Category Health/Medical

1st link between oxytocin and anandamide, which has been called the ‘bliss molecule’ for its role in activating cannabinoid receptors in brain cells to heighten motivation and happiness. Anandamide is among a class of naturally occurring chemicals in the body known as endocannabinoids that attach to the same brain cell receptors as does marijuana’s active ingredient, THC, with similar outcomes.

The researchers discovered that social contact increased production of anandamide in a brain structure called the nucleus accumbens, which triggered cannabinoid receptors there to reinforce the pleasure of socialization. When cannabinoid receptors were blocked, this reinforcement disappeared.

Piomelli’s team then looked for a possible connection between anandamide and oxytocin, which is well known ...

Image of a rodent brain cell, with insulin receptors (seen as many green dots) that when activated spur release of dopamine (In background in pink is neuron nucleus.) Credit: Courtesy of Nature Communications

Insulin, essential for controlling blood sugar levels and feeling of being full after eating, plays a much stronger role than previously known in regulating release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, new studies by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center show.

“We found that when there’s more insulin in the brain, there will be more dopamine released, not less,” says study senior investigator and NYU Langone neuroscientist Margaret Rice, PhD...

Depiction of the vOICe encoding scheme. A camera mounted on glasses records video that is converted to sound by a computer and transmitted to headphones in real time. Credit: Shimojo Lab/Caltech

Caltech researchers have now discovered that intrinsic neural connections- crossmodal mappings -can be used by assistive devices to help the blind detect their environment without requiring intense concentration or hundreds of hours of training. This new multisensory perspective on such aids (called sensory substitution devices) could make tasks that were previously attention-consuming much easier, allowing nonsighted people to acquire a new sensory functionality similar to vision.

“.. 99% of our daily life depends on multisensory- also called multimodal processing...

A new study in mice reveals that increased body weight and high blood sugar as a result of consuming a high-fat diet may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms and measurable changes in the brain.