PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How prenatal alcohol exposure affects behavior into adulthood

Rodent study identifies a brain circuit that is disrupted by alcohol exposure during prenatal development and contributes to poor decision-making in adulthood

2025-02-03
(Press-News.org) Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), characterized by symptoms of cognitive decline, such as worsened memory and impaired decision-making, are alarmingly prevalent globally. In a new study in JNeurosci led by Amy Griffin at the University of Delaware, researchers used rats to find brain circuits that may contribute to the cognitive issues that FASD patients experience, with the end goal of informing treatment strategies. Brain regions linked with working memory and decision-making were damaged in baby rats following exposure to alcohol during the age equivalent of the third trimester of pregnancy. After these rats aged into adulthood, Griffin and colleagues recorded from their brains while they performed tasks related to memory and decision-making. Rats showed impaired decision-making behaviors that were associated with disrupted communication between damaged brain regions. The researchers also developed a machine-learning algorithm that could accurately predict whether rats were exposed to alcohol or not based off their behavior alone. This study points to a brain circuit that is disrupted by third trimester alcohol exposure and contributes to FASD-like cognitive impairment in rats, which is informative for future research aiming to improve treatment strategies, according to the authors. 

###

Manuscript title: Choice Behaviors and Prefrontal-Hippocampal Coupling are Disrupted in a Rat Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Please contact media@sfn.org for full-text PDF

About JNeurosci

JNeurosci, the Society for Neuroscience's first journal, was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.

About The Society for Neuroscience

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Does the neuron know the electrode is there?

Does the neuron know the electrode is there?
2025-02-03
Overview: A research group from the Institute for Research on Next-generation Semiconductor and Sensing Science (IRES²) at Toyohashi University of Technology developed an innovative in vivo electrophysiological neural recording technology that minimizes neuronal death and allows stable recordings for over a year. This breakthrough involves a 5-µm-diameter microneedle electrode fabricated on a flexible film using silicon-growth technology. Through experiments using mice, the team demonstrated significantly reduced neuronal death and stable neuronal activity recordings compared with traditional electrode technologies, overcoming long-standing challenges in neural recording.   Details: Long-term ...

Vilcek Foundation celebrates immigrant scientists with $250,000 in prizes

Vilcek Foundation celebrates immigrant scientists with $250,000 in prizes
2025-02-03
New York, NY, February 3, 2025 — The Vilcek Foundation has announced $250,000 in awards recognizing immigrant scientists. The 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science are bestowed as part of the foundation’s annual prizes program in support of its mission.  The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science are a tribute to Vilcek Foundation co-founder Jan Vilcek, biomedical scientist and philanthropist. Born in Slovakia, Vilcek excelled as a researcher and immunologist, publishing his first single-author paper in Nature at 26. In 1965, with his wife, Marica, he immigrated to the United States ...

Age and sex differences in efficacy of treatments for type 2 diabetes

2025-02-03
About The Study: This systematic review and network meta-analysis of 601 eligible trials found that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. Analysis of age × treatment interactions suggested that SGLT2 inhibitors were more cardioprotective in older than in younger people despite smaller reductions in hemoglobin A1c; GLP-1 receptor agonists were more cardioprotective in younger people.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Peter Hanlon, PhD, email peter.hanlon@glasgow.ac.uk. To access the ...

Octopuses have some of the oldest known sex chromosomes

2025-02-03
The octopus just revealed another one of its secrets: what determines its sex.  University of Oregon researchers have identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This chromosome has likely been around for 480 million years, since before octopuses split apart from the nautilus on the evolutionary tree. That makes it one of the oldest known animal sex chromosomes.   The finding also is evidence that octopuses and other cephalopods, a class of sea animals that includes squid and nautiluses, do use chromosomes to determine their sex, answering a longstanding mystery among biologists.   “Cephalopods are already such interesting creatures, ...

High-yield rice breed emits up to 70% less methane

High-yield rice breed emits up to 70% less methane
2025-02-03
Rice cultivation is responsible for around 12% of global methane emissions, and these emissions are expected to increase with global warming and as the human population continues to grow. Now, scientists have identified chemical compounds released by rice roots that determine how much methane the plants emit. On February 3 in the Cell Press journal Molecular Plant, they report that this information enabled them to breed a new strain of rice that emits up to 70% less methane.  “This study shows that you can have low methane and ...

