Neuroscientists have developed a new animal model of schizophrenia that will enable researchers around the world to better understand the disease and develop new treatments. Schizophrenia, which affects around seven people in 1,000, is a poorly understood group of mental disorders that disrupt cognition and behavior. The precise neurological cause of schizophrenia is unknown and…

A theory that Parkinson’s disease can arise in the intestinal system and from there migrate to the brain has now gained support from new research. Harmful proteins on the move Parkinson’s disease is characterised by slowly destroying the brain due to the accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein and the subsequent damage to nerve cells. The…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with an increased focus on one’s internal experiences along with a reduction in responsiveness to external social surroundings. Now, a new study investigates the dynamics of brain connectivity between brain networks associated with internal experiences, external attention, and switching between internal versus external states. The researchers used functional magnetic…

Non-drug therapies, such as exercise, appear to be as, or more, effective than drugs for reducing symptoms of depression in people with dementia, suggests new research. Doctors should consider more «social» prescribing of non-drug approaches for depression and loneliness, say researchers Non-drug therapies, such as exercise, appear to be as, or more, effective than drugs…

Migraines are a pain in the head and in the hip pocket, but newly discovered genetic causes could lead the way to new preventative drugs and therapies. Genetic analyses findings were published in The American Journal of Human Geneticsby Professor Dale Nyholt and his PhD candidates Hamzeh Tanha and Anita Sathyanarayanan, all from the QUT…

People who take opioid medications for chronic pain may have a hard time finding a new primary care clinic that will take them as a patient if they need one, according to a new ‘secret shopper’ study of hundreds of clinics across the country. Stigma against long-term users of prescription opioids, likely related to the…

People prefer songs with only a moderate amount of uncertainty and unpredictability, according to new research. Scientists have long struggled to understand why activities of little apparent evolutionary value, like listening to music, bring so much pleasure. Previous studies have linked listening to and making predictions about music with activation in reward centers of the…

Infants coming from homes with domestic violence often go on to have worse academic outcomes in school due to neurodevelopmental lags and a higher risk for a variety of health issues, including gastrointestinal distress, trouble eating and sleeping, as well as stress and illness. «Something didn’t seem right, but I didn’t know what to say…

A new study found that incidence rates for malignant brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors declined by 0.8% annually during 2008 through 2017 in the United States for all ages combined. This collaborative study with Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States researchers, led by Kimberly D. Miller, MPH, American Cancer Society,…

Researchers have discovered an explanation for why cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) — clusters of dilated blood vessels in the brain — can suddenly grow to cause seizures or stroke. Specifically, they found that a specific, acquired mutation in a cancer-causing gene (PIK3CA) could exacerbate existing CCMs in the brain. Furthermore, repurposing an already existing anticancer…