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Study Helps Reveal How Microbes In Our Gut Can Affect Our Emotions

Microbes In Our Gut Can Affect Our Emotions

Studies in animals are helping reveal how the microbes that live in our guts can affect our emotions.

Research Shows ‘Exquisite’ Complexity of a Cell Network Regulating a Fear Circuit

Complexity of a Cell Network Regulating a Fear Circuit

The brain’s astonishing complexity has been appreciated for over 100 years, when pioneers first looked at the profusion of branching structures that connect individual nerve cells under a microscope.

Researchers Propose Fear and Anxiety Are Generated by Separate Brain Circuits

Brain Circuit Board

Fear and anxiety are often described as primal responses to danger, with their emotional and physiological components triggered by a single fear circuit in the brain.

Doubt is Cast on the Contribution of Older Fathers' Gene Mutations to Increased Mental Illness Risk in Their Children

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Children born to older fathers have a higher risk of developing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. Now, a new study suggests that age-related genetic mutations accumulated in the fathers’ genomes are unlikely to explain much of this increased risk.

In PTSD, Brain Overreacts to Cues Not Directly Linked to Negative Experiences

TAKEAWAY: Researchers have identified a molecular pathway in a specific neural connection in the brain that is disrupted in patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome, a genetic error that is associated with schizophrenia. The pathway, which relies on a microRNA called miR-338-3p, is involved in neural communication between regions of the brain that are likely involved in auditory hallucinations and psychosis, suggesting it may be a potential drug target for alternative therapeutic strategies

In people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fear-associated brain circuits overreact to cues that are similar to—but not the same as—features of a past traumatic experience.

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