A new artificial intelligence tool can help determine whether genetic variants associated with a severe form of childhood epilepsy will cause disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
New research has found that greater exposure to clinical obesity during young adulthood is associated with a greater burden of white matter changes in the brain by midlife, providing new insight into how metabolic health across the life span may influence brain health.
Young people who consume more caffeine, mostly from soft drinks, sleep less and show small differences in how their brains are developing, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.
Researchers developed an extensive, publicly accessible neuroimaging resource comprising over 24,000 MRI scans from more than 10,000 adolescents to study brain development during adolescence, identifying consistent developmental patterns across 21 sites despite varying scanner technologies and image quality.
A recent study found that healthy adults with high consumption of ultra-processed foods are more prone to brain damage, increasing the risk of stroke and memory problems, as shown by MRI scans of nearly 9,000 participants.
A 35-year study following adults from young adulthood into middle age reveals that both lifetime and recent cannabis use are tied to worse objectively measured sleep quality, characterized by lower sleep efficiency and higher fragmentation. Crucially, participants did not perceive their sleep to be impaired, revealing a disconnect between subjective sensation and physical sleep disruption.
The dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease could be diagnosed earlier with new visual tests developed by University of Queensland researchers.
A large global study provides new evidence supporting the use of blood biomarkers in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial to screen for elevated brain amyloid levels among potential participants who are cognitively unimpaired. The findings, published in JAMA Neurology, show that the relationship between blood biomarker levels and brain amyloid was largely similar across racial groups.
Researchers studied brain scans of 386 individuals with Major Depressive Disorder to observe changes in brain connectivity during the initial weeks after starting a placebo or one of two antidepressants. Their findings highlight both common changes across treatment groups and specific patterns related to the antidepressant treatments.
Scientists have identified a key mechanism that helps determine the length of myelin, the protective coating that surrounds many nerve fibers and allows signals to travel efficiently through the nervous system.
A study from Lund University published in Nature Neuroscience reveals that normal aging and Alzheimer’s affect brain communication differently, with distinct patterns of alterations. Notably, changes in Alzheimer’s patients occur early, prior to the onset of cognitive symptoms.
Researchers have developed 3D “mini-brains” they hope will help speed up the search for drug treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS).
A study reveals that childhood abuse affects brain structure, specifically cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume, with more significant effects observed in young women. This research is the largest to investigate the neurobiological impacts of childhood maltreatment in a diverse, global population.
A graphene-based brain sensor could help doctors watch the hidden damage unfolding during a stroke in real time, offering new hope of preventing devastating brain injuries before they become irreversible.
Researchers at the University of Osaka found that stimulating the primary somatosensory cortex and the insular cortex simultaneously may enhance artificial touch sensations, producing effects beyond typical tingling or numbness. The study is publishedin Brain Stimulation.
Inflammatory conditions in the brain, including traumatic brain injury and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, could be targeted with an existing drug thanks to new research that shows it can work in brain cells.
The largest genetic study of cognition to date has been published, involving nearly half a million people of European ancestry. This provides a new understanding of the genetic factors that shape cognitive differences and can help us better understand certain health conditions, including neurodevelopmental conditions.
Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is an early indicator of brain changes linked to Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies, often emerging years prior to diagnosis.
A new study finds that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face a significantly higher risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment later in life. The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that people who carry a higher genetic risk for ADHD face a greater chance of cognitive decline even without a documented diagnosis.
Researchers have led an international scientific team studying how a traumatic brain injury caused by a severe blow to the head affects the brain’s long-term response to subsequent stressful situations.
A long-term study of more than 4,500 older adults reveals that individuals who are overweight or obese when diagnosed with dementia exhibit a significantly lower risk of death than those of normal weight. Rigorous epidemiological modeling suggests this survival advantage is not merely an artifact of statistical bias, underscoring the critical protective role of nutrition and metabolic reserves in neurodegenerative decline.
Electrode locations from all patients aligned to a common brain atlas and color-coded by region. The “preSMA” and “dACC” together comprise the medial frontal cortex in our study. Credit: Courellis et al.
Scientists carried out a study aimed at better understanding how neurons preserve context over time as the goals of an ongoing task change. Their findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, suggest that the brain can represent the same information through different patterns of neuronal activity that vary in stability and flexibility.
