Members of the Brain Health Institute at Rutgers mark a decade of innovation with an awards ceremony honoring faculty
Tag: Neurodevelopment
Researchers find biological clues to mental health impacts of prenatal cannabis exposure
In research published in Nature Mental Health this month, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis outline the intermediate biological steps that could play into how prenatal cannabis exposure leads to behavioral issues down the line.
Notre Dame Psychologist Available to Speak About Autism, Neurodevelopment and Neurodiversity
During Autism Awareness Month this April, an expert from the University of Notre Dame’s Psychology Department is available to speak to the media about the very important topic of neurodevelopment; in particular, raising awareness and support for neurodiverse and autistic…
Pancreatic cancer hijacks a brain-building protein
Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the University of California, Davis have reached a new breakthrough in pancreatic cancer research—eight years in the making.
Protein p53 regulates learning, memory, sociability in mice
Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have established the protein p53 as critical for regulating sociability, repetitive behavior, and hippocampus-related learning and memory in mice, illuminating the relationship between the protein-coding gene TP53 and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.
Autism Rates Continue to Rise in California
Autism rates are on the rise in the United States, and especially in California. UC San Diego researchers link changing rates and demographics to increased early-detection.
Study Identifies Cause for Excessive Folding of Gyri in Human Cerebral Cortex
UC San Diego researchers identify mutation that causes excessive folding in human brain’s wrinkly cerebral cortex, resulting in diminished cognitive function.
Brain Organoids Reveal in Detail the Harms of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
UC San Diego researchers used human brain organoids to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neural development, revealing significant harms in molecular detail.
Corporal punishment affects brain activity, anxiety, and depression
Don’t spank your kids. That’s the conventional wisdom that has emerged from decades of research linking corporal punishment to a decline in adolescent health and negative effects on behavior, including an increased risk for anxiety and depression.
Rutgers Opens Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences has opened a new brain imaging research center to improve the diagnosis of neurological and psychiatric disorders and to help personalize and monitor treatments.
UCI-led team awarded $2.3 million by California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine
A collaborative team centered in the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and including Children’s Hospital Orange County (CHOC) and Chapman University (CU) has been awarded a three-year grant totaling in excess of $2.3 million, to address the health impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) using precision medicine.
Cord blood DNA can hold clues for early ASD diagnosis and intervention
Specific regions in cord blood DNA can help identify kids who might develop autism, a study led by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers. The findings may hold clues for early diagnosis and intervention.
Brain discovery suggests source of lifelong behavioral issues
Improper removal of faulty brain cells during neurodevelopment may cause lifelong behavioral issues, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The finding also could have important implications for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Mother/Infant Skin-to-Skin Touch Boosts Baby’s Brain Development and Function
As the world prioritizes social distancing due to COVID-19, new research shows that extended use of Kangaroo Care, a skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest method of caring for a baby, can positively benefit full-term infants and their mothers, which has important implications for post-partum depression. The study provides evidence that the physiology of mothers and their full-term infants is influenced by Kangaroo care: it increases oxytocin levels in mothers, and during infancy, can favorably influence both neurodevelopmental trajectories and infant neurobiological functioning.
Pesticides and Children: Who is Most at Risk?
Nancy Fiedler, a professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and deputy director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, who is studying how pesticide exposure affects fetuses in each trimester of pregnancy, says it is unknown exactly when children are the most vulnerable, but says there is no question that most children – even those who live outside of agricultural areas where pesticides are sprayed – are at risk.
Fiedler, who researches the effects of neurotoxicants, including pesticides, on human brain function and development, discusses how children are exposed and what parents can do to keep them safe.