Francesca has an MSci in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham.View full profile Francesca has an MSci in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. Use it or lose it – that’s the motto ...

In the Alzheimer’s disease brain, synaptic loss correlates with cognitive decline, and is considered a sign of disease progression. But is synaptic loss always bad? Provocative new data from several ...

A multidisciplinary team of scientists has discovered the mechanism that controls synaptic pruning of new neurons in the adult brain. The team discovered that microglial cells control the number of ...

Long-term use of benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed for anxiety and insomnia, may impair cognition and increase the risk of developing dementia. How? By activating microglia to prune synapses, ...

Researchers led by a group at the Institute of Brain Science, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences and the Nagoya City University School of Medicine report that they have shed ...

Researchers have shown in mice how immune cells in the brain target and remove unused connections between brain cells during normal development. This research, supported by the National Institutes of ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells. Their findings, to be published online Nov.

Many cases of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may result from problems in immune cells that normally work to trim back unneeded brain connections in early life, suggests a new study led by scientists ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Although many things have gone wrong in the autistic brain, scientists have recently been focusing on one of the most glaring: a surplus of connections, or synapses.

The poor function of microglia, the brain's immune cells in individuals exposed to early life adversity (ELA) promotes aberrant responses to stress in adulthood that may be linked to mental illness, ...