In the last five years, neuronal pentraxins have emerged as potential markers of synaptic loss. In the case of NPTX2, researchers may now be able to explain why. In the March 29 Science Translational ...

Researchers have shown in mice how immune cells in the brain target and remove unused connections between brain cells during normal development. This research, supported by the National Institutes of ...

Synaptic pruning is the process in which the brain removes neurons and synapses that it does not need. This usually takes place when a person is 2–10 years old. The brain contains millions of neurons ...

A landmark study, based on genetic analysis of nearly 65,000 people, has revealed that a person's risk of schizophrenia is increased if they inherit specific variants in a gene related to "synaptic ...

The innate immune protein C1q seems to have a thing for neurons. Already implicated in synaptic pruning by microglia, now it is reported to also slow down protein production in neurons of the aging ...

A multidisciplinary team of scientists has discovered the mechanism that controls synaptic pruning of new neurons in the adult brain. The team discovered that microglial cells control the number of ...

Synaptic pruning is a little like sleep. We know both processes are important to healthy brain function, but we don't know exactly how they happen, nor how to reliably treat problems in the system.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of ...