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Chemistry of the brain

In this collection, we turn the spotlight inside our heads and focus on the brain and neurochemistry. How do we remember things and feel pain? Are we any closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s? These are some of the questions we’re looking at, as well as in-depths examinations of the chemistry of addiction and how researchers are trying to get around the blood—brain barrier.

Woman smelling a flower and remembering her young self having built a crown out of the same type of flower

Brain chemistry basics

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Andy Extance looks into the latest in Alzheimer’s disease, pain and memory

Pile of cocaine, DNA and the shape of a brain cast by the lighting of the image

The proteins that drive drug addiction

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Jamie Durrani speaks to researchers exploring how epigenetic changes in the brain affect drug-seeking behaviours

Scientists peeking behind the blood brain barrier

Bypassing the blood–brain barrier

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Researchers are on a quest to outsmart and overcome the sophisticated security system of the brain. Julia Robinson reports on some of the approaches being studied