By Mariam Malik ‘22 The cerebellum, a five-centimeter wide part of the hindbrain, was initially thought of as having one major function: coordinating motor functions and balance. But new research on mice from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City shows that the remarkable cerebellar cortex may play a part in our…
By Allan Mai ‘20 With the high selectivity of the blood-brain barrier, it appears unlikely that microorganisms in the stomach could ever be able to reach the brain. However, past studies that have suggested major correlation between depression and specific gut bacteria and even correlation between social behavior and the activities of certain gut bacteria…
By Annamaria Cavaleri ‘22 A team of researchers at San Diego State University studying MRI scans of school-age children’s brains recently discovered a unique communication pattern involving the amygdala in the brains of children with autism. This pattern involved unexpected detours and exits within the travel of information from one region of the brain to…
By Annamaria Cavaleri ‘22 According to a recent study published in Cell Metabolism, weight loss success is linked to an active self-control region in the human brain. The hormones leptin and ghrelin play a role in signaling hunger cues during weight-loss. When weight is lost, the levels of these hormones in the body changes. Alain…
By Annamaria Cavaleri ‘22 Given the increased amount of stress present in modern life, cognitive aging is an issue that is attracting more attention. Recent studies conducted in the neurology department of UT Health San Antonio suggest that stress is directly related to memory impairment and reduced brain size in your middle age. Cortisol is…
By Annamaria Cavaleri ‘22 Hemianopia is defined as a decreased vision or blindness in half of the visual field because of trauma or stroke. Although research on in this field is limited, neuroimaging evidence suggests that a person’s attention may play a role in restoring vision. Recent studies have shown that vision training has the…
By Snigdha Kanadibhotla ‘21 Conventionally, humans were thought to be born with a fixed number of nerve cells or neurons that steadily deteriorated over their lifetime; as a result, degenerative brain diseases were thought to be untreatable. However, studies involving animal models have challenged this idea by demonstrating that during adulthood, neurogenesis or the creation…
