ScienceDaily: Mind & Brain News

A gene-silencing therapy protected against Zika virus transmission from pregnant mice to the mouse fetuses, finds a new study. The treatment, which harnesses nanoparticles called small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) for drug delivery, crossed the placenta and blood-brain barrier to greatly reduce fetal neurological damage, including virus-induced brain shrinkage.

Cognitive training designed to focus on what's important while ignoring distractions can enhance the brain's information processing, enabling the ability to 'learn to learn,' finds a new study on mice.

Human neurons have a lower density of ion channels than expected, compared to neurons of other mammals, according to a new study. The researchers hypothesize that a lower channel density may have helped the human brain evolve to operate more efficiently.

The thickness of growth marks in primary (or 'baby') teeth may help identify children at risk for depression and other mental health disorders later in life, according to a ground-breaking investigation.

A new study found patterns could be identified in patients who wear a special wristwatch monitoring device for six to 12 months, allowing about 30 minutes of warning before a seizure occurred. This worked well most of the time for five of six patients studied.