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There hasn't been much research on how and why long-lasting, fulfilling relationships work for asexual people, or people with little to no sexual interest. The components of a successful relationship among asexual people are essentially the same as those in any other relationship, according to new research from Michigan State University, despite asexuals' lack of or aversion for sexual desire. William Chopik, associate professor in the MSU psychology department and coauthor of the study, said: "Asexuals don't have the urge for sexual interactions, but they nevertheless create romantic relationships and those connections seem at least somewhat comparable to non-asexuals' love relationships. The study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, is one of the biggest studies of asexual people's relationships ever done and it is the only one to look at the factors that influence commitment and stability in a relationship. The study examined a sampl...

While not all impulsive behavior is indicative of mental illness, impulsivity has been associated to a variety of mental health conditions, including depression and substance misuse, which frequently manifest in adolescence. Therefore, it's crucial to develop a means to spot and treat those who could be particularly prone to impulsivity at a young age. Researchers at McGill University have developed a genetic score that could be used to identify young children who are most at risk of impulsive behavior with a high degree of accuracy (higher than any impulsivity assessments now in use). Their results are particularly intriguing because the score they established allowed them to identify children from three ethnically diverse community samples who were at a higher risk of impulsivity from a cohort of almost 6,000 kids. The identification of a new score for impulsivity in childhood can help with prevention plans and initiatives for kids and teenagers who are at risk for mental health ...

Birds exhibit a high level of intellect and have excellent cognitive abilities. Birds' brains also have much more neurons than those of mammals of a similar size. Now, a new study published on September 8 in Current Biology sheds light on how birds can sustain more brain cells since their neurons require less glucose to function. According to Kaya von Eugen of Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, "What astonished us the most is not that the neurons use less glucose per se — this could have been expected by changes in their neurons' sizes." "The size difference can't be the only issue, though, because the magnitude of the change is so great. This suggests that the ability of the bird brain to keep expenses so low must be due to further differences." According to a seminal study published in 2016, the bird brain contains far more neurons than a brain of a comparable size in a mammal. It highlighted a crucial question: how are birds able to support so many ne...

The chemical route that transforms frightening sights, sounds, and odors into the single message "Be terrified" has been discovered by Salk scientists. Neurons in two different regions of the brain can combine dangerous sensory cues into a single signal using the chemical CGRP, classify it as negative, and send it to the amygdala, which interprets it as fear. The study, which will be published in Cell Reports on August 16, 2022, may result in new treatments for hypersensitive illnesses like autism, migraines, and fibromyalgia as well as fear-related disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to senior author Sung Han, an assistant professor in Salk's Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, "the brain route we uncovered functions as a central alert system." "We were thrilled to discover that negative sensory inputs from all five senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch—activate the CGRP neurons. Understanding how to mana...

The LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center, the Departments of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neurology, and Ophthalmology have collaborated on research led by Drs. Yuhai Zhao and Walter J. Lukiw that describes for the first time a pathway that starts in the gut and ends with a powerful pro-inflammatory toxin in brain cells that contributes to the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). They also describe a straightforward approach to stop it. Results are accessible here in Frontiers in Neurology. The scientists discovered proof that a neurotoxic known as BF-LPS is produced in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract by a molecule comprising an extremely potent microbially produced neurotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, or LPS), which is obtained from the Gram-negative bacteria Bacteroides fragilis. According to Dr. Lukiw, LPSs are likely the most potent pro-inflammatory, neurotoxic glycolipids generated by microbes. Numerous labs, including our own, have found various LPS subtypes in the neurons ...