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If you want to share a secret with a friend in a busy environment, you may try to find a quiet spot, close the doors and shield the conversation from possible eavesdroppers. A new study has shown that neurons can adopt similar levels of privacy when communicating with their neighbor.

The anxiety, stress and worry brought on by COVID-19 is not limited to daytime hours. The pandemic is affecting our dreams as well, infusing more anxiety and negative emotions into dreams and spurring dreams about the virus itself, particularly among women, according to new research.

Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available. Scientists have demonstrated that two gene mutations involved in the conformation of nicotinic receptors in the brain appear to play a role in various aspects of cocaine addiction.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that a genetic variant named PLCG2-P522R, which protects against Alzheimer's disease, enhances several key functions of immune cells.

Researchers propose a mathematical model to better understand the dynamics of the interactions between microorganisms within hosts and their transmission ability. The framework was applied on transmission data of the influenza virus, and offers to be a new tool for anticipating the consequences of microbial diversity and optimizing disease control measures.

Stem cells, which are endlessly adaptable, have offered the promise of better neural repair. But the brain's precisely tuned complexity has stymied the development of clinical treatments. In a new study addressing these hurdles, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers demonstrated a proof-of-concept stem cell treatment in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

A team has found that brain imaging analyses can uncover changes in functional connections between brain regions linked to a specific individual’s dissociative symptoms following trauma.

Molecular tangles and plaques are routinely linked to poorer cognitive function and memory in older adults. But some older adults with this neuropathology have more cognitive resilience than others, reports a new study. The reason: their personalities.

Phthalates, found in detergents, shampoos, soaps and other everyday items, can disrupt our endocrine system and so have been replaced by alternatives in many products. Researchers look at the impact of these alternatives on pregnant women.

A new study implicates 160 genes in brain shrinkage seen on MRIs of 45,000 healthy adults. The shrinkage is in the cortex, the dimply outer layer of the brain that gives rise to thinking, awareness and action, and largely consists of gray matter.