Weekly Neuroscience Update

Cinematic neuroscience laboratory with illuminated brain scan

A new study by neuroscientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory shows how the brain encodes information throughout the decision-making process to keep options clearly in mind and ensure that chosen and unchosen options are remembered.

A clinical trial has shows that high-frequency spinal cord stimulation can reduce pain and improve sensory function in people with treatment-resistant diabetic neuropathy.

Education, intellectually stimulating work and an active lifestyle help preserve cognitive abilities in adults over 65 and lead to more effective verbal expression and stronger cognitive performance. But there is another important factor: emotions. The way we recognize and interpret them can significantly influence the efficiency of cognitive processes as we age.

A new UCLA study has found a connection between how quickly the brain ages and the bacteria and chemical byproducts found in the gut, offering a clue to what drives brain aging long before symptoms appear.

Scientists have identified over 830,000 brain immune cells, including a protective subtype of microglia that increases during Alzheimer’s disease. These cells, influenced by the TREM2 pathway, assist in removing harmful substances from the brain, offering a new approach for therapies that aim to enhance the brain’s innate immune defences instead of just targeting amyloid plaques.

A recent study suggests that slow electrical rhythms traveling along individual nerve fibres may do more than reflect brain activity: They may help coordinate communication between key memory centres in the hippocampus.

New research from Carnegie Mellon University reveals that dendritic spines—the tiny structures that help brain cells communicate and form memories—don’t fit neatly into a few categories. Instead, they display a continuous range of shapes, offering new insight into learning, development and neurological disease.

People living with a severe form of asthma show subtle differences in the structure of their brains compared with people whose asthma is well controlled, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress.

Researchers have discovered that sitting on Japanese Igusa mats, made from rush grass, enhance concentration and engagement in the brain while reducing tension and anxiety in users. With centuries of use in Japan, the research aims to validate its health benefits and highlight the value of this traditional material.

New research indicates that people with invasive cancer face an elevated risk of experiencing a stroke, especially in the first few months after diagnosis and if they have certain types of cancer. The findings are published in Cancer.

A recent study compared eye-tracking data from 368 adult readers with predictions from over 400 neural network models, revealing that large language models (LLMs) struggle to predict human cognitive challenges in contextualizing words, despite being accurate in word recognition speed.

Researchers have found a method to predict the onset of symptoms in individuals at high risk for Alzheimer’s, aiding physicians in determining the appropriate timing for preventive treatments.

A study of more than half a million adults has found that higher levels of exhaled carbon monoxide were associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. The findings, published in JAMA Neurology, uncover a possible new explanation for the consistently lower rates of Parkinson’s among smokers that have long puzzled scientists.

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Researchers examined changes in brain activity during cognitive tasks before and after acute aerobic exercise in healthy young and older adults. The study is published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

A new study indicates that the brain’s response to breathing is not uniform; instead, the unique characteristics of each breath correlate with neural activity related to cognition, emotion, and memory. This suggests that the brain monitors subtle variations in breathing, with changes in inhale and exhale timing and intensity reflected in distinct neural patterns, highlighting a more nuanced link between breathing and brain function than previously understood.

Early initiation of statins after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a study presented at ESC Congress 2026 and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

Immune cells that normally protect the body from damage by attacking foreign or infected cells are found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders at much higher levels than in healthy brains. The cells appear to contribute to neurodegeneration, but where they come from and how they are primed to accumulate in the brain was not known.

A new study has used a type of machine learning called a neural network to reveal how different kinds of training can change how learning happens—both in machines and in living brains.

The influence of the hormone progesterone on mood is well known. Now, researchers have shown how higher levels of progesterone during the menstrual cycle are linked to less distinct patterns of activity in areas of the brain involved in controlling emotions.

Regular aerobic exercise—the kind that gets your heart pumping—can improve important thinking skills called executive functions, and the benefits appear especially strong for women after menopause, according to Rutgers researchers.

