Jon Hamilton

Scratch one more simple explanation for autism off the list. This time it's the idea that children with autism have low levels of oxytocin, often called the "love hormone" because it can make people more trusting and social.

"Our data blew that out of the water," says Karen Parker, ...

Simply watching, reading or listening to steady news coverage of a traumatic event can be as stressful as experiencing the event in person, research suggests.

Scientists have evidence that beats in the brain — in the form of rhythmic electrical pulses — are involved in everything from memory to motion. And music can help when those rhythms go wrong.

Scientists seem to have answered a fundamental question about the nature of memory. They have found compelling evidence that memories are made by strengthening connections between certain brain cells.

Women with multiple sclerosis often find that they have fewer problems when they are expecting. That led researchers to develop an experimental drug based on a hormone associated with pregnancy.

The research project would place electronic devices in the brain in an attempt to combat post-traumatic stress, depression and other problems that have plagued many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects a relatively quiet Atlantic hurricane season, with three to six hurricanes developing between June 1 and the end of Novembe...

Scientists have found that a hormone associated with long life also seems to make people smarter. The gene strengthens the connections between brain cells, a process that's essential for learning.

Germany's famous Max Planck Society has opened a brain research institute in Jupiter, Fla. It's another move in the international competition to attract the best brain researchers.

The two boats, one a 6-foot dinghy, were carrying dozens of illegal migrants hoping to reach the Greek coast. Four of the dead are children.

A little education goes a long way toward ensuring you'll recover from a serious traumatic brain injury. In fact, people with lots of education are seven times more likely than high school dropouts to have no measurable disability a year later.

"It's a very dramatic difference," says Eric Schneider, ...

Ivan Soltesz studies epilepsy in mice, but says children with chronic seizures are his inspiration. He's closing in on a way to quell the seizures with light — and without drugs' side effects.

Scientists have figured out one reason women might be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's: A risk gene doubles women's chances of getting the disease but has minimal effect on men.

Childhood amnesia descends gradually — and later than you might think, researchers say. Many 7-year-olds have robust memories of experiences from when they were 3 or even younger.

In nine months the human brain grows from a single cell to more than 80 billion. Mapping how genes are activated gives scientists clues to the origins of mental disorders like autism.

A Senate committee vote, expected this week, marks the latest chapter in a bitter power struggle between Congress and the CIA over detention and interrogation practices.

The government's latest estimate shows that 1 in 68 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder. That's a remarkable jump from just two years ago, when the figure was 1 in 88, and an even bigger jump from 2007, when it was just 1 in 150.

But ...

The organization of certain brain cells in children with autism seems already different from that of typical children by the sixth or seventh month of fetal development, a study hints.

The approach would recognize changes in behavior and in the brain. Right now there are no treatments that slow down the disease, but identifying high-risk patients early on could help with prevention.

A new blood test for people in their 70s can detect who will develop Alzheimer's disease. A positive result could help people prepare. But since there's no treatment, will people really want to know?