NEW DELHI: Business sentiment in the economy is high, driven by stronger demand, better profitability expectations and steady investment conditions, according to a CII survey. Domestic demand has increased, with nearly two-thirds of 175 firms surveyed reporting higher demand for July to Sept 2025 and about 72% expecting further improvement in Oct-Dec 2025. More than half of the firms expect a repo rate cut from RBI. GST rate cuts, helped lift consumption and the industry anticipates that the growth will continue.
Tim Allen reflects on stepping into mentorship during ‘Home Improvement’ gig
Tim Allen has reflected on the challenges that came with serving as a mentor to his younger co-stars during his time on Home Improvement.
As fans will know, Allen launched his sitcom career on the hit ABC series, which ran from 1991 to 1999 and followed his character Tim Taylor alongside his on-screen family.
In a new interview with Us Weekly, the actor admitted that stepping into a father-figure role for his TV sons did not come naturally at first.
“It was new to me and it took a while for me to be that [father figure],” Allen shared.
He went on to explain that his dynamic with the younger cast felt more playful than parental.
Reflecting on the responsibility of guiding younger actors, Allen acknowledged how complex the role could be.
“It’s difficult because I said when it was easy to be a TV parent, it’s easy. When it’s difficult to be a TV parent, you really are of no value,” he added.
The actor also noted that some of his former co-stars went on to experience “personal, horrible trauma,” which made the situation even more challenging in hindsight.
“[For example with the] Home Improvement kids, it was so long ago and I was brand new at that and it was very difficult for me to be anywhere near a mentor or guide,” Allen explained.
Looking back, Allen said it was not until later in his career that he fully embraced a mentorship role.
“It was very difficult to step in and it wasn’t until later that I became more of a mentor. But they all had great parents,” he concluded.
Six countries confirm US invitations to Gaza peace board
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The United States has extended invitations to multiple foreign governments to join President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” with at least six countries confirming on Sunday that they were invited.
The Associated Press reported the six countries are: Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, Hungary and India.
Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Paraguay, Argentina and Albania have already said they too were invited, according to the outlet.
The White House on Friday released a statement outlining the next phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, naming senior international figures to oversee governance, reconstruction and long-term development of the enclave.
FROM GAZA TO IRAN: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN TRUMP-NETANYAHU MAR-A-LAGO TALKS?
Displaced Palestinian families shelter near the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City on Jan. 18, 2026. (Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The Board of Peace will play an essential role in fulfilling all 20 points of the President’s plan, providing strategic oversight, mobilizing international resources, and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development,” the statement said in part.
Trump will chair the board and be joined by a group of senior political, diplomatic and business figures, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and billionaire Marc Rowan, among others.
The Gaza Executive Board, which supports governance and the delivery of services, will work alongside the Office of the High Representative and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to advance “peace, stability, and prosperity.”
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Jan. 13, 2026. (Luis M. Alvarez/AP)
Notably, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi were named as appointed members.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X that the composition of the Gaza Executive Board was not coordinated with Israel and “runs contrary to its policy.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives statements to the media in Tel Aviv on Oct. 12, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Netanyahu’s office said it told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to contact Rubio to convey Israel’s concerns.
Under Trump’s plan, Hamas was to turn over all living and deceased hostages that were still being held in Gaza. To date, one dead hostage, Ran Gvili, has yet to be handed over.
The White House said additional Executive Board and Gaza Executive Board members will be announced over the coming weeks.
Ukrainian drone strikes leave hundreds of thousands without power across Russian-controlled area
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Ukrainian drone strikes targeted energy infrastructure across Russian-controlled areas in southern Ukraine in an attack on Sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
Ukrainian officials say the attack is an effort to “weaponize winter,” much as Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s power grid. Russia’s attacks continued in kind overnight, killing two people, Ukraine says.
More than 200,000 households in the Russia-held part of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region had no electricity on Sunday, according to the Kremlin-installed local governor.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that repairing the country’s energy system remains challenging, “but we are doing everything we can to restore everything as quickly as possible.”
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
He said that two people were killed in overnight attacks across the country that struck Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa.
