Research on how the brain is built and how it governs body and behavior. Covers neural circuits, sleep, sensory systems, brain structure, and the brain-body connection.
A new study from Northwestern University finds that long-term opioid use does not improve chronic pain, but rather alters brain activity and function. The study identified new molecular markers, including serotonin receptors, that could lead to new treatments for pain and opioid dependence.
A new neuroimaging study found associations between childhood abuse and altered brain structure, with more severe abuse linked to larger brain regions and distinct effects in women. The study, led by UCLA psychologists, measured brain dimensions in 1,389 patients with PTSD and MDD, along with 2,322 healthy controls.
Adults in their 60s with lower cognitive test scores were more likely to experience a future stroke, according to a new study in Sweden. The study, which examined nearly 5,000 older adults, found that those with lower cognitive function scores were at increased risk of stroke.
Stimulating two parts of the brain at the same time may create richer artificial touch sensations, according to a study published in Brain Stimulation. The study found that simultaneous stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex and insular cortex produced qualitatively richer, multicomponent percepts in three patients.
A new clinical practice guideline aims to standardize the identification and management of infants at increased risk for cerebral visual impairment (CVI). The guideline recommends comprehensive ophthalmologic evaluation and referral to developmental services within the first six months of life to access interventions as early as possible.
A new clinical trial aims to test personalized brain stimulation targeting two pain-related brain networks for patients with severe, treatment-resistant central neuropathic pain. Researchers will use functional MRI to map each participant's brain and adjust stimulation settings based on individual responses.
A Phase III trial found that delivering focused radiation therapy over three to five sessions after surgery for a large brain metastasis reduced cancer recurrence at the surgical site. Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery also showed a trend in controlling brain metastases that had not been removed surgically. Median overall survival...
Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered that bullfrogs can generate ketone bodies in their brains, allowing them to continue critical neural functions even when glucose levels are low. This finding could have implications for understanding human brain health and potentially treating neurological disorders.
Researchers developed a computer method to quantify myelin patterns in the brain, revealing signs of injury in damaged tissues. The approach uses convolutional autoencoders to compress information into numbers, producing unsupervised maps that separate tissue regions with distinct properties.
Researchers found implanting collagen tiles during brain surgery to deliver targeted radiation therapy improves tumor control, lowers recurrence risk, and increases overall survival. Patients treated with tile-based radiation therapy had a 1.3% rate of recurrence at the surgical site compared to 15.4% in the control group.
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.
USF Health researchers have uncovered a previously unknown brain region, the dorsal posterior periventricular hypothalamic nucleus, which plays a crucial role in regulating metabolic health in response to cold temperatures. The discovery offers a potential new pathway for developing treatments to improve metabolic function and prevent ...
Researchers have discovered the molecular mechanism of synaptic facilitation, a process that strengthens synaptic transmission and is thought to be the basis for instantaneous memory. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that a calcium binding protein called Synaptotagmin 7 plays a crucia...
Researchers created a detailed atlas of lipids across the mouse brain, showing a precise, orderly pattern that lines up with the brain's anatomy. The study found distinct territories, each with its own signature mix of lipids, and revealed patterns that earlier methods have missed, such as varied zones in the brain's white matter and c...
A preliminary study led by UC San Francisco found that reducing ultra-processed food intake significantly improved symptoms of depression and anxiety in participants, who reduced their intake by over 85%.
A cross-sectional study found that structural brain volumes are associated with delay discounting, a key component of impulsive decision-making, in college-aged adults. The multilayer perceptron model provided an accurate estimate of delay discounting, shedding light on the neural basis of impulsive behavior.
A comprehensive review of the evidence links ultraprocessed foods to poorer cognitive outcomes and increased risk of dementia. The study highlights the need for further research to determine the causal relationship between these foods and brain health.
A new study aims to find new ways to prevent strokes in people with chronic migraine by understanding the link between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health. The research also explores the role of immune cells in blood vessels and their impact on migraine attacks.
A new study by UC Riverside scientists has identified MAPK14, a brain protein, as the driving force behind neuroHIV damage, which causes dementia, neuropathy, and memory problems. By targeting this protein, researchers hope to develop a treatment for neuroHIV, a condition affecting millions worldwide.
Researchers have identified genes responsible for brain regeneration in flatworms, which could lead to better therapies for humans with traumatic brain injuries or brain diseases. The study's findings may help humans harness their own cellular abilities to heal brain injuries or regrow their brains entirely.
