Jon Hamilton

American diplomats in two countries — China and Cuba — have reported falling ill with symptoms the State Department says are consistent with a concussion or minor traumatic brain injury.

The anesthetic ketamine first wowed the medical world with its ability to relieve severe depression in hours. Now it's showing promise for other psychiatric disorders, including bipolar and PTSD.

The Army tells NPR of plans to monitor blast exposure across a military career, to enforce limits on firing certain weapons, and to even look into whether special helmets could help stop blast waves.

Diseases like cancer involve changes that occur inside a cell — and usually out of sight. A new technology can reveal a cell's inner workings, using inexpensive graphics processors from video games.

Service members who fire certain weapons can get concussion-like symptoms from the blasts, an Army-commissioned report finds. It urges taking measures to cut the risk of lasting brain damage.

Scientists are growing increasingly large and sophisticated clusters of human brain cells. Ethicists are now wondering what to do if these minibrains start thinking.

A brain imaging study of grown-ups hints at how children learn that "dog" and "fog" have different meanings, even though they sound so much alike.

Research scientists say they want to define Alzheimer's by the biological changes it causes in the brain, rather than by symptoms like memory loss.

As a soldier, Kit Parker saw horrific injuries. As a scientist, he led an effort to create high-tech dressings that speed healing and reduce scarring.

The brains of birds and mice continue to produce new nerve cells in the hippocampus throughout life. But research now suggests the human brain stops doing this around adolescence.

Thirst is what compels us to start hydrating. Now scientists have found a brain circuit in mice that seems to switch off thirst when they've taken in enough fluid and before it gets dangerous.

Technology that uses electrical stimulation to tweak the brain may eventually help people with memory problems caused by a brain injury or Alzheimer's disease.

For a surprising number of people who appear to have epilepsy, the real problem is psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, a little-known condition.

Scientists who identified specific brain cells in mice that control anxiety say the discovery could provide insights that might eventually help people with panic disorder and social phobia.

Not many patients have a heart that grows three sizes in a day. Cardiologist David Kass ponders what could have caused the Grinch's abrupt change of heart in the classic holiday story.

As people get older, brain waves that occur during deep sleep become less synchronized. This appears to disrupt a system that saves new memories.

All week, All Things Considered is offering Highly Specific Superlatives in honor of the year that was. On Tuesday, we look at the weirdest leap forward in brain science. Researchers can now grow mini brains in a petri dish and then experiment on them.

Researchers say it takes a lot of brainpower to stop an action, once it's underway. A study found that when people have to change a planned movement, 11 different brain areas have to get involved.

The first drugs designed specifically to prevent migraines have been found safe and effective in studies, but aren't yet FDA approved. Both drugs work by tweaking a brain system involved in pain.

Lots of phone and tablet apps promise to improve sleep by filtering out the blue light from device screens. But that won't help if the reason you're not getting enough shut-eye is caffeine or stress.