In total, more than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types were used by Russia to strike Ukraine this week, Ukraine says.
Meanwhile, discussions continue between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia in an effort to secure a peace deal. Zelenskyy has consistently argued Russia is not committed to the peace process.
RUSSIA FIRES NEW HYPERSONIC MISSILE IN MASSIVE UKRAINE ATTACK, KREMLIN SAYS
A serviceman of the 148th Separate Artillery Zhytomyr Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fires a M777 Howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on the front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)
“If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the world’s response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said Sunday.
President Donald Trump argued last week, however, that it was Ukraine, not Russia, holding up a possible peace agreement.
“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump told Reuters of Putin. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”
When he was asked why U.S. intervention had not brought about an end to the war, Trump responded: “Zelenskyy,” Reuters reported.
President Donald Trump is pushing Zelenskyy to accept a peace deal. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump refused to go into detail on why he believed Zelenskyy was holding back, saying that he believes the Ukrainian president was “having a hard time getting there,” referring to a peace agreement. However, later in the interview, Trump said he would be willing to meet with Zelenskyy at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
King Charles issues Balmoral update as Andrew ‘abuses’ royal residence
King Charles is forging ahead with Balmoral Castle plans despite a new allegation linking Andrew and Epstein to the beloved royal residence.
According to a social media announcement shared by the royal estate over the weekend, visitors will once again be invited inside the King’s Scottish home following the winter break.
In an Instagram post, Balmoral detailed what guests can expect when the castle reopens. “Tickets for Balmoral Castle in Spring & Summer 2026 are now available to book online,” the message read.
From March 28 through mid-August, visitors can explore the grounds and gardens, the Ballroom Exhibition, the Mews Gift Shop and the restaurant. The post added that “Afternoon Tea with General Admission during the summer months is also available,” along with several premium experiences, including interior castle tours and the Balmoral Expedition Tour.
“Whether you’re planning a return visit or discovering Balmoral for the first time, it’s a wonderful way to experience the Highlands at the Highland home of the Royal Family across the spring and summer seasons,” the statement continued.
The update comes as Charles has been enjoying the festive period at Sandringham, though Balmoral has recently found itself back in the headlines for less celebratory reasons. An exclusive report by The Mail on Sunday alleged that a former model was flown to Balmoral in 1999 by Jeffrey Epstein and told she would be expected to massage the then-Prince Andrew. The woman, now in her 50s, said she refused, explaining, “It felt weird and I didn’t want to.”
She claimed Andrew personally welcomed Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and herself to the 50,000-acre estate, where they were entertained with a picnic.
Royal author Andrew Lownie said the new allegations raises serious concerns. “That this young woman was flown to Balmoral raises questions about Andrew’s abuse of royal residences and the suspicion that courtiers turned a blind eye,” he expressed.
The real reason for nail-biting and other ‘bad habits,’ according to psychologists
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Nail-biting, procrastination and avoidance are often framed as bad habits we can’t control, but a new psychology book argues that they’re more like survival strategies that may have once protected us.
In “Controlled Explosions in Mental Health,” clinical psychologist Dr. Charlie Heroot-Maitland examined why people stick with bad habits that seem to work against their own best interest.
Drawing on years of clinical research and therapeutic practice, the expert reveals how the brain prioritizes predictability and safety over comfort and happiness.
HAPPINESS EXPERT SHARES 6-STEP MORNING ROUTINE THAT BOOSTS MOOD AND PRODUCTIVITY
“Our brain is a survival machine,” he told Fox News Digital. “It is programmed not to optimize our happiness and well-being, but to keep us alive.”
For much of human history, being caught off-guard could be fatal, research shows. “The brain prefers predictable pain over unpredictable threat,” Heriot-Maitland said. “It does not like surprises.”
Experts say the brain prioritizes predictability and safety over happiness, preferring controlled, familiar discomfort to unpredictable risk. (iStock)
When faced with uncertainty, the brain may opt for smaller, self-sabotaging behaviors rather than risking larger, unpredictable ones.
The book argues that “the brain uses these small harms as a protective dose to prevent further harms.” Procrastination, for example, may create stress and frustration, but it can also delay exposure to the higher-stakes fear of failure or judgment.