New research found that an unhealthy Western-style diet accelerates cognitive decline in individuals genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease.
A scientific team has shown that a new brain-computer interface (BCI) can allow people with vocal tract and bodily paralysis to convey both speech and upper-body gestures simultaneously. While BCIs have facilitated one or the other in the past, this new system is the first to enable both modes of communication at once, more closely replicating natural expression.
In a study analysing nearly 3,000 brain MRI exams, researchers found that living in highly disadvantaged neighbourhoods was associated with adverse brain health.
Neuroscientists have found that a centralized genetic switch in the neuron’s cell body, rather than just local cues at the axon tips, directs axon navigation. By analysing over 12,000 developing neurons, they created a genetic atlas that could lead to new therapies for repairing damaged neural pathways after strokes or spinal cord injuries.
New research suggests that losing muscle as we age may indicate a higher risk of dementia, with individuals suffering from sarcopenia—characterized by muscle loss and decreased strength—facing a 42% increased risk.
Researchers have discovered that spontaneous eye-blink rate serves as a simple, noninvasive marker for tracking the development of executive function in early childhood. The study revealed that children aged 3–6 with higher blink rates performed better on cognitive flexibility tasks, an association specifically linked to focused activation within the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Scientists at the University of Galway have taken part in a first-in-human study of stroke patients using a thin wire fitted with sensors to assess and map their clots.
A new study reveals the human brain is composed of two independently evolved organs, enabling the first lab-grown human hindbrain neurons. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the research shows that what we call the human brain is actually two ancient, independent nervous systems assembled side by side over hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history.
A clinical trial has found that exercise has a significant effect on mood and lab-based measures of new brain cell formation in healthy middle-aged participants.
A recent study reveals a connection between spinal deterioration and cognitive decline, indicating that individuals with lower bone density in thoracic vertebrae experience quicker cognitive decline and microstructural brain injury, as assessed through a deep learning model analysing clinical imaging data.
A new computational model shows how cortical feedback slashes neural chaos by 93%, explaining how our vision stays stable despite fluctuating brain activity.
A research team has created a vision transformer architecture named the 4D fMRI CrossFormer (4DfCF) to analyze four-dimensional fMRI data, aiming to enhance AI-assisted brain disorder diagnosis and promote a more transparent computer-aided diagnosis system for clinicians to review AI predictions.
Neurodivergent individuals, especially those with autism or ADHD, are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at younger ages, with a significant prevalence among those diagnosed before age 20.
Scientists using magnetoencephalography (MEG) discovered five neurophysiological subtypes of major depressive disorder based on brain connectivity, revealing that patients with the same diagnosis can have opposite brain activity patterns, which explains previous research discrepancies and promotes personalized psychiatric treatment.
A new study found that 85% of patients with aura-dominant migraine experienced a reduction in monthly aura days by at least half following treatment with the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine.
Researchers from Alzheimer Center Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience discovered that personally meaningful music elicits a stronger brain response than neutral music in individuals with dementia, with variations in response based on dementia type.
Finally, this week, chronic stress and perceived social support may play a role in how memory and thinking abilities change with age, according to a new study,
A pioneering, first-of-its-kind study demonstrated that a personalised, machine-learning-guided lifestyle coaching program can nearly double the remission rates of mild-to-moderate depression. The research tracks how individual behavioural factors uniquely predict low mood states.
Scientists say they’ve uncovered striking new evidence of how alcohol addiction impacts the brain’s learning systems—and how those systems may slowly adapt during recovery—in a new study published in Clinical Neurophysiology.
New research by a collaboration of U.K.-based scientists has revealed that common indoor and outdoor air pollutants can alter both brain and respiratory function within just four hours of exposure, offering key insights into how air pollution impacts brain health and may contribute to dementia risk.
Children recover significantly faster from concussion after receiving early, multidisciplinary care designed to treat persistent symptoms, according to a new study.
Researchers have discovered the first definitive neural evidence of how the brain creates and reuses abstract symbols to think creatively. The research tracks the neural substrates of “compositional generalisation”, the foundational cognitive ability to take familiar components and recombine them into entirely fresh ideas.
