Category: Brain/Neurology
- Thalamus–red nucleus circuit modulates arousal during anesthesia in mice ()
Published October 29, 2026. A mouse study identifies a thalamus-to-red-nucleus pathway involved in arousal during sevoflurane anesthesia. Dai and colleagues published the findings in Communications Biology on October 26. The researchers examined glutamatergic neurons expressing Vglut2 in the central medial thalamus. Their activity decreased as animals lost responsiveness under anesthesia and increased during recovery. Chemogenetic […]
- Alzheimer’s genetic study identifies 48 new risk loci and cellular pathways ()
Published October 29, 2026. A large genetic study published in Nature on October 28 identifies additional Alzheimer’s disease risk regions and highlights links to microglial and neuronal biology. The analysis combined 30 cohorts, including 109,479 cases and 74,141 proxy cases, alongside more than two million controls and additional proxy controls. Proxy cases were genotyped people […]
- Soft vagus nerve stimulator reshapes pancreatic tumor immunity in mice ()
Published October 28, 2026. A miniature implantable stimulator has been tested as a way to influence pancreatic tumor immunity through the vagus nerve. Liu and colleagues describe the device in Nature Communications, published October 26. The system targets the subdiaphragmatic vagus nerve near the esophagus. Its soft interface combines an injectable adhesive conductive hydrogel with […]
- 3D spheroid screening identifies a repurposing candidate for spinal cord glioma ()
Published October 28, 2026. An October 27 paper in Scientific Reports presents a drug-repurposing workflow for spinal cord glioma, a rare cancer. Yonk and colleagues combined a minipig tumor model with miniaturized three-dimensional spheroid screening. The researchers grew primary tumor cells in 3D cultures to screen bioactive compounds, then evaluated promising candidates using additional spheroid […]
- White-matter axon bundles retain stable statistics despite individual caliber variation ()
Published October 28, 2026. An October 27 study in Communications Biology investigates whether variations in an axon’s thickness undermine estimates of nerve-signal conduction based on conventional tissue sections. Mordhorst and colleagues compared three-dimensional reconstructions with measurements that mimic two-dimensional histology. Across approximately 450,000 reconstructed axons from male rats, individual fibers varied along their length, but […]
- Selective LC3A-mediated cleanup supports cell survival under osmotic stress ()
Published October 28, 2026. An October 27 study in Communications Biology examines how cells remove stress granules after exposure to hyperosmotic conditions. These temporary assemblies normally disperse when stress subsides; persistent granules are relevant to research on neurodegeneration. Yi and colleagues identify a selective role for LC3A in autophagic clearance. LC3A associated with the granules, […]
- NEST framework brings dendritic dynamics into large-scale neural simulations ()
Published October 28, 2026. A new framework reported October 27 in Communications Biology makes it easier to include dendritic processes in large neural-network simulations. Wybo and colleagues extend NEST, a simulator commonly used for networks of simplified spiking neurons. The framework lets researchers describe customizable subcellular dynamics in NESTML and generates efficient C++ implementations. Neurons […]
- Automated magnetic stimulation localizes human motor cortex targets ()
Published October 28, 2026. An October 27 paper in Communications Biology describes an automated approach to locating motor-function targets in the human cortex. Granö and colleagues combine electronically steered multi-locus transcranial magnetic stimulation with Bayesian optimization. The method uses responses to stimulation to guide subsequent measurements, creating a closed loop that searches for an effective […]
- PDE10A inhibition reopens experience-dependent visual plasticity in adult mice ()
Published October 28, 2026. A Communications Biology study identifies PDE10A as a candidate regulator of experience-dependent changes in the adult visual cortex. Li and colleagues compared protein patterns across the visual cortices of juvenile mice after depriving one eye of visual input. Juvenile animals showed reduced PDE10A and increased CREB phosphorylation in the cortex opposite […]
- Imaging-genetics study identifies distinct brain patterns linked to mental health ()
Published October 28, 2026. Research published today in Nature Communications combines brain imaging, behavioral measures and genetics to investigate links between brain structure and mental health. Hu and colleagues developed an analysis framework using UK Biobank data and evaluated its findings in the independent Human Connectome Project cohort. The analysis identified two reproducible patterns of […]