CREATIVE HOBBIES KEEP THE BRAIN YOUNG, STUDY FINDS — HERE ARE THE BEST ONES TO PURSUE
“The central argument is that behaviors we label as ‘self‑sabotaging’ could actually be attempts by the brain to control discomfort,” Thea Gallagher, a psychologist and wellness programs director at NYU Langone Health, told Fox News Digital.
In modern life, threats are often more emotional than physical. Rejection, shame, anxiety and loss of control can activate the same survival systems as a physical threat, experts say.
What looks like self-sabotage is often a way to delay or soften exposure to feared outcomes such as failure, judgment or rejection, an expert said. (iStock)
“Our brains have evolved to favor perceiving threat, even when there isn’t one, in order to elicit a protective response in us,” Heriot-Maitland said.
Self-criticism, avoidance and actions like nail-biting can function as attempts to manage the “dangers.”
Potential limitations
Gallagher noted that the book leans on clinical insight rather than empirical research.
“That doesn’t make it wrong, but it means the claims are more interpretive than scientific,” she said, noting that more data is needed to determine what is happening on a “mechanistic level.”
STUDY REVEALS WHY CHEWING GUM MIGHT ACTUALLY HELP WITH FOCUS AND STRESS RELIEF
Gallagher also emphasized that external factors, such as ADHD, trauma, chronic stress or socioeconomic pressures, can shape these behaviors in ways that aren’t just about threat responses.
Long-term improvement comes from building safety, observing patterns with curiosity, and gradually tolerating uncertainty rather than fighting or appeasing the behavior, an expert advised. (iStock)
Rather than seeing patterns like procrastination as flaws, the book encourages people to understand their protective function. That said, people should seek professional support for destructive behaviors that could cause severe distress or self-harm.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“I encourage my patients to think about short-term pain for long-term gain, because if you just respond to discomfort and distress in the moment, you might find yourself in longer-term patterns you don’t like or want,” Gallagher said.
“I don’t think it explains the motivations for all people, as everyone is different, but I think it can certainly apply to some.”
“Our brain is a survival machine.”
Heriot-Maitland noted that everyone has a choice in how they handle their own potentially harmful habits.
“We don’t want to fight these behaviors, but nor do we want to appease them and let them carry on controlling, dictating and sabotaging our lives,” he said.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Gallagher shared the following practical tips for people who may notice these patterns.
No. 1: Shift from self‑judgment to self-compassion
Instead of asking yourself “Why am I like this?” try focusing on the function of the behavior, she advised. For example, does it serve to soothe, numb or distract from other fears or threats?
Understanding the protective function of “bad” behaviors can reduce shame and open the door to more effective change, without excusing harm. (iStock)
No. 2: Notice patterns without fighting them (initially)
“Observing the behavior with curiosity helps weaken the automatic threat response,” Gallagher said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
No. 3: Build a sense of safety
This can mean relying on grounding techniques, supportive relationships, predictable routines and self‑soothing practices.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
No. 4: Practice small, low‑stakes exposure to feared situations
“If the brain fears uncertainty, gently introducing controlled uncertainty can help retrain it,” the expert recommended.
Nick Jonas attempts to take break from Jonas Brothers with upcoming solo album?
Nick Jonas’ forthcoming solo album is reportedly sending ripples in the inner circle of his family’s band, Jonas Brothers.
Radar Online reported that the 33-year-old American singer-songwriter and actor is working on his solo album named Sunday Best, which is being viewed as a major move, not a small creative side project.
An insider told the outlet, “Nick wants that Justin Timberlake trajectory. He’s studied it, he’s talked about it, and he believes he should have had that kind of solo runway years ago.”
“Nick doesn’t see himself in a boy band anymore. He sees himself as the standout. In his mind, he’s the one positioned for a bigger career,” another tipster added.
Sources claimed the band, Jonas Brothers, generates huge revenue that facilitates their lifestyle, and Nick’s attempt to go solo is raising several questions about their future together.
The insider claimed, “This record is being described as Nick’s pivot – his way of signaling that he wants to break from the group dynamic.”
