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Engineers create digital twin of gut-brain axis to advance neurostimulation therapies

Lehigh University researchers develop comprehensive mathematical model of the neural circuitry linking the gut and brain to regulate stomach function, opening new pathways for treating chronic digestive disorders through targeted vagus nerve stimulation. The digital twin could help accelerate therapy development and improve quality of ...

SourceLehigh University·JournalFrontiers in Physiology·DateAug 3, 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

A new theory of brain development

Researchers suggest that cells descend from the same progenitor tend to remain near one another, forming a lineage-based mechanism to convey positional information. This theory could have far-reaching implications for biology and artificial intelligence, potentially solving fundamental mysteries of the mind.

SourceCold Spring Harbor Laboratory·JournalNeuron·DateMar 2, 2026

A dual-source data-driven gated spatiotemporal fusion network significantly enhances the accuracy of fine-scale lightning forecasting based on weather foundation models

A dual-source data-driven gated spatiotemporal fusion network significantly enhances the accuracy of fine-scale lightning forecasting. The model combines the strengths of weather foundation models and recent lightning observations, leveraging complementary features to improve forecast performance.

SourceScience China Press·JournalScience China Earth Sciences·DateOct 11, 2025

Many possible futures: How dopamine in the brain might inform AI that adapts quickly to change

Researchers found that brain's dopamine neurons encode a map of possible future rewards across time and magnitude, guiding adaptive behavior in uncertain environments. This biological insight aligns with recent advances in AI, particularly distributional RL algorithms, which learn from reward distributions rather than averages.

SourceChampalimaud Centre for the Unknown·JournalNature·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 4, 2025

University of Ottawa-led research team forges compelling new insights into dynamics of the brain’s serotonin system

A University of Ottawa-led study reveals that serotonin neurons are connected and interact with each other, controlling serotonin release in specific regions of the brain. This complex system has implications for understanding decision-making and developing targeted therapeutics for mood disorders.

SourceUniversity of Ottawa·JournalNature Neuroscience·TypeImaging analysis·DateApr 25, 2025

Beyond words

Researchers analyzed massive audio recordings to create a dictionary of short melodies in English-language prosody, assigning functions and meanings. They discovered hundreds of basic patterns with linguistic functions, including conveying attitudes such as curiosity or surprise, and identified syntactic rules governing their order.

SourceWeizmann Institute of Science·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateApr 22, 2025

Listening to an avatar makes you more likely to gamble

A study published in PLOS Biology found that individuals who receive dynamic facial-expression feedback from an avatar's face tend to gamble more than those receiving real human feedback. The amygdala plays a key role in this facilitation, with increased valuation of uncertainty contributing to increased risk-taking behavior.

SourcePLOS·JournalPLOS Biology·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 22, 2025

Research Spotlight: Using artificial intelligence to reveal the neural dynamics of human conversation

Researchers investigated how brains process language during real-life conversations, employing AI to analyze neural activity and linguistic features. They found that speaking and listening engage widespread networks of brain areas in the frontal and temporal lobes, with highly specific patterns changing depending on words and context.

SourceMass General Brigham·JournalNature Communications·TypeObservational study·DateApr 18, 2025

Towards hand gesture recognition using a channel-wise cumulative spike train image-driven model

A novel channel-wise cumulative spike train image-driven model (cwCST-CNN) is presented for hand gesture recognition, achieving a classification accuracy of 96.92% in recognizing 10 gestures. The method leverages HD-sEMG signals and reconstructs them into two-dimensional images to capture spatial activation patterns.

SourceBeijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd·JournalCyborg and Bionic Systems·DateApr 13, 2025

IEEE study leverages silicon photonics for scalable and sustainable AI hardware

A new hardware platform for AI accelerators capable of handling significant workloads with reduced energy requirement has been developed. The platform leverages III-V compound semiconductors to create photonic integrated circuits, which operate at the speed of light with minimal energy loss.

SourceInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers·JournalIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateApr 10, 2025

Re-purposing 5-nonyloxytryptamine and epirubicin as polysialic acid mimetics for protection from MPP+-induced cytotoxicity in human neuronal cells

Researchers investigated the neuroregenerative potential of 5-NOT and Epi, discovering they protected SH-SY5Y cells from MPP+ toxicity by regulating key proteins. The findings support 5-NOT as a glycomimetic drug candidate for Parkinson's disease treatment.

SourceXia & He Publishing Inc.·JournalJournal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology·DateApr 9, 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

Social media’s fake news problem is the target of a new tool developed at Concordia

Researchers at Concordia University have developed a new approach to identifying fake news on social media using the SmoothDetector model. The model integrates probabilistic algorithms with deep neural networks to capture uncertainties and patterns in multimodal data, providing more nuanced judgments of authenticity.

SourceConcordia University·JournalIEEE Access·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateApr 8, 2025

Face processing abnormalities identified in autism dog model

A new study has revealed that Beagle dogs carrying mutations in the Shank3 gene exhibit face processing abnormalities, similar to those observed in human ASD patients. The research provides direct experimental evidence that mutations in Shank3 lead to ASD-like deficits in face processing, contributing to social impairments.

SourceChinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters·JournalScience Advances·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 3, 2025

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Researchers developed a machine learning-powered fluid simulation model that significantly reduces computation time without compromising accuracy. The new surrogate model maintains the same level of accuracy as traditional particle-based simulations while reducing computation time from approximately 45 minutes to just three minutes.

SourceOsaka Metropolitan University·JournalApplied Ocean Research·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateApr 3, 2025

Pink skies

Scientists at ISTA create a new brain organoid model that incorporates microglia to study viral infections, such as Rubella, and test the effectiveness of ibuprofen. The results show that microglia play a crucial role in inflammatory reactions and that ibuprofen exerts its protective effects by inhibiting two inflammatory enzymes.

SourceInstitute of Science and Technology Austria·JournalJournal of Neuroinflammation·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 2, 2025

Brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis restores naturalistic speech

Researchers from UC Berkeley and UCSF developed a streaming method that synthesizes brain signals into audible speech in near-real time, solving the latency challenge. The technology represents a critical step toward enabling communication for people who have lost the ability to speak, with high decoding accuracy and naturalistic fluency.

SourceUniversity of California Berkeley College of Engineering·JournalNature Neuroscience·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateMar 31, 2025

HKUST Life Science researchers establish an intracranial optic tract injury model to reveal mechanisms of functional circuit reconstruction following CNS injury

Researchers at HKUST established a pre-OPN OTI model to investigate functional axonal rewiring following CNS injury. They found that intrinsically photosensitive RGCs mediate functional recovery, and proposed a dual-intervention strategy to enhance regeneration efficiency

SourceHong Kong University of Science and Technology·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 28, 2025

HKU engineering team and partner universities develop revolutionary brain-computer interface decoding system

Researchers created a memristor-based brain-computer interface decoding system that achieves high accuracy while consuming significantly less energy than traditional systems. The system demonstrated impressive capabilities in real-world testing, including improved stability and accuracy through co-evolution with brain signals.

SourceThe University of Hong Kong·JournalNature Electronics·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 26, 2025

Scientists map neural wiring of vocal circuits in songbirds

Researchers have mapped the long-range synaptic connections involved in vocal learning in zebra finches, uncovering new details about how the brain organises learned vocalisations. The study provides a framework for understanding how the brain integrates sensory and motor information to guide learned vocal behaviour.

SourceeLife·JournaleLife·DateMar 18, 2025

Fudan team develops a novel CRG-based classification model for IDH1-mutant gliomas, advancing precision therapy optimization

Researchers identified 11 cuproptosis-related genes and classified IDH1-mutant gliomas into two subtypes with distinct clinical outcomes. A risk model using FDX1/SLC31A1-based features demonstrated superior prognostic performance, providing insights for chemotherapy selection and treatment resistance.

AI emotion detection may fall short: real-life intense fear is shaped by context, not faces

A new study challenges the long-held belief that fear is primarily communicated through facial expressions, suggesting instead that situational context plays a critical role in fear recognition. The research involved analyzing real-life fear reactions in videos and found that facial expressions alone fail to reliably signal fear.

SourceThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 13, 2025