Long COVID prevalence and associated activity limitation in US children

2025-02-03
About The Study: In 2023, post–COVID condition (PCC) continued to affect U.S. children at similar levels as 2022 and to have similar sociodemographic patterns. The large proportion of children experiencing PCC with any activity limitation highlights the need to examine the severity of activity limitation, functional outcomes, and days lost from school. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nicole D. Ford, PhD, MPH, email yex9@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

Intersection of race and rurality with health care–associated infections and subsequent outcomes

2025-02-03
About The Study: This cohort study of hospitalized adults identified inequities related to race and rurality in health care–associated infections (HAIs) and adverse outcomes from HAIs. These findings suggest that factors such as structural racism and disinvestment in rural communities may be associated with individual HAI risk and post-HAI outcomes. Future work to further understand the reasons underpinning these disparities and methods to address structural factors through policy and process changes are critical to ...

Risk of attempted and completed suicide in persons diagnosed with headache

2025-02-03
About The Study: The results of this cohort study revealing the robust and persistent association of headache diagnoses with attempted and completed suicide suggest that behavioral health evaluation and treatment may be important for these patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Holly Elser, MD, PhD, email holly.elser@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2024.4974) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for ...

Adolescent smartphone use during school hours

2025-02-03
About The Study: Using passive sensing on a sample of U.S. adolescents, this study found half of adolescents use their smartphones during school for at least 66 minutes daily, primarily using messaging and social media. These findings extend a prior study limited to Android devices that found adolescents spent a median of 43 minutes on their phones during school. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Lauren Hale, PhD, email Lauren.Hale@stonybrookmedicine.edu. To ...

Alarming rise in rates of advanced prostate cancer in California

2025-02-03
Alarming Rise in Rates of Advanced Prostate Cancer in California  Following a change in screening guidelines, the incidence went up across the state, even more than it has nationally. The incidence of advanced prostate cancer in California rose markedly in the decade since doctors stopped routinely screening all men for the disease, according to a new study by UC San Francisco. After declining for many years, the death rate from the disease also plateaued in most regions across the state. The findings reinforce the need for screening that can identify potentially fatal tumors without raising false alarms about ones that pose no threat to the patient.  The ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Myocardial infarction may be an infectious disease

Access to four-year colleges that effectively serve low-income students is uneven across U.S., new study finds

American Meteorological Society announces 2026 weather, water, and climate honorees

Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation for gastrointestinal disorders

WSU study suggests returning students didn’t drive COVID-19 outbreaks in town

CURE GABA-A announces GABRA1 proof-of-concept for nanolipid particle therapy with Grann Pharmaceuticals

Global Virus Network announces 2025 Rising Star Mentorship Program Awardees

SEOULTECH researchers develop smart adhesive system based on starfish for aquatic applications

SEOULTECH researchers develop smarter, more controllable hydrogel pores

New material design strategy unlocks magnetic tunability in quasicrystal approximants

SEOULTECH researchers develop game-changing wireless technology that could transform mobile communications

Online therapy can help treat bulimia, offering hope for women lacking access to care

Reinventing fiber-based pressure sensors

Deforestation could account for over a third of heat deaths in areas of tropical forest loss researchers find

Innovative backpack enhances stability for people with ataxia

Mapping the heart of volcanoes when they wake up

Cosmic butterfly reveals clues to Earth's creation

Phone snubbing more damaging to insecure partners, study finds

Treating heart failure patients with anti-obesity medication reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves clinical outcomes

Cardiac arrest in space: New research shows that automatic chest compressions are more effective for CPR when both rescuer and patient are floating in microgravity

Older age and low fitness levels are associated with heartbeat abnormalities that increase future cardiovascular risk

‘Built for cutting flesh, not resisting acidity’: sharks may be losing deadly teeth to ocean acidification

Study reveals beneficial effects of diet and exercise on alcohol-related adverse liver health

Making the weight in four years

AI review unveils new strategies for fixing missing traffic data in smart cities

Scientists discovered hopfion crystals – which are flying in spacetime

For bees, diet isn’t one-size-fits-all

How a malaria-fighting breakthrough provides lasting protection

Cognitive Behavioural therapy can alter brain structure and boost grey matter volume, study shows

Largest ever study into cannabis use investigates risk of paranoia and poor mental health in the general population

[Press-News.org] How prenatal alcohol exposure affects behavior into adulthood
Rodent study identifies a brain circuit that is disrupted by alcohol exposure during prenatal development and contributes to poor decision-making in adulthood