“Call it a grown-up era or a statement album, if you want. But behind the scenes, everyone understands what this is. It’s Nick saying, ‘I’m ready to stand alone – and this time, I’m not looking back,’” another said.
It is noteworthy to mention that Nick’s album Sunday Best will be released on February 6, 2026.
Chile declares emergency as wildfires kill at least 15 – The Times of India
SANTIAGO: Wildfires burning out of control in southern Chile have killed at least 15 people and forced more than 50,000 to evacuate, the government said Sunday.Security minister Luis Cordero gave the tolls for 14 blazes burning for two days now in the Nuble and Biobio regions about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago.President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency as nearly 4,000 firefighers battled flames fueled by gusting winds and hot weather in the southern hemisphere summer.“We face a complicated situation,” interior minister Alvaro Elizalde said.The president announced the state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio in a post on the social media platform X. “All resources are available,” Boric wrote. Among other things, the declaration means the armed forces will now get involved.Alicia Cebrian, the director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, said most of the evacuations were in the Biobio towns of Penco and Lirquen, which have a combined population of around 60,000 people.Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student who lives in Penco, described fast-moving flames burning through the night and devouring homes.“We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death,” Cid told AFP.All but one of the fatalities so far were in Penco, its mayor Rodrigo Vera said.Lirquen, a small port town, was also hit hard, with many people saving themselves by rushing to the beach, said resident Alejandro Arredondo, 57.“There is nothing left standing,” he said as he surveyed a burning landscape of metal and wood that used to be people’s homes.The weather forecast Sunday was bad for firefighters — high temperatures and strong winds, said Esteban Krause, the head of a forest preservation agency in Biobio.Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years.In February 2024, several fires broke out simultaneously near the city of Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, resulting in 138 deaths, according to the public prosecutor’s office.About 16,000 people were affected by those fires, authorities said.
Texans’ Ryans, Pats’ Vrabel have turned around former teams
HOUSTON — During DeMeco Ryans’ first season as coach of the Houston Texans, he was unexpectedly stopped by a fan in a grocery store.
The exchange was brief but memorable. The fan told Ryans that he had started watching Texans football again. He was drawn back by the success and renewed energy the former Texans linebacker had brought to Houston.
For years, the fan admitted, he couldn’t stomach the losing — an 11-38-1 stretch from 2020 to 2022 that pushed away many. That moment stuck with Ryans, capturing why he returned to lead the franchise that drafted him in 2006: to restore pride, belief and relevance to Texans football in the city he once represented on the field.
“I popped on a [conference] call, and I said my name and then hear the reaction,” Ryans said Friday. “People are genuinely joyful about what these guys are able to do on the field and winning football.
“It changes the landscape of the city and how people feel. We can provide some joy to our community. That’s one of the main reasons why I came back.”
Ryans stands on the brink of yet another breakthrough for the franchise. After dismantling the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in the wild-card round, Houston has advanced to the divisional round for the third consecutive season, chasing what it has never reached: an AFC Championship Game.
The Texans (12-5) will travel to face the New England Patriots on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), seeking to snap an 0-6 skid in the divisional round and push the organization into uncharted territory under Ryans’ leadership.
But Ryans won’t be the only coach in the matchup who has revived the team for which he once starred.
After going 4-13 in back-to-back years, Mike Vrabel led the Patriots (14-3) to their first division title since 2019, and they had their first winning season since 2021.
Vrabel is the Patriots’ third coach in as many seasons. New England fired Jerod Mayo after one season last January. He was also a former player and took over for the legendary Bill Belichick, who led the franchise to six Super Bowl titles from 2000 to 2023.
Vrabel was asked Friday about his transition from player to coach, and if it’s hard knowing that he can’t physically help them on the field.
“You have to be confident enough that you’ve helped them get to the game, prepared them and done everything that you can to put them in a position to be successful,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel played with the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, earning All-Pro first team honors in ’07 and helping them win three of those Lombardi Trophies. He was also inducted into the Patriots Ring of Honor, and, similar to Ryans, he possesses a sense of pride for his former franchise.
