Brain

Brain

Belly bacteria can shape mood and behavior

Our guts and our brains are in constant communication with the goal of managing a whole lot more than food digestion. Their conversations can affect stress, behaviors — even memory.

Brain

Not all social media sites are equally likely to provoke anxiety

Most teens are on social media. Could these sites cause anxiety? A teen checks it out — and finds big differences.

Brain

Bullying alters ‘bugs’ in the gut, hamster data show

A new study found that the microbes in a hamster’s gut changed in response to social stress.

Brain

Explainer: What are opioids?

Opioid drugs can kill pain, but they can also kill people. Here’s how.

Brain

Teeny tiny hairs on brain cells could have big jobs

Brain cells have tiny antennae called cilia. But no one really seemed to know what they did. Now, scientists have shown they could play a role in obesity.

Brain

Scientists Say: Receptor

This molecule is a chemical messenger’s docking station. A receptor serves as a lock for cell activity.

Brain

Cool Jobs: Decoding how your brain ‘reads’

For some stroke victims and people with dyslexia, reading is nearly impossible. These researchers are working to understand why.

Brain

En route to Mars, astronauts may face big health risks

Going into space brings the thrill of a new frontier — and risks that scientists are racing to understand, from radiation to isolation.

Animals

Woodpecker brains host protein linked with human brain damage

Woodpeckers peck with a force great enough to give people concussions. Now a study shows that birds, too, may suffer some brain damage.

Brain

Unlike adults, teens don’t perform better when the stakes are high

Adults tend to do better on tasks that have bigger rewards. Not teens. This difference might have to do with the rewiring of the brain during adolescence, new data suggest.

Brain

Ow! These cells might help brains remember pain and fear

The brain may learn from traumatic experiences with the help of special cells, a new study finds. Scientists used to think these cells, called astrocytes, were just there to support others.

Brain

Alzheimer’s protein can sneak into the brain from the blood

Experiments in mice show that proteins linked with Alzheimer’s disease can enter the brain from the blood, then stockpile there.