A neuroimaging study has challenged the idea that chronic brain inflammation causes Long COVID, using PET and MRI scans to analyse patients with Long COVID, healthy individuals, and MS patients.
Scientists have uncovered a vital mechanism of the “heart-brain axis,” showing that a heart attack can alter brain function, leading to depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. After such an event, a toxic byproduct called methylglyoxal (MG) increases in the bloodstream and accumulates in the brain’s mood and memory centres.
Frequent changes in blood pressure could affect cognitive health and contribute to brain changes associated with dementia risk, according to new research.
A new study identified the architectural and evolutionary principles that govern how both children and artificial neural networks absorb language. The research bridges cognitive linguistics and deep learning to demonstrate the power of “iterated learning”, the process where language reshapes itself over multiple generations to become increasingly structured and structured data becomes easier to learn.
New research has uncovered how a protein strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease plays a critical role in forming long-lasting memories—opening up new directions for future dementia treatments.
A new study finds that caffeine negatively impacts sleep quality by reducing slow-wave activity, even if total sleep duration seems normal. Researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to show that this reduction leads to a more wakeful brain state, hindering the central nervous system’s ability to regenerate physically and cognitively.
In people with epilepsy, a new study has found a smartwatch application accurately detected tonic-clonic seizures, seizures with major convulsions, with a low rate of false alarms.
A recent study identified sleep behaviours as early indicators of brain ageing in healthy adults by analysing MRI data from over 23,000 individuals. It found that sleep durations outside the recommended seven-to-nine hours, frequent daytime napping, and chronic sleeplessness are associated with greater white matter lesions, a marker of cognitive decline, regardless of other factors.
Finally this week, quitting smoking is associated with a lower risk for dementia, especially for those with no or modest weight gain after cessation, according to a study published in Neurology.
Functional brain networks that are connected to the affective intensity and valence information. Left: The affective valence information is connected to the limbic and default mode networks, and the affective intensity information is connected to the ventral attention network. Right: The probability that the affective intensity and valence is connected to each of seven functional brain networks. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024).
Scientists have uncovered the inner relay of a molecular switch that protects the brain against the development of Parkinson’s disease. The research provides new potential strategies to develop drugs that may benefit patients with Parkinson’s.
Researchers have identified, for the first time, disease-specific reduction in emotional expressivity in Lewy body dementia by quantifying vocal expression of emotions using deep neural network techniques. This reduction in vocal emotional expressions was associated with cognitive impairment and specific brain region atrophy and could serve as a distinguishing factor for individuals with Lewy body dementia.
A new study finds the timing of brain waves shapes the words we hear.
New research has given a precise picture of young children’s developing brains, using a wearable brain scanner to map electrical brain activity. The work opens up new possibilities for tracking how critical developmental milestones, like walking and talking, are underpinned by changing brain function, and how neurodevelopmental conditions like autism emerge.
A new AI technique can identify seizure types, including rare forms of epilepsy.
A new study reveals that a poor quality diet may lead to brain changes associated with depression and anxiety. Researchers found that unhealthy eating habits reduce grey matter and alter neurotransmitter levels in the brain.
A new study uncovered neural mechanisms used in planning, revealing an interplay between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The study shows how the brain imagines future outcomes to guide decisions.
Losing the ability to smell properly—a common sensory deficit as people age—may help predict or even contribute to the development of heart failure, new research suggests.
A new study reveals that the main psychoactive component in cannabis or marijuana disrupts the normal connections and activity of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, a region that is crucial for decision-making and self-control.
Finally this week, people tend to underutilize their visual working memoryrather than maxing out its capabilities according to new research.
Researchers at University of Cambridge and other institutes worldwide recently carried out a study that linked gene expression in healthy brains to the imaging, transcriptomics and genetics of autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Their paper,publishedin Nature Neuroscience, unveiled three distinct spatial patterns of cortical gene expression each with specific associations to autism and schizophrenia
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that physical activity may reduce cardiovascular disease risk by lowering stress-related brain activity.
A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Yale University incorporated generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create a foundational model for brain activity. The Brain Language Model (BrainLM) was developed to model the brain in silico and to determine how brain activities are related to human behavior and brain diseases.
Using MRI, engineers have found a way to detect light deep in the brain.
Stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or divorce, put a person at greater risk of developing dementia in later life, a recent study has found. But only if the stressful event happened in childhood or midlife.
Our brains process odours differently depending on the names assigned to them, according to new research.
People with neurological disease have a greater chance of death after contracting COVID-19, according to a new study. The research also confirms a higher risk of developing new neurological disorders after COVID infection.
Children who experience chronic lack of sleep from infancy may be at increased risk of developing psychosis in early adulthood, new research shows.
A team of brain specialists at the California Institute of Technology has developed a brain–computer interface approach to decode words “spoken” entirely in the brain by recording signals from individual neurons in real time.
A new study shows that the cerebellum is involved in processing emotions, with implications for ataxia care.
A research team has revealed the link between the frequency of sleep apnea events during the rapid-eye-movement stage and the severity of verbal memory impairment in older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Verbal memory refers to the cognitive ability to retain and recall information presented through spoken words or written text and is particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s.
Results from a recent neuroplasticity study show how singing rehabilitates speech production in post-stroke aphasia.
For the first time, researchers have succeeded in explaining the propagation of traveling waves of activity in the human brain using a computer simulation. Previous studies indicate that these waves are important for various cognitive functions such as memory.
A new publication in Scientific Reports unveils a promising non-opioid pain treatment.
Repeated blows to the heads of football players can damage the small blood vessels of the brain, according to research by scientists who believe this damage may contribute to brain dysfunction in some athletes years after play has ended.
New research has shed light in the complex interplay between cell proteins, and how they impact on neurons in neurodevelopmental disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.
Artificial intelligence (AI) computer programs that process MRI results show differences in how the brains of men and women are organized at a cellular level, a new study shows. These variations were spotted in white matter, tissue primarily located in the human brain’s innermost layer, which fosters communication between regions.
Finally, this week, climate change, and its effects on weather patterns and adverse weather events is likely to negatively affect the health of people with brain conditions.
To the left of the figure, the red-yellow color denotes the regions that degenerate earlier than the rest of the brain, and are vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease. These brain areas are higher-order regions that process and combine information coming from our different senses. To the right of the figure, each dot represents the brain data from one UK Biobank participant. The overall curve shows that, in these particularly fragile regions of the brain, there is accelerated degeneration with age. Credit: G. Douaud and J. Manuello.
In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigated the genetic and modifiable influences on fragile brain regions by looking at the brain scans of 40,000 UK Biobank participants aged over 45.
Scientists have shown for the first time that a type of thinking that has been described for over a century as a developmental milestone of adolescence may grow teenagers’ brains over time.
A team of neurologists, stem cell specialists and molecular biologists affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and led by a group at Stanford University School of Medicine has found evidence that the root cause of Alzheimer’s disease may be fat buildup in brain cells. The study is published in the journal Nature.
New research highlights the critical role of unique gut bacteria in newborns, producing serotonin to educate immune cells and prevent allergic reactions early in life.
People continuously exposed to bright, artificial light at night may be at increased risk of developing conditions that affect blood flow to the brain and having a stroke, according to research published in Stroke.
Researchers reveal new findings on the complexity of age-related memory decline and neural dedifferentiation, challenging existing theories on cognitive aging.
A new study has found that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) exhibit strikingly similar cellular and molecular characteristics, despite affecting different brain regions and showing distinct clinical symptoms.
New research reveals how the human brain processes vital signals from the heart and lungs, offering new insights into the complex brain-body integration essential for health and cognition.
In a new study, AI processed text from health histories and neurologic examinations to locate lesions in the brain. The study, which looked specifically at the large language model called generative pre-trained transformer 4 (GPT-4), is published in the online issue of Neurology Clinical Practice.
Bilingualism may serve as a powerful tool against age-related cognitive decline, particularly in social cognition areas such as the theory of mind. A new study demonstrates that early bilingualism leads to beneficial structural changes in the brain, including increased gray matter volume and cortical thickness, which contribute to a stronger cognitive reserve.
In a study published in Nature Mental Health, scientists have found that individuals suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) may face a higher risk of brain aging.
A new analysis involving over 13,000 people has found changes to blood vessels in the brain that can increase the risk of stroke and dementia are common in people with a range of heart conditions, regardless of whether they have experienced a stroke.
