Synapses in human neurons. Heather de Rivera, McCarroll lab
Genetic analysis, involving nearly 65,000 people, finds a surprising risk factor for schizophrenia — a variation in an immune molecule best known for its role in containing infection. The findings, published in the journal Nature, also support the emerging idea that schizophrenia is a disease of synaptic pruning, and could lead to new approaches to treating this devastating illness.
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Most studies of music’s ability to ease pain have been small. But an analysis pooling the best research, published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet, builds a strong case, doctors say that a dose of music reduces the need for painkillers.
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The drug derived from the venom of cone snails must be injected into the spinal column to get beyond a patient’s blood-brain barrier and bring relief. But scientists think they may have a workaround. The scientists explain how in the journal Scientific Reports.
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The placebo effect is already known to be pretty bizarre, but a new study has ramped up the weirdness factor. Researchers have found that people can be trained to believe in a placebo so much, it still works even when they’re told it isn’t real medicine.
Read more at iflscience.com.
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Music can energize, soothe or relax us. And it can also help reduce pain. Researchers found that listening to a favorite song or story helped children manage pain after major surgery.
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Scientists found a molecule crucial to perceiving the sensation of itching. It affects how the brain responds to serotonin, and may explain why anti-depressants that boost serotonin make some itch.
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The antidepressant Prozac selectively targets the chemical serotonin. When the drug was introduced in the 1980s, it helped solidify the idea in many minds that depression was the result of a chemical imbalance. But the real story is far more complicated.
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Humiliation, fear and unpredictability all turn up the volume of pain, research shows. And meditation can turn down pain’s intensity, according to scientists who are starting to figure out why.
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This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine has been awarded to three scientists who helped us understand how our cells communicate. The research, conducted over the last 30 years, has broad reaching implications including links to neurodegenerative diseases, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophies and some autoimmune disorders.
Read more at NPR’s coverage: Nobel Winners Decoded How Neurons Talk to Each Other