“I think it’s an honor to coach in this league. I do,” Vrabel said. “There’s only so many opportunities that you get. And to be able to do it here, I think, is special and meaningful.”
AS A PLAYER, Ryans was an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler, and he helped Houston capture its first AFC South title in 2011. That season ended with the franchise’s first playoff victory — a win over the Cincinnati Bengals — but the Texans lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
Now, Ryans has his sights set on finally getting the franchise and the city over the proverbial hump.
“I saw from afar, the organization was kind of in a bad spot. A lot of negative news about the organization,” Ryans told ESPN. “I was like, man, if I can come back and just really impact this team, impact the organization, impact the city in a positive way where people feel the pride again in the Texans, because I felt that as a player. I just wanted to reestablish that.”
When asked how much does his pride as a player influence his coaching, he said, “It’s everything, man. That’s why I’m passionate about it.”
This will be the third divisional round matchup since 1970 between head coaches who also played for their respective franchises. The two other instances were the New York Jets (Walt Michaels) versus the Oakland Raiders (Tom Flores) and the Raiders (Art Shell) versus the Bengals (Sam Wyche).
When Ryans was introduced as the Texans’ new coach, stepping back into a building where his history loomed large, the feeling around the team felt different. Photos from his playing days (2005-2011) lined the hallways of NRG Stadium and framed the auditorium where he addressed the media for the first time as the franchise’s leader.
On that day, he called this his dream job.
“I know the people of Houston are longing for a successful football team,” Ryans said. “Everybody around the city loves football.”
Even though he finished his playing career with the Philadelphia Eagles (2012-2015) and spent six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2017-2022) — first as a linebackers coach, then as defensive coordinator — Ryans never stopped rooting for the franchise that drafted him.
“Everybody has developed that mentality he has,” right tackle Tytus Howard told ESPN. “He’s made everybody’s game go to another level by him being here.”
This season was the first time that the Texans didn’t win the AFC South under Ryans. In Ryans’ first season, it looked like things would continue down a familiar losing pathway from the previous several campaigns, but the Texans turned it around after starting 0-2.
There was a massive turnaround this season, as well. Houston became just the seventh team in the Super Bowl era (1966) to clinch a playoff spot after an 0-3 start. And the Texans did it thanks to Ryans’ calling card: defense.
“Shoot, I think everybody knows we are the best defense,” safety Calen Bullock said after the Texans’ wild-card win Monday. “The whole world knows that. Every time we go out there, we show it and we went out there and showed it today.”
THE START OF the season wasn’t so smooth for Vrabel and the Patriots, either. They started 1-2, but then they kicked it into gear — winning 10 straight. As a result, the Patriots dethroned reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills — who had won five straight division titles — in the AFC East.
When asked what brought Vrabel back to New England and why he thought it was a special place, his answer was simple: “The history of winning and the championships.”
But he knows his teams have to carve their own paths.
“The banners that hang in our stadium, they’re not going to help us win, but I think it’s a great reminder of what it takes to win and the type of people that you have to have in the organization — the selflessness, the work and the sacrifice that you have to make,” Vrabel said before the season. “So, to me, those are great reminders of what it takes.”
Now, sitting as the No. 2 seed, Vrabel, whose NFL coaching career started in Houston when he was a linebackers coach in 2014, and his Patriots are set to take on the fifth-seeded Texans after New England beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in the opening round.
Before taking the job with the Patriots, Vrabel said what he experienced in the locker room as a player in New England remains the standard of what he hopes to achieve as a coach when he gave his Patriots Hall of Fame speech in 2023.
“We held each other accountable because there was trust, there was an understanding, a respect that you could say things that needed to be said to each other,” Vrabel said. “Every day that’s what I’m trying to recreate wherever I coach. I don’t know if we’ll get it, but every day, I’m going to try because nothing was more important than the team.”
NFL Nation reporter Mike Reiss contributed to this report.