A Canadian-led study has identified genes that may be partially responsible for the development of cerebral palsy.
Researchers have introduced a new, refined method for analyzing brain signals, enhancing our understanding of brain functionality. This research has the potential to improve treatments for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, pain, epilepsy and depression.
A study reveals that Lewy body disease, a major neurodegenerative disorder, may start developing in individuals as early as middle age, well before symptoms manifest.
Researchers have shown that the brain chemical GABA regulates activity in the retina of the eye in autistic and non-autistic individuals differently. Autistic people have larger responses to single light flashes in the retina of the eye and this new study shows that increasing GABA activity can reduce this response.
Finally this week, a study by the University of Sheffield has cast doubt on the efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques in improving visual working memory.
Graphical representation of the analysis procedure to relate word-by-word predictors of linguistic complexity to BOLD activity. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024).
How does the brain respond to sentence structure as we speak and listen? In a neuroimaging study published in PNAS, researchers investigated sentence processing during spontaneous speech for the first time.
A research team has achieved a breakthrough in stem cell research, offering tools that can be used for patients who require highly personalized care.
Researchers demonstrated promising results for PTSD treatment in military veterans by combining brain stimulation with virtual reality exposure therapy. The clinical trial showed significant reductions in PTSD symptoms among participants who received low electrical current brain stimulation during virtual reality sessions designed to simulate warzone experiences.
A new study involving participants from 15 countries, shed light on the universal preference for simple integer ratios in rhythms, revealing significant cultural variations in musical perception.
Researchers have uncovered a strikingly similar suite of changes in gene activity in brain tissue from people with schizophrenia and from older adults. These changes suggest a common biological basis for the cognitive impairment often seen in people with schizophrenia and in the elderly.
A new study reveals a strong link between daytime physical activity and improved sleep quality among both children and adults. Analyzing the daily routines of over 2500 participants, the research highlights how higher levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity correlate with fewer sleep disturbances, less daytime tiredness, and overall better sleep quality.
In an innovative study published in Science Advances, researchers have unveiled new insights into the intricate relationship between emotion and perception.
Even people whose physical activity levels fall short of recommended guidelines, but who manage to do some during their leisure time, are likely to have a lower risk of stroke than their sedentary peers, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
A recent study showcases a significant leap in the study of brain oscillations, particularly ripples, which are crucial for memory organization and are affected in disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.
People who have headaches after experiencing concussions may also be more likely to have higher levels of iron in areas of the brain, which is a sign of injury to brain cells, according to a preliminary study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 76th Annual Meeting taking place April 13–18, 2024.
The COVID-19 virus can persist in the blood and tissue of patients for more than a year after the acute phase of the illness has ended, according to new research.
Researchers identified sildenafil, known commercially as Viagra, as a promising candidate for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Leveraging artificial intelligence the team analyzed vast amounts of data, including insurance claims and brain cell observations, to highlight sildenafil’s potential benefits in reducing Alzheimer’s prevalence and neurotoxic proteins.
A new study provides some of the most detailed insights yet into the brain mechanisms that help people pay attention amid such distraction, as well as what’s happening when they can’t focus.
A new AI language model identifies clinical symptoms in medical summaries and links them to brain tissue from donors of the Netherlands Brain Bank. This yields new insights into the development of individual disease progression and contributes to a better understanding of common misdiagnoses of brain diseases. The model may, in the future, assist in making more accurate diagnoses.
Researchers have discovered a brain circuit that drives vocalization and ensures that you talk only when you breathe out, and stop talking when you breathe in.
For the first time, neuroscientists have established a link between shifts in our visual perception and the cadence of our steps while walking.
A new study examines the potential of artificial intelligence to shift chronic pain treatment from opioids to mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Utilizing machine learning to analyze extensive patient data, the study aims to predict which patients will benefit most from MBSR, a critical step toward personalized medicine.
Finally this week, new research reveals how the human brain processes vital signals from the heart and lungs, offering new insights into the complex brain-body integration essential for health and cognition.
For people with drug-resistant epilepsy, having a dog companion trained in detecting seizures and other epilepsy-related tasks may reduce the amount of seizures they have, according to new research published in Neurology.
New research shows that continued cocaine use disrupts communication between major brain networks.
