Brain

News from EARA

This page contains all the news outputs from EARA, including press releases and videos, EARA policy and news briefings, plus opinion pieces and significant media articles.

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Atlas reveals brain cell diversity in mice and marmoset brains

Researchers in the US created a detailed atlas showing how astrocytes, star-shaped support cells in the brain, differ across brain regions, animal species and life stages. The atlas will help to understand how these cells influence brain development, function and disease.

Inês Serrenho

Dec 27, 20251 min read

Nicotine addiction explained by rat brain cells

A study from South Korea has discovered that astrocytes, a type of brain cell that helps maintain brain internal balance, play an active role in nicotine addiction in rats.

Helena Pinheiro

Dec 15, 20251 min read

Compulsive behaviour mapped in mouse brains

Researchers in Sweden have mapped the brain circuits responsible for repetitive and compulsive behaviours in mice, which can inform on disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction.

Helena Pinheiro

Dec 1, 20251 min read

Beethoven shapes female and male mice brains differently

Scientists in Israel have found that sounds experienced by mice early in life shape male and female auditory preferences, suggesting that the same experiences affect brain development differently according to sex.

Helena Pinheiro

Nov 24, 20251 min read

Brain wave makes monkeys remember after a distraction

Scientists in the US have discovered how the brain can recover from a distraction to return to the task at hand, in a study using monkeys.

Helena Pinheiro

Nov 10, 20251 min read

Smell loss as an early sign of Alzheimer's — study in mice and humans

Researchers in Germany have found, in a study using mice and humans, that loss of the sense of smell can be one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s, before cognitive impairment.

Helena Pinheiro

Sep 8, 20251 min read

Study in ageing cats offers clues to Alzheimer’s

A new UK study has found that ageing cat brains show similar hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

Inês Serrenho

Sep 1, 20251 min read

Trauma primes brain to overreact to stress – a study in mice

Scientists in Canada have discovered how previously traumatised mice became overly sensitive to stress and pain long after healing. The...

Inês Serrenho

Aug 11, 20251 min read

Mouse lemur, a promising model for primate studies

Research from a global consortium has produced a cell atlas of the mouse lemur brain, revealing distinct brain cell features in primates....

Nuno Gonçalves

Aug 4, 20251 min read

New multi-region brain organoid to study neurological diseases

US-based researchers have developed a new organoid containing nerve cells from multiple brain regions to study brain development and...

Inês Serrenho

Aug 4, 20251 min read

Animals are indispensable for brain research – opinion article

An opinion article in the German newspaper Die Zeit by Olivia Masseck, a professor at the University of Cologne, provides an overview on why animals are needed in basic brain research and argues that a complete ban of animal use in research would risk progress in medicine.

Helena Pinheiro

Jul 21, 20251 min read

Mice and monkeys share revealing facial expressions

Research from Germany has discovered that facial expressions in mice and macaques can be used to measure cognitive states and understand thought processes — a potential breakthrough for brain research.

Helena Pinheiro

Jun 30, 20251 min read