Neuroscience News

Genetic mutations affecting a single gene called LRRK2 play an outsized role in Parkinson's disease, but nobody's been able to say what the connection is between the genetic defect and the brain-cell die-off that characterizes the condition. Here's a clue

Stanford researchers have shown in rats that pharmacologically active amounts of a fast-acting anesthetic drug could be released from nanoparticle "cages" in small, specified brain areas at which the scientists had aimed a beam of focused ultrasound.

Stanford researchers used focused ultrasound to pry molecules of an anesthetic loose from nanoparticles. The drug’s release modified activity in brain regions targeted by the ultrasound beam.

Stanford faculty Karl Deisseroth, Nolan Williams, Laura Roberts and Sergiu Pasca are featured in the documentary film "Minds Wide Open", showcasing exciting advances and tantalizing opportunities in brain science.

A new study suggests that ketamine, an increasingly popular treatment for depression, has something in common with drugs like fentanyl and oxycodone.

The release of a single signaling chemical from a specific nerve-cell tract in a particular part of the brain, like an on/off switch, may spell the difference between sociability and social awkwardness.

Autism spectrum disorder is marked by severe social deficits. Stanford researchers were able to reverse those types of deficits in mice by activating a single brain circuit.

Neurons in the brain and body send chemical signals from one to the next. Now, scientists led by Stanford's Steven Chu are a step closer to watching those signals take shape inside individual neurons.

Stanford psychiatric researcher Natalie Rasgon, MD, PhD, and her collaborators in a multicenter study have identified a substance, acetyl-L-choline, whose levels in the blood of people suffering from depression are correspondingly depressed.

Investigators at Stanford and elsewhere have shown, for the first time in humans, that low blood levels of acetyl-L-carnitine track with the severity and duration of depression.

Stanford neuroscientist Lisa Giocomo, PhD, and her colleagues examined the navigational behavior and brain-activity patterns of mice traveling through a virtual reality environment.

Your brain doesn't just sits still inside your skull, it rhythmically bulges and shrinks with each heartbeat, by an amount equivalent to a bit less the width of a human hair.

For years, the people developing artificial intelligence drew inspiration from what was known about the human brain, and it has enjoyed a lot of success as a result. Now, AI is starting to return the favor.

Parkinson's disease affects millions of people worldwide, slowing their movements and making it difficult to walk, but exactly how Parkinson's works remains a bit mysterious.

In the new study, a team directed by Stanford neuroscientist Andy Huberman, PhD, unraveled the brain circuitry that fine tunes the fright-flight-or-fight response to a visually perceived threat.

Pinpoint stimulation of a cluster of nerve cells in the brains of mice encouraged timid responses to a perceived threat, whereas stimulation of an adjacent cluster induced boldness and courage.