A new study in mice reveals that abdominal muscles used during normal movement can increase blood flow in the brain by creating ultrafast constrictions of major veins. The research suggests a previously underappreciated aspect of normal brain physiology, highlighting the connection between movement and blood flow.
A pilot study suggests that essential oils derived from Hinoki roots can help improve sleep quality by reducing nighttime awakenings and increasing delta-wave activity. Participants who used Hinoki root essential oil reported feeling more relaxed and refreshed in the morning.
Researchers developed a new brain imaging measure, CCSI, to study how blood flow and cellular organization align across the brain. CCSI revealed patterns of blood flow and cellular density that correlated with mitochondrial activity and energy demands, offering new insights into brain function and potential treatments for diseases.
Weill Cornell Medicine and Rutgers Health have received a four-year, $3 million grant to build a research center focused on HIV-associated brain injury. The center will help investigators access shared molecular and computational tools to define the mechanisms of brain injury and identify new therapeutic opportunities.
Researchers found that lifelong deafness causes the brain to shift processing power, enhancing peripheral vision. This adaptability allows deaf individuals to detect motion and events outside their direct line of sight, providing a distinct advantage in monitoring surroundings for potential danger.
A new video game, Geode, measures how people with autism understand and interpret information, providing fresh insights into the autistic brain and refining therapy development. The game, which can be played by people across the autism spectrum, includes nonverbal players and was successful in collecting detailed data on sensory input ...
Researchers found that music produced a distinct reorganization of communication between auditory regions and key stress-related areas, including the insula and thalamus. Music was associated with improved positive mood and faster physiological recovery from acute stress.
Binghamton University receives $500K grant for 'brain-on-a-chip' project to advance dementia research. The project will establish advanced imaging and electrophysiological analysis infrastructure for studying living brain tissue models.
A new brain atlas reveals that neurons build their identity in the first hours of life, rather than inheriting it from their parent cells. The atlas, which mapped nearly 250,000 fly brain cells, shows that neuronal identity is established through a flexible, modular system involving different DNA switches and regulatory proteins.
A new learning mechanism uses natural variability in neural activity to understand how synapses adapt and improve the learning capabilities of brain-inspired devices. The mechanism, called Spike-based Alignment Learning, solves the weight transport problem and matches the performance of existing approaches without unrealistic assumptions.
A new UCLA study has found a connection between brain aging and gut biology, suggesting that people's brains may be aging decades before symptoms appear. The study, published in eBioMedicine, analyzed brain scans and stool samples to identify a link between brain communication patterns, gut bacteria, and brain aging.
Researchers at MIT found that short bursts of pink noise during sleep can increase the amplitude of slow electrical waves and CSF flow, leading to more restorative sleep. This technology may also help clear brain waste and potentially improve cognitive function, particularly in people with insomnia and neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers found changes in brain structure, including white matter organization and region size, in people with severe asthma compared to those with well-controlled mild or moderate asthma. Inflammation levels were also linked to white matter changes, suggesting a possible connection between inflammation and brain changes.
Researchers have mapped the complete neural wiring behind taste in an animal, tracing taste signals from sensory neurons to motor neurons that drive feeding. The study reveals neural pathways that could explain how taste triggers anticipatory insulin release before a single calorie is absorbed.
Researchers found that meal timing programs the liver's daily rhythms and can have serious metabolic and health consequences when out of sync. The liver uses food signals to activate metabolic pathways, which can conflict with the body's natural circadian clock, leading to health issues.
Research reveals that the visual systems of mice and monkeys follow the same efficient coding principle, but process different sensory inputs. This principle explains why mice have stronger responses to movement due to their coarse patch-based vision.
Higher TMAO concentrations were associated with older age, cardiometabolic risk factors, and brain atrophy, but not cognitive performance. The study suggests TMAO may be a marker of systemic aging processes rather than a direct mediator of neurodegeneration.
A study finds that dementia with Lewy bodies preferentially affects certain brain regions, including those with genes linked to mitochondrial function and synapses. These regions show distinctive patterns of serotonin, dopamine, and GABA receptors, suggesting a potential target for new treatments.
The study found that structural connectome embeddedness reveals a dynamic organizing dimension of human brain activity, where whole-brain functional activity is constrained by global structural topology. Higher CoDE values indicate stronger brain activity patterns embedded in structural connectome topology.