Researchers are embarking on a pioneering study to uncover how genes associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) converge to affect brain neurons, particularly leading to heightened sound sensitivity. This research aims to identify common neural circuit mechanisms that may underlie the diverse genetic pathways contributing to ASD, focusing on auditory hypersensitivity, a condition that significantly impacts individuals’ lives.
Two new studies explore how closely attention and eye movements are linked and reveal how the brain coordinates the two processes.
A pioneering new study using virtual reality (VR) aims to identify early signs of Alzheimer’s disease through impaired spatial navigation in asymptomatic adults at risk. By testing 100 middle-aged adults with genetic, familial, or lifestyle risk factors for Alzheimer’s, the study discovered that spatial navigation difficulties in VR environments precede traditional cognitive decline symptoms. Notably, this impairment was more pronounced in men than women, suggesting a gender-specific vulnerability
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores.
A daily fiber supplement improved brain function in people over 60 in just 12 weeks. The study, published recently in Nature Communications showed that this simple and cheap addition to diet can improve performance in memory tests associated with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
A new study has found mutations in key brain cells among individuals with chronic opioid use that could shift how we think about treatment strategies for opioid use disorder.
According to a Mayo Clinic study published in Nature Neuroscience, the cells that act as the central nervous system’s first line of defense against harm also play a role in helping the brain awaken from anesthesia. This discovery could help pave the way for innovative methods that address post-anesthesia complications.
Scientists have trained a bank of AI models to identify patterns of brain activity that signal memory formation.
People who experience sleep apnea may be more likely to also have memory or thinking problems, according to a preliminary study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 76th Annual Meetingtaking place April 13–18, 2024.
Schizophrenia is associated with an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease events, with the association stronger in women, according to a new study.
New research delves into the genetic underpinnings of language development in early childhood and its implications for later cognitive abilities and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Interestingly, the research highlights a developmental shift in the genetic associations with ADHD symptoms, suggesting that the role of genetics in language development and its impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes is complex and changes over time. This study underscores the importance of understanding the early linguistic journey as a window into a child’s future mental health and cognitive prowess.
Researchers have investigated the shared and unique neural processes that underlie different types of long-term memory: general semantic, personal semantic, and episodic memory, suggesting that these memory types all use the same network of the brain, rather than relying on different areas of the brain altogether. This questions a previous theory that characterizes general semantic and episodic memory as two distinct systems. Instead, the authors suggest that different long-term memory types could be viewed as a spectrum, where they rely on activating the same areas of the brain at differing magnitudes.
Using a specialized device that translates images into sound, neuroscientists have shown that people who are blind recognize basic faces using the part of the brain known as the fusiform face area, a region that is crucial for the processing of faces in sighted people.
People with long COVID exhibit patterns of changes in the brain that are different from fully recovered COVID-19 patients, according to new research.
What is the mechanism that allows our brains to incorporate new information about the world, and form memories? New work led by Dr. Tomás Ryan from Trinity College Dublin shows that learning occurs through the continuous formation of new connectivity patterns between specific engram cells in different regions of the brain.
New research indicates that acoustic stimulation of the brain may ease persistent symptoms in individuals who have experienced mild traumatic brain injury in the past.
Scientists have discovered that Alzheimer’s-related changes in brain networks extend beyond memory and attention, impacting sensory and motor circuits. These findings challenge previous assumptions about Alzheimer’s effects.
A pivotal discovery in addiction science has found a correlation between microstructural deficits in the prefrontal cortex-habenula tract and the development and maintenance of addiction.
Researchers have unveiled a pioneering technique for charting the intricate conversations occurring within our brains. Such insights are key to decoding behavioral alterations in neurological disease patients. The innovative tool, CaMPARI, allows scientists to witness brain activity in real-time, marking active neurons red and inactive ones green. This breakthrough could offer pathways to better treatments and understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
A team of neuroscientists has found evidence suggesting that the neural development of babies still in the womb is impacted by the language they hear spoken by their mothers as they carry them.
A new study has discovered a link between a new gene pathway and structural brain anomalies in some people who stutter into adulthood, opening up promising research avenues to enhance the understanding of persistent developmental stuttering.
Finally this week, researchers have developed a tool that simplifies the identification of errors in neural networks used for image recognition.
