Adolescence is widely thought to be a time when the brain trims away excess neural connections, refining circuits through synaptic pruning. New research now suggests this view may be incomplete.

The formation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses between neurons during early development gives rise to the neuronal networks that enable sensory and cognitive functions in humans. Inhibitory ...

Scientists from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the University of Edinburgh have discovered that a little-understood junction that connects neurons to oligodendrocyte precursor cells ...

“You expect nerve cells to grow to find the one they like,” said Alan Roberts, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and lead author of the study. “These experiments suggest they ...

Many neurological diseases are malfunctions of synapses, or the points of contact between neurons that allow senses and other information to pass from finger to brain. In the brain, there is a careful ...

Scientists used a tool called SynTrogo to edit brain circuits in mice, showing that trimming select synapses can make ...

New research for the first time reveals the function of a little-understood junction between cells in the brain that could have important treatment implications for conditions ranging from multiple ...

Research on fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of mental retardation, has focused mostly on how the genetic defect alters the functioning of neurons in the brain. A new study focusing ...