Musicians don’t just learn movement sequences faster; they predict what’s coming next sooner, according to new research that also found newly formed motor memories can be disrupted by seeing different visual sequences shortly after learning. The work is published in the journal Psychological Research.

A study by the University of Eastern Finland found that quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is strongly associated with walking performance and functional capacity.

The neuroactive potential of bacteria living in the human gut is associated with levels of key chemicals in the brain, according to a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry. The research team found that microbial pathways involved in producing and breaking down neuroactive compounds were associated with levels of GABA and glutamate in specific regions of the human brain.

A study conducted at the University of Helsinki indicates that the total number of people with dementia will grow significantly in the coming years, and the number of those living at home may even more than double after 2018.

A new study reveals that migraine may leave a biological pattern throughout the body, traces of which can be identified by artificial intelligence. Researchers used AI to analyze information gathered from more than 43,000 participants during a countywide health survey.

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Credit: *European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging* (2026).

Researchers studied how autism manifests in the brain by examining the dopamine system, energy use, and communication between brain regions in 60 adults, using three advanced brain-scanning techniques. They found a higher number of dopamine D2 receptors in autistic individuals compared to neurotypical individuals, indicating a significant role of the dopamine system in autism.

Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, may help improve speech and swallowing problems caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

As people age, cognitive functions generally decline, but language skills often remain intact or even improve unless affected by conditions like stroke or dementia. A recent study has found that older adults exhibit similar neural activity in the language-processing network as younger adults during language tasks, although activation patterns in the executive control tasks network differ significantly between the two age groups.

Research from the University of East Anglia shows how our memories change with age and why specific details associated with past events can fade over time.

Scientists have identified a previously unknown aspect of schizophrenia that offers a new way to understand how the disorder affects large-scale brain coordination. In a new study, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, researchers introduced a method for measuring how brain networks maintain balanced activity and recover when that balance is disrupted.

Findings from a new study suggest that the trickle of neurons created in the adult hippocampus could be instrumental in preventing depression. Most of the brain’s 100 billion neurons are created before birth.

A short workout or a nap can help protect memory after a sleepless night, a recent study has found. Researchers found people who either completed 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise or took a 90-minute nap performed about 22% better on memory tests after 30 hours without sleep than those who did neither.

A study published in Neuron 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.

A new study suggests that gut bacteria may send different biological signals in Parkinson’s disease. The findings add to growing evidence that changes in the gut could be linked to Parkinson’s disease and may eventually help researchers identify new underlying mechanisms for the condition.

Scientists have found that a pattern of brain atrophy visible on MRI could help predict how quickly people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

Some people with epilepsy experience delusions, hallucinations, paranoia and confusion after a seizure. While these episodes usually last only days, a new study led by researchers suggests they may place patients at significantly higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders later.

The brain may “tag” experiences during learning to better consolidate memories of them during sleep, according to a study published in the journal PLOS Biology by Dan Denis from the University of York, United Kingdom, and colleagues.

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Microwire locations, task, ripple characteristics and increased co-firing during co-ripples at all recording separations. Credit: *Nature Neuroscience* (2026).

Researchers have discovered that high-frequency brain waves, known as ripples, may facilitate synchronization between distant brain regions during working memory tasks, highlighting their potential role in coordinating neural activity across long distances during cognitive processes.

Having normal blood pressure, no diabetes, and not smoking from age 48 to 68, are associated with nearly 13 additional years on average of dementia-free life, a new study shows.

Childhood epilepsy is linked to significantly poorer exam grades and long-term educational attainment, with the lowest levels of academic achievement among those whose neurological disorder started when they were very young, finds a large, long-term Danish study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

In a paper appearing in Nature Communications, researchers show how music produces distinct patterns in the regions of the brain associated with imagination and meaning, similar to those prompted by spoken narratives.

A new study suggests that Alzheimer’s disease may be detected by brain imaging more than seven years earlier than previously assumed. The study suggests that the gold standard for imaging in Alzheimer’s disease (amyloid-PET) has not been sensitive enough to detect early brain processes associated with the disease, such as the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain. The researchers found signs of Alzheimer’s at least seven years before plaques became visible.