A team of Korean researchers has created a miniaturized wireless brain implant that can deliver drugs and light to precisely modulate targeted neurons remotely. The device overcomes distance and location constraints, enabling long-term studies of brain disorders and therapeutic devices.
A new brain-inspired algorithm, Spi-Fly, demonstrates promise for achieving practical applications in scent classification, particularly in scenarios with limited training data. The algorithm shows accurate classification of scents and can learn with few-shot and continual learning methods, making it suitable for real-world applications.
A study by the University of Oxford has identified the brain mechanisms that help us work out whether the consequences we experience are caused by our own actions or by circumstances beyond our control. The study found that confidence in our own decisions and estimates of external circumstances provide important clues.
Researchers found that healthier superficial white matter is associated with stronger language skills, and that gray matter atrophy measures remain the strongest predictors of cognition. However, the relationship between gray matter and cognitive performance depends on superficial white matter health.
A new study finds that emotion-regulation training reduces distress in college students by changing brain connectivity. The training, which focuses on attention and reappraisal, also leads to changes in brain activity and functional connectivity.
Researchers suggest that biological memory is connected to emotion and thought, and that AI may lack the biological infrastructure to replicate human-like consciousness. The study proposes a biochemical process connecting brain cells and chemistry to memory, potentially offering a new route to understanding mental processes.
The research team has developed a novel optical control platform, LATeNT, that uses light to block signal transmission between neurons and restore normal signaling. This technology has the potential to be widely applicable to various life science and medical research fields, including brain disorders and regulating insulin secretion.
Neuroscientists have identified flexible modules in the prefrontal cortex that can be reused to perform various tasks. The discovery supports the theory of compositionality, where cognitive building blocks can be flexibly combined to generate new behaviors.
Researchers at MIT have created a new microscope that can image electrical activity in neurons distributed across the brain, revealing patterns of neural activity from milliseconds. The technique enabled observation of single voltage spikes and rapid bursts of spikes, shedding light on how the brain is activated following a stimulus.
Researchers analyzed EBRAINS-hosted brain data to determine that whole-brain activity patterns predict stimulation outcomes better than local recordings. Targeting specific sensorimotor and visual networks reduces response variability by up to 24%. This study highlights the value of open datasets for enabling large-scale analyses.
According to a national survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, most U.S. adults believe brain health habits should begin before age 40. Regular exercise, quality sleep, healthy eating, and strong social connections can help support long-term brain health.
The Hippenmeyer group has developed a stable mouse stem cell line and created a robust and reproducible mouse cortical organoid protocol. By comparing developmental stages of the mouse brain with those of the organoids using single-cell sequencing, they found similar cell populations and molecular programs.
High-frequency brain waves called ripples facilitate long-range neural communication during working memory tasks, suggesting a mechanism for integrating information. The study's findings may also help differentiate healthy cognitive signals from abnormal activity associated with neurological diseases like Alzheimer's or ADHD.
The open-source image analysis pipeline accurately measures brain tissue changes in animal models, reducing variability among thousands of scans. The tool has the potential to improve early-stage evaluation of new therapies for acute ischemic stroke.
Researchers found that exercise-induced molecular changes contribute to neuronal health, improving movement and quality of life in PD patients. Exercise types such as aerobic exercises, resistance training, balance training, and multimodal exercise were found to be helpful in reducing falls, disabilities, and improving brain function.
A cohort study found associations between perinatal factors and changes in brain maturation among adolescents. The study used conditional-longitudinal models to assess individual growth trajectories and mental health symptoms.
Researchers developed a computer model of the human cortex linking microscopic chemistry to brain-wide patterns of activity. The model found that regional differences in receptor density improve coordination between brain regions and information flow.
Scientists identified a physical mechanism in the brain that may help explain why progress can grind to a halt: the extracellular matrix loosens and rebuilds after each practice session, gradually stopping once a skill is learned. This dynamic process affects how the brain learns and retains new skills.
Researchers used fossil skulls and virtual models to find that the neocortex's expansion was tied to increased visual input. The study challenges a long-held idea about how primates developed large brains.
New study sheds light on the brain's 'searchlight' mechanism, where grid cells subtly probe the environment to guide navigation. Researchers used a low-tech method to measure rats' attention and found that grid cell sweeps follow prey, suggesting a more complex brain function than previously thought.
Researchers used real human brain tissue samples to test the underlying mechanisms of deep brain stimulation. They found that brain cells became more synchronized in communicating, similar to memory formation, while altering gene expression across different types of brain cells.