single molecule dotting the mice’s cerebral blood vessels.

A new technique to examine how flatworms re-grow their limbs and organs could one day help scientists understand how human brains recover from stroke or traumatic injury.

Low oxygen levels during brain development may cause particular cells to differentiate too soon, a Stanford-led study found.

Brain cells called microglia serve as the brain’s garbage crew, scarfing up bits of cellular debris. But their underperformance in aging brains contributes to neurodegeneration. Now, a possible workaround?

Brain cells called microglia keep brains young by eliminating accumulations of protein debris. But their garbage-colllection ability fades with age.

Each time you get a reward, your brain's internal spatial map warps just a bit in a way that makes it easier for you to get back to wherever you got it.

Through a combination of biometric tracking, simulated modeling and medical imaging, researchers detail how hits to the side of the head cause concussion.

New science tells us how to better manage our addictions.

Male mice are hardwired to recognize the sex of other mice, a new study shows. Females' circuitry guiding that decision differs from males.

The discovery, by Stanford researchers, of neurons that drive mice’s innate ability to identify the sex of other mice highlights the importance of biological influences on sex-specific behaviors.

Brain cells called oligodendrocytes supply insulation by wrapping neurons in multiple layers of fatty extensions, preserving signal strength and markedly speeding up transmission. But studying these cells in culture has been virtually impossible -- until

Studying human oligodendrocytes, which provide insulation for nerve cells, has been challenging. But a new way of generating stem-cell-derived, three-dimensional brain-cell cultures is paying off.

Researchers studying mouse brains identified the cells that encode pain's unpleasantness.

Humans have relied on plants for millennia to treat a variety of neurological ailments. Now, researchers are using microscopic worms to better understand how plant molecules shape behavior – and perhaps develop better new drugs.