A person’s sleep patterns could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says. A greater number of micro-awakenings during sleep is linked to a greater genetic risk for Alzheimer’s, researchers report in the journal Sleep.

People living with severe mental illness face a substantially higher risk of dementia throughout adulthood, as well as a significantly elevated risk of stroke in early and middle adulthood, according to a large new study based on health records from Catalonia, Spain. The findings, published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, suggest that physical health risks linked to severe psychiatric conditions emerge much earlier than many clinicians may expect, underscoring the need for general health care to be more integrated into mental health care.

A new study published in Brain Stimulation shows that the brain’s ongoing activity before stimulation can predict much of this variability, offering a path toward more reliable neuromodulation therapies.

A new AI model analyzes routine sleep study data to reveal patients’ long-term health risks, such as heart disease and cognitive decline. The study indicates that standard medical tests hold more physiologic information than typically recognized, with AI uncovering significant patterns in sleep data that traditional measures miss.

Published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, a new study found six one-minute bouts of stair climbing improved people’s cognitive health.

Researchers have identified a possible biological marker linked to severe suicidal thoughts. The finding, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, may also help explain why some people recover from these thoughts, opening a new path for research into resilience and suicide prevention.

A research team has demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) significantly improves depression and apathy in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

A recent study suggests that a single 20-minute session of noninvasive deep brain stimulation, paired with mindful breathing, may strengthen the brain’s response to reward and reduce anxiety. Changes in reward-related brain activity remained detectable for approximately one week after the session.

Researchers have created an AI-based method to produce detailed maps revealing how different brain areas age and their correlation with cognitive function over a lifetime.

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Scientist fitting EEG cap on seated woman while others work on brain imaging and data analysis

Results from a small clinical trial suggest it may be possible to reduce the risk of dementia by eating during fewer hours of the day. The pilot study, which involved a weight-loss program for older women with overweight or obesity, showed modest cognitive improvements among those who limited their daily eating window instead of just reducing their calorie intake.

Scientists have introduced the world’s first chip capable of matching the operational speed of the human brain.

Researchers have developed a methodology that uses artificial intelligence to analyse the brain’s electrical activity during sleep, facilitating early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. The study, published in the journal GeroScience, shows that analysing nocturnal brain waves through machine learning techniques allows for the identification of early neuronal alterations and the classification of patients into three distinct biological subgroups.

A new study demonstrates that whether an individual’s eyes are open or closed completely reverses the relationship between alpha band brain activity and mind wandering.

A study on human intracranial recordings shows that memory consolidation during sleep relies on coordinated activity among the orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. It provides direct evidence of how interactions between these regions affect memory performance, highlighting that synchronised neural signalling during sleep enhances memory retention.

New blood tests for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease offer a less invasive diagnostic alternative to brain scans and spinal taps, allowing for earlier identification and potentially more effective treatment options.

A recent study found that the human brain experiences significant changes in gene regulation and genome structure starting in midlife, particularly in the hippocampus. Researchers identified a notable shift in the brain’s immune system between ages 50 and 75, where embryonic-derived microglia decrease and are replaced by cells from peripheral blood with increased inflammation. These changes, along with a reduction in cells that maintain the blood-brain barrier, could explain why ageing is a key risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Scientists have shed new light on Alzheimer’s disease that could point to new directions for treatment.

Widespread evidence suggests that years of heading, tackling, and collisions in football and rugby may increase the risk of dementia and neurological diseases. A preliminary study presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in July 2026 examined 142 former professional footballers aged 30–60 alongside 56 individuals without a history of contact sports. While both groups performed similarly in cognitive tests, the retired footballers reported worse mood, higher anxiety levels, and poorer cognitive function.

A landmark study by scientists at King’s College London has identified new genetic risk factors for fibromyalgia syndrome, emphasising the nervous system’s role in the disorder’s development.

