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Brains rising above the neural noise

Researchers analyzed brain activity in mice to find that neural scaling laws allow information to grow beyond a ceiling imposed by shared noise. The study, published in Science Advances, suggests that brains can process more information than previously thought.

SourceKyoto University·JournalScience Advances·TypeObservational study·DateSep 25, 2026

Bigger brain atlases are not enough: Editorial sets out a path from brain multi-omics to clinical value

The editorial highlights the gap between prioritization and mechanism in brain multi-omics research, emphasizing the need for functional testing and harmonized metadata to establish biological meaning and clinical relevance. It proposes three complementary strategies: dynamic comparisons, joint measurements, and targeted perturbation e...

SourceMedicine Discovery·TypeCommentary/editorial·DateSep 23, 2026

How close are we to building a digital copy of the human brain?

Researchers from the University of Warwick report that building a digital twin brain is shaped by the resolution, completeness, and updatability of biological measurements. The review charts a path toward dynamic models that update with new data and interact with the biological system. Digital twin brains have potential applications in...

SourceUniversity of Warwick·JournalNature Reviews Electrical Engineering·TypeLiterature review·DateSep 1, 2026

Decoding the brain’s timekeeping machinery

Researchers discovered that brain regions switch between shared and independent timing, allowing for flexibility in coordination. This finding provides a new framework for understanding how brain regions communicate and enables the development of brain-inspired artificial intelligence and robotic control systems.

SourceInstitute of Science Tokyo·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 20, 2026

Confusing code triggers brain patterns similar to those caused by unexpected turns in conversation

A study published in Scientific Reports found that programmers' brains exhibit brain activity similar to those caused by unexpected turns in conversation when encountering confusing code snippets. The research team used EEG and eye-tracking data to analyze the brain patterns, revealing a striking pattern known as late frontal positivity.

SourceSaarland University·JournalScientific Reports·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 10, 2026

Genomic Press launches Brain Health, a new peer-reviewed journal of lifelong brain resilience, with inaugural interview featuring Luísa Pinto on glial plasticity

Genomic Press launches Brain Health, a new peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the science of lifelong brain resilience, featuring research on glial plasticity and recovery from depression. The inaugural issue explores the intersection of fields including cognitive reserve, sleep, aging biology, nutritional psychiatry, and social sciences.

Chinese Medical Journal article white matter lesions modifying endovascular therapy outcomes in large ischemic core stroke: A secondary analysis of the ANGEL-ASPECT trial

A secondary analysis of the ANGEL-ASPECT trial found EVT to be beneficial for patients with anterior-circulation LVO and a large ischemic core and absent-to-moderate white matter lesions. In contrast, those with severe WMLs showed less pronounced benefits, suggesting uncertainty about EVT's efficacy in this subgroup.

SourceChinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co., Ltd.·JournalChinese Medical Journal·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateApr 7, 2026

Movies reconstructed from mouse brain activity

Researchers have successfully reconstructed videos from mouse brain activity, allowing them to understand how the brain processes visual information. By analyzing the neural activity in the visual cortex, the team created high-quality reconstructions of 10-second video clips, revealing the brain's representation of visual cues.

SourceUniversity College London·JournaleLife·DateMar 10, 2026

Topology-aware deep learning model enhances EEG-based motor imagery decoding

Researchers developed a novel topology-aware multiscale feature fusion network to enhance EEG-based motor imagery decoding. The TA-MFF network achieves excellent classification performance, outperforming state-of-the-art methods by leveraging spectral-topological data analysis-processing and inter-spectral recursive attention.

SourceChiba University·JournalKnowledge-Based Systems·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateNov 11, 2025

It’s all in your head: Select neurons in the brainstem may hold the key to treating chronic pain

Researchers have identified a group of cells called Y1 receptor-expressing neurons in the brainstem's lateral parabrachial nucleus as critical for regulating long-term pain states. These neurons integrate information about hunger, fear and thirst, allowing pain signals to be modulated by other brain circuits signaling more urgent needs.

SourceUniversity of Pennsylvania·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateOct 8, 2025

How does coffee affect a sleeping brain?

A recent study found that caffeine increases brain signal complexity and enhances criticality during sleep, with effects more pronounced in young adults. This can lead to a state where the brain is neither fully awake nor relaxed, potentially interfering with restful recovery.

SourceUniversity of Montreal·JournalCommunications Biology·DateMay 29, 2025

The sleep of bees. So human

A study at the University of Trento has observed the brain activity of honey bees during sleep and identified similarities with human sleep patterns. The researchers used a combination of optical brain imaging, machine learning analysis, and computational neural modelling to analyze how sleep influences sensory perception in bees.

SourceUniversità di Trento·JournalNeural Networks·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 13, 2025

University of Ottawa led research team deciphering what serotonin is saying inside our brains

A University of Ottawa-led research team has deciphered the message that serotonin conveys to the brain, discovering a 'prospective code for value' that explains why neurons are activated by rewards and punishments. This finding has implications across multiple fields, including neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry.

SourceUniversity of Ottawa·JournalNature·TypeObservational study·DateApr 9, 2025

An entire brain-machine interface on a chip: Converting brain activity to text on one extremely small integrated system

Researchers at EPFL developed a next-generation miniaturized brain-machine interface capable of direct brain-to-text communication on tiny silicon chips. The MiBMI system can decode neural signals generated when a person imagines writing letters or words with high accuracy and low power consumption.

SourceEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne·JournalIEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits·TypeMeta-analysis·DateAug 26, 2024

Mathematical theory predicts self-organized learning in real neurons

Researchers used a mathematical theory called the free energy principle to predict how real neural networks learn and organize themselves. The study successfully mimicked this process in rat embryo neurons grown in a culture dish, demonstrating the principle's guiding force behind biological neural network learning.

SourceRIKEN·JournalNature Communications·DateAug 7, 2023

UC Santa Cruz to lead data collection center for major federal project on genetic underpinnings of neurological conditions

The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will run the Data Coordination Center for the Scalable and Systematic Neurobiology of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Risk Genes (SSPsyGene) Consortium. The team will coordinate an initial selection of 250 relevant genes from nearly 30,000 protein coding genes in the human genome.

A one-stop-shop for brain imaging

A team from McGill University has created a database called neuromaps, which combines over 40 existing brain maps to help scientists find correlations between patterns across different brain regions. The tool provides standardized space to view and compare each map, improving reproducibility of results.

SourceMcGill University·JournalNature Methods·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateOct 6, 2022

Form follows function

Professor Alexander Ecker is awarded a Starting Grant to develop machine-learning methods to describe neurons' shape and function, leveraging a large dataset from the US Brain Initiative. The research aims to uncover how a neuron's shape relates to its role in sensory information processing.

Schizophrenia study suggests advanced genetic scorecard cannot predict a patient’s fate

A Mount Sinai study found that polygenic risk scores were no better at predicting worsening symptoms than written reports in schizophrenia patients. The results raise questions about the use of polygenic risk scores in real-world situations, suggesting a doctor's report may be an untapped source of predictive information.

SourceThe Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine·JournalNature Medicine·TypeExperimental study·DateSep 6, 2021

How zebra finches learn to sing

Researchers analyzed how juvenile male zebra finches learn to sing using a novel framework that revealed multilayered changes in brain wiring. Good songs improve slowly over time, while bad ones change quickly but are often forgotten the next day.

SourceUniversity of Zurich·JournalNature·DateJan 15, 2020