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A new study published in Cell Reports looked at early stress-induced impaired brain functioning. “We were trying to figure out how the long-lasting, life-long adverse effects of transient early-life stress on behavioral and endocrine responses to adult stresses come about,” study author Tallie Z. Baram told us. “This is important, because these changes are tied to mental illnesses.” [More]

Up to one billion people worldwide suffer from neurological disorders. In the United States, more than one million adults are diagnosed annually with a chronic brain disease or disorder. Studying the brain is difficult but new tools are emerging. A recent study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry looked at how genetically encoded sensors enable micro and nano-scopic decoding of transmission in healthy and diseased brains. [More]

Botulinum toxin is a medicine that is often used for wrinkles, to help ease migraines, for muscle spasms, and to assist with incontinence. Now research published in Scientific Reports has found that people who had botox injections across four different areas of the body reported less anxiety than their peers. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at visual processes in the brain. “We were focusing particularly in the older part of the brain or mid-brain, which is important for lower-order animals such as frogs, lizards, and birds,” study author Masatoshi Kasai told us. “The superior colliculus is the center for sensory integration and sensory-motor transformation.” [More]

A recent study published in the Journal of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience looked at white matter in infancy and its association with language outcomes in kindergarten. “Our study conducted a five-year longitudinal investigation of children from infancy to examine how early brain structure (here focusing on white matter axonal connections between different brain areas) relates to children’s later language outcomes at the start of formal schooling (i.e., kindergarten),” study author Dr. Jennifer Zuk told us. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Brain Imaging Behaviour looked at sexual assault and white matter hyperintensities among midlife women. “Adverse mental health implications of trauma and sexual assault have been studied extensively over the years, yet much of this research wasn’t spotlighted before the advent of the #MeToo movement several years ago,” study author Dr. Rebecca Thurston told us. “There has been some work, including my own research, which linked experiences of trauma and sexual assault to the underlying cardiovascular disease risk in women. However, much less is known about what these traumatic experiences may mean for a woman’s risk of serious brain disorders such as stroke and dementia.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Nature Human Behaviour looked at how brain stimulation and brain lesions converge on common causal circuits in neuropsychiatric disease. “The study is about brain circuitry in depression,” study author, Dr. Shan H. Siddiqi told us. “We were hoping to find if modulating specific brain circuits (with brain damage or brain stimulation) can causally modify depression severity.” [More]

Anxiety is an emotion that is central to human experience which can also cause immense suffering for millions of children and adults when it goes awry. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at the biological roots of anxiety. “Anxiety disorders are the most common family of mental illnesses, and they impose a staggered burden on global public health and the economy,” study author Alexander J. Shackman told us. [More]

Vitamin D is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in the US and around the world. It can be challenging to get adequate Vitamin D from the diet, and not everyone produces enough Vitamin D in their skin to make up for this gap. A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition looked at pregnancy, nutrition, and Vitamin D. [More]

Did you know that adults need an average of seven to nine hours of sleep per day and that adolescents need eight to ten hours? According to statistics from the Institute of Medicine, American adults and teens aren’t getting enough sleep. How does lack of sleep or sleep deprivation affect our brain’s reward system? An average of 50-70 million American adults have a sleep disorder. The most common sleep disorder is insomnia. Approximately 30 per cent of American adults say they have experienced short term insomnia while 10 per cent say they experience chronic insomnia. A new study published in eNeuro looked at sleep-deprivation and rewards using mice and cocaine. [More]