A pan-European study highlights key behavioural factors impacting health care professionals’ decisions to prescribe new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The findings emphasise the potential of behaviour change frameworks to enhance the adoption of these transformative therapies, addressing the rising global health care challenge posed by diseases like Parkinson’s. Understanding these prescribing influences is crucial for ensuring patient access to the best treatment options.

Analyzing UK sugar rationing data shows that limiting sugar exposure in utero and during the first two years of life reduces dementia risk by up to 23% and delays disease onset by 2.6 years

Researchers have developed an AI-powered speech neuroprosthesis that decodes high-density intracortical signals into fluent, high-fidelity synthetic speech. The dual-stage deep learning pipeline leverages a phonetic decoding layer paired with a large language model linguistic processor to achieve greater than 99% word accuracy with a processing latency of just 30 milliseconds.

A recent study showed that a three-week digital training program alongside standard drug treatment for Parkinson’s significantly improved patients’ motor function and brain motor circuits.

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Researchers have conducted a psychophysical study using virtual reality (VR) to investigate how humans flexibly use exploratory behaviours—such as changing their viewpoint by moving their head and manipulating objects with their hands—when discriminating the material properties of objects. The study was published in the Journal of Vision.

A new study establishes a robust link between long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

An international team of scientists and clinicians have developed a generative artificial intelligence framework that unmasks these previously hidden cortical lesions by analysing existing legacy MRI scans. By synthesising minor, sub-visual discrepancies across multiple image contrasts, the AI acts as a computational lens, extracting vital diagnostic data from ordinary scans and revealing an entirely invisible layer of MS pathology.

New research in General Psychiatry has uncovered a link between higher levels of daytime light exposure and a lower risk of dementia.

A recent study discovered that randomly played sounds during sleep can actively impair memory consolidation. By utilising real-time electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring, the researchers proved that ambient sound clicks disrupt deep slow-wave sleep, arresting the physical propagation of slow brain waves across the cortex and fracturing the crucial transfer of information required to form long-term memories.

A research team has uncovered new insight into how the brain senses movement. Their findings could potentially help improve sensation and movement for prosthetic limbs.

A new study has demonstrated that introducing inflammatory signalling molecules directly into human hippocampal stem cells halts new neuron production. Instead of simply dying or becoming damaged, the brain’s neural stem cells abandon their regenerative responsibilities, entering an “immune alert” state that fuels localised neuroinflammation.

People who speak more than one language seem to have younger brains, according to research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026.

A new research framework that combines large language models (LLMs) with choice mathematics to evaluate human decision-making. By deploying LLMs to automatically interpret and code thousands of free-text participant thought justifications, the framework provides a scalable, validated methodology demonstrating that human reasoning strategies shift dynamically with a problem’s structure.

Scientists have found that human cortical neurons function like advanced microchips, demonstrating computational abilities comparable to those of deep artificial neural networks, rather than merely acting as simple switches.

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Regions-of-interest representing delay discounting neural processes. Nucleus accumbens activation represents reward valuation (orange). Hippocampal activation is involved in imagining the future or prospection (yellow). The middle frontal gyrus is involved in cognitive control (red). Regions were defined from the Desikan-Killiany atlas. Credit: *Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research* (2026). DOI: 10.1111/acer.70300

Brain activity in young adults regarding reward valuation is connected to long-term drinking habits, as shown in a study of college students with family histories of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The research suggests the potential for precision medicine to create tailored interventions for those at risk of addiction, highlighting that a family history of AUD triples or quadruples the likelihood of alcohol-related issues.

A research team has developed technology that uses artificial intelligence to analyse electroencephalogram signals triggered by thermal stimuli and objectively classify pain intensity.

A recent study analysed 73 research articles on dietary patterns and their effect on cognitive performance in youth aged 8 to 19, highlighting that nutritional deficiencies in early life can lead to lower intelligence scores in adolescence, and indicating a need for more high-quality research on potential nutritional interventions during this period.

