Amygdala News and Research

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Deep Neural Connections Drive Social Thought, Study Says

We've all been there. Moments after leaving a party, your brain is suddenly filled with intrusive thoughts about what others were thinking. "Did they think I talked too much?" "Did my joke offend them?" "Were they having a good time?"

24 Nov 2024

How Marmoset Brains Grow Smarter with Help from Many Caregivers

Findings from marmoset studies highlight the role of social interactions in brain development, providing clues to the evolution of human social skills.

7 Nov 2024

Unraveling the Genetic Blueprint of the Deep Brain

Researchers have discovered 254 genetic variations that influence important “deep brain” structures, such as those that govern memory, motor skills, addictive behaviors, and more, in one of the biggest-ever investigations of DNA and brain volume.

22 Oct 2024

How Classic Psychedelics Impact Brain Cell Dynamics and Anxiety

A classic psychedelic, similar to LSD, psilocybin and mescalin, was found to activate a cell type in the brain that silences other neighboring neurons, a result that provides insight into how such drugs reduce anxiety, according to a new study.

25 Sep 2024

Electrical Recordings Illuminate Neural Basis of Inferential Reasoning

It takes brains to infer how any two things in the world relate to each other, whether it's the way bad weather links to commuting delays or how environmental conditions lead to the evolution of species.

16 Aug 2024

Neuropeptides Revealed as Key Messengers in Fear Response

Researchers at Salk developed techniques to examine neuropeptides, which are messenger proteins in the brain that regulate the fear response in mice.

23 Jul 2024

Researchers Highlight Crucial Contributions of Astrocytes to Mental Health

The health and function of the brain depend on astrocytes, which are essential cells in the central nervous system. According to recent research, they affect behaviors and higher cognitive functions by controlling local neuronal activity.

22 Apr 2024

Study Reveals Neural Basis of Odor Perception

Scents, such as coffee, flowers, or freshly baked pumpkin pie, are created by odor molecules released by various substances and detected by our noses.

19 Mar 2024

Scientists Identify Mechanism Behind Post-Traumatic Fear Responses

Neurobiologists have discovered how stress causes the brain to become fearful in situations like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how to stop it.

15 Mar 2024

Midshipman Fish Song Shows Midbrain's Role in Vocal Production

Talkative midshipman fish also referred to as “California singing fish,” rely heavily on the midbrain to initiate and organize the trains of sounds necessary for vocal communication.

4 Jan 2024

Role of Inhibitory Interneurons in Memory Expression

Memory, a crucial aspect of human survival, is intricately connected to how humans encode, retrieve, and react to external stimuli.

9 Nov 2023

Study elucidates the cellular changes caused by exposure to adversity during childhood

A new brain connection discovered by University of California, Irvine researchers can explain how early-life stress and adversity trigger disrupted operation of the brain's reward circuit, offering a new therapeutic target for treating mental illness. Impaired function of this circuit is thought to underlie several major disorders, such as depression, substance abuse and excessive risk-taking.

28 Feb 2023

Key to developing more effective obesity treatments

The amygdala, a part of the brain, is in charge of strong emotions such as fear. Scientists have shown that the amygdala may be at fault for overeating.

25 Oct 2022

Researchers discover 15 genetic 'hotspots' that speed up or slow down brain aging

Researchers from a USC-led consortium have discovered 15 "hotspots" in the genome that either speed up brain aging or slow it down -; a finding that could provide new drug targets to resist Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative brain disorders, as well as developmental delays.

6 Apr 2022

Study takes a deep dive into the molecular biology of the brain in bipolar disorder patients

In a comprehensive study involving one of the largest-ever samples of post-mortem brains, scientists at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, in collaboration with researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, have pinpointed significant differences in gene expression in two specific regions of the brains of hundreds of patients who had bipolar disorder.

8 Mar 2022