When a child reaches the age of two-and-a-half, the primary purpose of sleep changes from brain-building to brain maintenance and repair, a role it maintains for the rest of our lives.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Immune Cells Sculpt Circuits in the Brain
Microglia, immune cells that protect the brain from infection and inflammation, also appear to play a critical role in sculpting circuits in the developing brain.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Preschool-Aged Biomarker Discovered For Autism
The levels of a protein called FABP4 are significantly lower in children aged four-to-six in children with autism.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Imagery Reveals Autism-Related Brain Differences
People on the autism spectrum have lower levels of a protein that regulates serotonin in the brain.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: People Who Were Children When Their Parents Divorced Have Less Oxytocin
Levels of oxytocin were substantially lower in adults who experienced parental divorce as children compared to those whose families remained together.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Children Use Both Brain Hemispheres to Understand Language, Unlike Adults
Unlike adults, infants and young children use both hemispheres of their brain to process language.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How Screen Time and Green Time May Affect Youth Psychological Outcomes
Allowing children to embark on some “green time” and providing access to nature could help buffer the negative consequences on mental and physical health associated with screen time.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: The Length of the Neurogenic Period Is a Key Determinant for Brain Size
During pregnancy, the maternal environment has a dominant influence on the length of the neurogenic period and the number of upper-layer neurons produced. The study reveals a link between the maternal environment and embryonic cortical neurogenesis in-…
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Offspring of Mice Fed Imbalanced Diets Shown to Be Neurologically ‘Programmed’ for Obesity
Prenatal diet could increase the risk of unhealthy eating and obesity in the offspring, a new study reports. Pregnant mice fed high omega-6 and low omega-3 diets were more likely to have offspring that were more inclined to consume hyper-caloric foods,…
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: The Biological Roots for Adolescent Risk-Taking
Areas of the brain associated with socioemotional and cognitive control working in combination at a specific age or point in time, are definitive factors in risk-taking behaviors.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Bilingual Children May Lose Less Brain Matter as They Grow Up
Growing up speaking two or more languages was associated with increased gray matter in the brain during adulthood.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Guilt by Dissociation: The Role of Serotonin in Autism
SERT Ala56 impacts the structure of the SERT protein cells, increasing the activity of the transporter to abnormally high levels. The high-activity state results in the removal of too much serotonin from brain sites where serotonin is needed, both duri…
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How Brain Flexibility Emerges in Infants
Neuroimaging study reveals how human brain complexity and cognitive flexibility develops during early infancy.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Flu Vaccination in Pregnant Women Did Not Increase Risk of Autism
Study refutes any association between the H1N1 vaccine given to pregnant women and an increased risk of autism diagnosis in children.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Brain Protein Linked to Seizures and Abnormal Social Behaviors
Alterations in the excitation and inhibition balance is regulated in the developing brain by astrocytes via the ephrin-B1 protein. The loss of astrocytic ephrin-B1 alters the E/I balance by reducing inhibition, resulting in hyperactivity of neural circ…
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Researchers Discover a Specific Brain Circuit Damaged by Social Isolation During Childhood
Social isolation experienced during childhood has an impact on adult brain function and behavior. Following two weeks of social isolation immediately following weaning in male mice, researchers noticed a failure in activation of medial prefrontal corte…
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Let’s Scrap the Neuromyths: No, You Aren’t a ‘Visual’ or ‘Auditory’ Person
Believing in neuromyths, especially concerning learning styles, may be dangerous to personal development. Researchers debunk the concepts surrounding neuromyths.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: “Jumping” DNA Regulates Human Neurons
Transposable elements team up with evolutionary recent neurons to influence differentiation and physiological function of neurons in brain development.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Genetic Link Between Cattle Temperament and Autism
Study found genes implicated in cattle temperament contribute to neural developmental functions and are differentially expressed in the human brain. Some ASD related genes are associated with cattle temperament.
Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Frequent Soft Drink Consumption May Make Adolescents More Aggressive
Soft drink consumption during early adolescence predicted more aggressive behavior later in teen years. Aggressive behavior at 13 also predicted increased soft drink consumption at age 16. Soft drink consumption at 13 predicted fewer depressive symptom…
