Hypothalamus News and Research

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The Hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

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

Study Uncovers How Oxytocin Boosts Memory in Animals

Researchers have discovered particular oxytocin neurons in the mouse brain that influence memory for object recognition.

14 Feb 2024

Pain-Triggered Oxytocin in the Brain Leads Mice to Shun Bullies

Mice, like humans, fight for mates and territory, form intricate social groups, and learn when it is safer to stay away from particular opponents.

25 Jan 2024

National Korea Maritime and Ocean University Researchers Explore the Impact of Microplastics and Toxin Exposure on Goldfish

Microplastic particles can travel long distances in oceans and are known to carry with them harmful and persistent organic pollutants like benzo[α]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

11 Jan 2024

Largest Gestational Diabetes Study Reveals 9 New Genetic Regions

The largest genetic study of gestational diabetes to date has led to a discovery of nine novel genetic regions linked to this severe and common pregnancy complication.

8 Jan 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

Teneurin-3: Protein That Helps for Circadian Rhythm Stability in Mice

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered a protein in mice’s visual systems that seems to be essential for regulating the body’s circadian rhythms by reducing the brain’s sensitivity to light.

29 Dec 2023

Research Reveals How Gut Bacteria Influence Distant Organs Through Oxytocin Signaling

The gut microbiome, a community of trillions of microbes living in the human intestines, has an increasing reputation for affecting not only gut health but also the health of organs distant from the gut.

3 Nov 2023

Glucose-Sensing Neurons May Play a Role in Regulating Blood Sugar

The body's blood glucose level needs to be maintained in a relatively narrow range. It cannot be too high, as it can lead to diabetes, and it cannot be too low because it can cause fainting or even death.

12 Jul 2023

MIT Researchers Identify Brain Cells Most Susceptible to Neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration, or the gradual loss of neuron function, is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Apr 2023

The Communication Between Brain and Liver After Fasting

The human body’s autophagy is triggered by fasting. The body activates the cells’ waste-removal mechanism and produces new energy. The brain plays a crucial part in this process, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne recently found in mice.

19 Apr 2023

The Relation Between an Autism Gene and Infertility

The biological foundations of a reproductive disease caused by a DNA mutation have been discovered by a University of California, Riverside study. Fragile X Syndrome, a major genetic contributor to cerebral impairment and autism, is also caused by this gene mutation.

5 Apr 2023

Study links neutral maternal behavior toward infants with epigenetic change in children

Adding evidence to the importance of early development, a new study links neutral maternal behavior toward infants with an epigenetic change in children related to stress response.

3 Mar 2023

Stress response in mom leads to epigenetic change in children

Adding evidence to the importance of early development, a new study links neutral maternal behavior toward infants with an epigenetic change in children related to stress response.

2 Mar 2023

Study charts seasonal and circadian genetic variation across the human body

The daily rotation of Earth and its yearly voyage around the Sun marks the natural rhythm of life on the planet.

14 Feb 2023

Maternal rhythms help to develop the suprachiasmatic nuclei’s “master clock”

According to a new study published May 24th, 2022, in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Alena Sumová and coworkers of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, genes within the fetus’s developing clock respond to rhythmic behavior in the mother during fetal development, first before the biological clock starts ticking on its own.

25 May 2022

Scientists decipher a direct dialog between the gut microbiota and the brain

Gut microbiota by-products circulate in the bloodstream, regulating host physiological processes including immunity, metabolism and brain functions.

From Institut Pasteur 18 Apr 2022

Hemoglobin plays role as a chemosensory signal for mother mice to protect offspring

Biochemists in Japan were surprised to discover that the molecule hemoglobin in the blood works not only as an oxygen carrier, but when the blood is spilled as a result of aggression, accident or predator attack, the molecule also acts as a chemosensory signal -; a chemical stimulus picked up by the senses, namely smell in this case -; for lactating mother mice, prompting digging or rearing behavior in them to check the surrounding environment and keep their offspring safe.

11 Feb 2022

Mice study shows how air pollution reduces sperm count by causing brain inflammation

Researchers have long known that air pollution can increase the risk of disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and fertility, but they did not know the exact mechanism for how it can lead to these health conditions.

26 Oct 2021

High fat diets lead to over-eating and obesity in rats by disturbing the body clock

When rats are fed a high fat diet, this disturbs the body clock in their brain that normally controls satiety, leading to over-eating and obesity. That's according to new research published in The Journal of Physiology.

7 Sep 2021