An 8-month-old infant with severe genetic epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to receive an experimental gene replacement therapy designed to restore the function of the WWOX gene directly in the brain.

Researchers employed machine learning to detect neurological warning signs in the brain’s electrical rhythms, enabling epilepsy diagnosis without capturing active seizures. An advanced algorithm identified EEG abnormalities associated with genetic epilepsy accurately.

A recent study has found a dynamic relationship between brief physical activity and improved mood, utilising data from over 8,000 global participants with wearable sensors.

A new AI platform has been developed to decode and measure human pain, surpassing reliance on subjective self-reporting. It employs a self-correcting algorithm to analyse EEG signals in response to thermal stimuli, mapping brainwave activity to produce an objective measure of physical suffering.

Researchers found postoperative delirium was strongly associated with long-term cognitive decline, and the effect was not explained by rehospitalisations, highlighting the long-term impact of delirium on brain health.

A new study reveals that menopause is a significant neurological phase rather than just a reproductive milestone, tracking brain activity during premenopause, perimenopause, and postmenopause. It finds that “resting-state” neural networks experience substantial changes linked to estrogen fluctuations, shedding light on the biological factors affecting midlife cognitive changes and long-term brain ageing in women.

The largest genome-wide association study on anxiety has identified the polygenic basis of worry and fear responses by analysing data from 693,869 individuals, shifting the focus from binary diagnoses to the spectrum of symptom severity.

Analysing 12 years of deidentified patient electronic records using AI, researchers discovered that glucosamine use among individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is associated with a 25% higher likelihood of progressing to full dementia, alongside a 25% spike in mortality for established Alzheimer’s patients.

Finally this week, a recent study has found that the relationship between a person’s progesterone and estradiol levels at a given moment, measured in saliva, could help predict participants’ performance in a learning and memory task.

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*HoliAtlas Project Brain Images. Credit: Instituto de Aplicaciones de las Tecnologías de la Información y de las Comunicaciones Avanzadas (ITACA), Universitat Politècnica de València*

An international team has developed one of the most comprehensive and detailed structural atlases of the human brain to date. Known as HoliAtlas, it will be particularly useful for the study and early diagnosis of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.

A large-scale study found that severe, hospital-treated infections are linked to an increased risk of dementia.

Scientists have uncovered a strategy that the brain uses for chemical signalling. In a new study, researchers found that in the striatum, a brain region central to learning and movement, one signalling system can seize control of another, promoting the coordinated release of both.

A meta-analysis has confirmed that exposure to nature—real, virtual, or imagined—reduces negative emotions and boosts brain health.

A massive study of over 2.2 million individuals has fundamentally redefined how we understand the genetics of addiction. The research reveals that most genetic risk for substance use disorders (SUD) isn’t about how the body reacts to a specific drug, but how the brain is “wired” for behavioural disinhibition.

A meta-analysis found no link between hormonal contraception and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), a serious condition marked by increased pressure around the brain, potentially causing chronic headaches and vision loss.

A machine-learning analysis of brain waves recorded during sleep may help identify people at high risk of developing dementia, according to a recent study. The study found that when a person’s “brain age,” estimated from sleep signals using EEG, exceeded their actual age, the risk of dementia increased.

A major study has found that treating ADHD with stimulant medication during childhood may actually lower the long-term risk of developing serious psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia.

New research shows that the long-term neurological impact of childhood trauma is not permanently etched onto the brain. An analysis of brain communication patterns in individuals with childhood adversity indicates that lifetime physical activity can reshape neural connectivity, strengthening internal communication and optimizing stress response. The findings from the study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging highlight physical activity as a modifiable lifestyle factor linked to neurobiological adaptation.

An international team has completed a massive “blueprint” of the human neocortex, the brain’s outer layer responsible for high-level thinking, decision-making, and sensory processing.

A clinical decision support tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze scans after a stroke alongside treatment recommendations is associated with better quality care and long-term outcomes for patients compared with usual care, finds a recent study published in The BMJ.

