Synapses, connecting the neurons in our brains, continuously encode new memories, but the ability to form new memories (“learning”) diminishes drastically for many of us as we get older. Keeping your synapses sharp: How spermidine reverses age-related memory decline Source: Medical News Today Updates

Scientists have crystallized a protein that is expected to reveal how nicotine affects the brain. The breakthrough could lead to new treatments. 'Breakthrough' discovery could help beat nicotine addiction Source: Medical News Today Updates

A report on 11 infants in Brazil suggests the term “congenital Zika syndrome” be used to describe such cases because microcephaly (small head circumference) was only one of the clinical signs of… Follow-up of 11 infants with Zika virus identifies neurological impairments Source: Medical News Today Updates

Researchers have created two caffeine-based compounds that they say could halt the development of protein clumps associated with Parkinson’s disease. How caffeine could help slow Parkinson's disease Source: Medical News Today Updates

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute life-threatening disease of the nervous system that leads to sensory disturbances and acute flaccid paralysis. Respiratory tract bacterium uncovered as trigger for serious nervous system disease Source: Medical News Today Updates

In a study in mice, researchers found that they could reduce the progression of the toxic aggregates of a protein known as α-synuclein that are found in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. Researchers find a gap in the brain's firewall against Parkinson's disease Source: Medical News Today Updates

Children with Tourette syndrome may process aspects of language faster than other children, a new study shows. Do children with Tourette syndrome have an advantage at language? Source: Medical News Today Updates

Every time a child or adult learns something new, new contacts form between neurons in the brain. This process (synaptogenesis) is especially active in children during the first 10 years of life. Autism: Disruption of a uniquely human developmental program Source: Medical News Today Updates

New research finds alcohol affects the same brain pathways as fast-acting antidepressants, perhaps explaining why some people feel alcohol boosts mood. Alcohol and rapid antidepressants have same effects on the brain Source: Medical News Today Updates

Older women who consume at least 261 milligrams of caffeine daily – around two to three cups of coffee – may be at lower risk of dementia, study finds. Source: Medical News Today Updates