Medical research

How the brain gathers threat cues and turns them into fear

Salk scientists have uncovered a molecular pathway that distills threatening sights, sounds and smells into a single message: Be afraid. A molecule called CGRP enables neurons in two separate areas of the brain to bundle ...

Neuroscience

Researchers identify a brain network for social attraction

Humans and many other animals live in societies. At a fundamental level, social interactions require individuals to identify others as belonging to their own kind. This usually happens in fractions of a second, often instinctively. ...

Neuroscience

Immune cells sculpt circuits in the brain

Immune cells play an unexpected role in fine-tuning the brain's neural circuits, according to research published in September, 2020 in Neuron. The immune cells that reside there, known as microglia, not only protect the brain ...

Neuroscience

Casino lights and sounds encourage risky decision-making

The blinking lights and exciting jingles in casinos may encourage risky decision-making and potentially promote problem gambling behaviour, suggests new research from the University of British Columbia.

Health

Cold and bubbly: The sensory qualities that best quench thirst

New research from the Monell Center and collaborators finds that oral perceptions of coldness and carbonation help to reduce thirst, the uncomfortable sensation caused by the need to drink fluids. Because thirst and its cessation ...

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