Scientists find hidden synapse hotspots in the teen brain: Study – The Times of India
WASHINGTON: The scientists have discovered that the adolescent brain does more than prune old connections. During the teen years, it actively builds dense new clusters of synapses in specific parts of neurons. These clusters emerge only in adolescence and may help shape higher-level thinking. When the process is disrupted, it could play a role in conditions like schizophrenia.Adolescence is a defining stage not only for social and physical growth, but also for how the brain develops. During this time, advanced mental abilities such as planning, reasoning, and decision-making continue to mature.Even so, scientists still lack a complete understanding of how the brain’s complex networks are shaped during this critical period.At the heart of brain development are synapses, the functional connections between neurons that allow information to flow through the brain. For decades, researchers believed that synapse numbers steadily rise during childhood and then decline during adolescence.This idea led to the widely accepted theory that excessive “synaptic pruning,” the process of removing weak or unused connections, could contribute to neuropsychiatric conditions. Schizophrenia, which can involve hallucinations, delusions, and disorganised thinking, has often been linked to this mechanism.New research challenges a long-standing theoryA team of scientists from Kyushu University has now uncovered evidence that questions this long-held view.In a study published in Science Advances on January 14, the researchers found that the adolescent brain does not simply eliminate connections. Instead, it also creates new, tightly packed clusters of synapses in specific parts of neurons during this stage of development.“We did not set out to study brain disorders,” says Professor Takeshi Imai at Kyushu University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences.“After developing a high-resolution tool for synaptic analysis in 2016, we looked at the mouse cerebral cortex out of curiosity. Beyond seeing the beauty of the neuronal structure, we were surprised to discover a previously unknown high-density hotspot of dendritic spines, the tiny protrusions in dendrites where excitatory synapses are formed,” added Takeshi. Zooming in on a key brain layerThe cerebral cortex consists of six layers that work together to form highly intricate neural circuits. Imai and his colleagues focused on neurons in Layer 5, which collect information from many sources and send signals outward as the cortex’s final output. Because of this role, these neurons act as a central control point for how the brain processes information.To study these cells in detail, the team used SeeDB2 — the tissue clearing agent Imai’s team developed — along with super-resolution microscopy. This combination allowed the researchers to examine transparent brain tissue and map dendritic spines across entire Layer 5 neurons for the first time.A synapse hotspot that appears in adolescenceThe detailed mapping revealed an unexpected pattern. One specific section of the dendrite contained an unusually dense concentration of dendritic spines, forming what the researchers call a “hotspot.” Further analysis showed that this hotspot does not exist early in life and instead emerges during adolescence.To pinpoint when this change occurs, the team tracked spine distribution across multiple stages of development. In two-week-old mice, before weaning, dendritic spines were spread relatively evenly across the neuron. Between three and eight weeks of age, a period that spans early childhood to adolescence, spine density increased sharply in a single region of the apical dendrite. Over time, this localised growth resulted in the formation of a dense synapse hotspot.“These findings suggest that the well-established ‘adolescent synaptic pruning’ hypothesis needs to be reconsidered,” says Imai.Links to Schizophrenia and brain disordersThe discovery may also help explain how certain brain disorders develop.“While synaptic pruning occurs broadly across dendrites, synapse formation also takes place in specific dendritic compartments during adolescent cortical development. Disruption of this process may be the key factor in at least some types of schizophrenia,” says Ryo Egashira, the study’s first author and a graduate student at Kyushu University’s Graduate School of Medical Sciences when the research was conducted.To explore this idea, the researchers examined mice with mutations in genes associated with schizophrenia, including Setd1a, Hivep2, and Grin1.Early development appeared typical, with normal spine density up to two or three weeks after birth. During adolescence, however, synapse formation was significantly reduced, preventing the proper development of the hotspot.For many years, schizophrenia has been viewed primarily as a condition caused by excessive synapse loss. These findings suggest a different possibility, that problems with building new synapses during adolescence may play a critical role.Still, the researchers emphasise that their study focused only on mice, and it remains uncertain whether the same processes occur in primates or humans.Looking ahead in brain development research“Moving forward, we hope to identify which brain regions are forming these new synaptic connections during adolescence,” says Imai.“That will tell us what circuits are actually being built during this developmental window. Understanding how and when these connections form can advance our knowledge of both brain development and the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders,” added Imai.