Quick Q&AQ: Can past injuries increase sensitivity to future pain or stress?A: Yes — this study shows that old injuries can prime the brain to overreact to new stressors, leading to lasting pain and exaggerated fear.Q: What mechanism keeps the nervous system hypersensitive?A: A stress hormone called corticosterone interacts with...

Summary: Alzheimer’s disease is marked by toxic amyloid-beta protein clumps, but some people seem naturally protected. A new study reveals that a receptor called ADGRG1 enables immune cells called microglia to effectively clear these harmful plaques.Mice lacking this receptor developed rapid plaque buildup and memory issues, while humans with higher...

Summary: Seeing faces in objects—known as face pareidolia—triggers a powerful attentional response, according to a new study. Researchers compared how people react to real averted gazes versus imagined gazes from face-like objects and found both draw attention, but through different mechanisms.While real faces guide our eyes through specific cues like...

Summary: A new study has uncovered how the brain efficiently encodes and recalls visual memories—by organizing them into categories and using the precise timing of neuronal activity. Researchers recorded hippocampal spikes in epilepsy patients as they viewed images from five object categories, then used machine learning to decode which type...

Summary: While grief is a natural part of loss, some people experience persistently high levels that can have long-term health consequences. A decade-long study in Denmark found that individuals with intense, prolonged grief symptoms had significantly higher rates of healthcare use and were nearly twice as likely to die within...

Summary: Unlike most tissues, the retina doesn’t summon neutrophils—the body’s typical first responders—when injured. Instead, microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, handle photoreceptor damage without calling for backup.Using adaptive optics imaging, researchers observed this unique immune behavior in live mouse retinas. The findings suggest a protective “cloaking” mechanism that prevents...

Summary: Alzheimer’s disease spreads unevenly through the brain, and new mathematical modeling may help explain why. Researchers developed a network diffusion model that simulates how tau protein accumulates and spreads, identifying genes that either increase or reduce vulnerability.The model reveals that more connected brain regions are more prone to damage,...

Summary: Women who commit lethal violence rarely display psychopathy, instead acting out of provocation and perceived threats. A 15-year Swedish study of 175 cases found that about half of the women had a severe mental disorder, and these women showed slightly more short-term planning but still high emotional arousal.Instrumental motives...

Summary: Scientists have discovered a “neurobiotic sense” — a newly identified system where the gut sends real-time signals from microbes to the brain to help regulate appetite. Specialized cells called neuropods in the colon detect a bacterial protein, flagellin, and signal the brain via the vagus nerve to suppress eating.Mice...

Summary: A new study reveals that a brain circuit driving negative emotions during cocaine withdrawal plays a key role in relapse. Researchers found that this “anti-reward” network becomes hyperactive during abstinence, amplifying distress and pushing users back toward the drug.Paradoxically, this circuit may also serve as a protective brake by...