Monthly Archives: December 2016

Childhood poverty, in this prospective, longitudinally- designed study, is linked to deficits in adult short-term spatial memory; greater psychological distress, including a behavioral marker of helplessness; and elevated levels of chronic physiological stress. These findings extend prior cross-sectional data during … Continue reading →

“Pregnancy involves radical hormone surges and biological adaptations. However, the effects of pregnancy on the human brain are virtually unknown. Here (the authors) show, using a prospective (‘pre’-‘post’ pregnancy) study involving first-time mothers and fathers and nulliparous control groups, that pregnancy renders substantial changes in brain structure, primarily reductions in gray matter … Continue reading →

Genetic predisposition to multiple sclerosis (MS) only explains a fraction of the disease risk; lifestyle and environmental factors are key contributors. Importantly, these nongenetic factors can influence pathogenetic pathways, and some of them can be modified. Besides established MS-associated risk factors – high latitude, female sex, smoking, low vitamin D levels caused by … Continue reading →

“The function of neural circuits and networks can be controlled, in part, by modulating the synchrony of their components’ activities. Network hypersynchrony and altered oscillatory rhythmic activity may contribute to cognitive abnormalities in Alzheimer disease. In this condition, network activities … Continue reading →