Can a stroke make part of your brain younger? New research using deep learning reveals that undamaged brain regions reorganise and show “youthful” structural patterns to compensate for severe stroke damage.

New research identifies a leaky blood-brain barrier as the primary link between repetitive head injuries and long-term cognitive decline in retired athletes. MRI scans compared with post-mortem tissue from athletes with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy reveal that this barrier remains compromised even years after retirement.

Scientists have identified a new genetic disease characterised by premature ageing and deficits in brain function.

Consciousness and its impairment from brain injuries are not well understood, making disorders of consciousness (DOC), like coma and vegetative states, challenging to treat. A new study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that AI may help researchers tackle this issue. The research team developed an adversarial AI framework to better understand states of reduced consciousness and explore potential solutions.

Finally this week, new research shows that periodontal tissue status, peripheral immune response, and cognitive functions are closely interconnected.

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Researchers have identified a major genetic risk factor for a rare form of frontotemporal dementia. The discovery, published in Nature Genetics, provides a biological entry point for a disease subtype that has been difficult to study. It could not only help to improve diagnosis and patient stratification, but also opens up new avenues toward targeted treatments.

A new study suggests that merely engaging in physical activity isn’t sufficient; the structure of workouts, including session spacing and organization, may be more crucial for healthy brain aging than the total activity amount.

MIT neuroscientists have discovered how the brain focuses on a single voice amid many, addressing the “cocktail party problem.” This focus is crucial in crowded settings like cocktail parties, where multiple conversations occur. The brain can follow the voice of the person you’re talking to despite background noise. Using a computational model of the auditory system, the MIT team found that enhancing neural processing units that respond to specific voice features, like pitch, helps bring that voice to the forefront of attention.

Higher maternal physical activity is associated with early child neurodevelopment, according to a recent study.

The stress hormone cortisol disrupts the brain’s navigational system by impairing the function of grid cells essential for spatial orientation. Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, verified this in an imaging study with 40 individuals who completed a virtual navigation experiment in an MRI scanner. Subjects who received cortisol prior to the experiment performed worse, with indistinct grid cell activity patterns.

The recreational drugs cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines significantly increase the risk of stroke—including among younger users—Cambridge researchers have concluded after analysing data from more than 100 million people.

Scientists have identified a coordinated “gene expression program” that drives neurotransmission in the living human brain by integrating real-time intracranial recordings from neurosurgical patients with molecular profiling. This study reveals specific genes associated with active signalling, offering new insights into human cognition and psychiatric disorders.

A single session of physical exercise can spawn a boost of neural activity in brain networks that underlie learning and memory, according to a new study.

A team of Spanish researchers investigated whether individuals with high psychopathic traits exhibit brain structure anomalies that prevent feelings of regret and contribute to manipulation and antisocial behaviour by interviewing men convicted of intimate partner violence and a control group, followed by brain scans. The results showed that men with thinner cortex in certain brain regions—particularly fronto-temporo-parietal areas—tended to display higher antisocial tendencies, regardless of their history of violence.

Scientists have identified seven specific types of hyperarousal, creating a new roadmap for treating the underlying tension of mental disorders.

Researchers conducted a study on the link between responses to SSRIs and SNRIs and brain connections. Their findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that a specific link between the frontal lobe, a region in the brain’s outer layer involved in decision-making, and the amygdala, which is central to the processing of emotions, differs in patients that respond better to SSRIs and those who find SNRIs more beneficial.

New research reveals that our brain’s internal map of the world is updated by a 94% accurate prediction of our own eye movements.

Alzheimer’s research has faced criticism for its lack of diversity, with a primary focus on participants of European ancestry. A groundbreaking study has revealed significant variations in Alzheimer’s pathology, specifically tau protein tangles and amyloid plaques, among different racial and ethnic groups. This suggests the disease’s biological timeline varies across populations, indicating a need to adjust current diagnostic tools and future treatments for broader effectiveness.

A new study offers a single explanation for two major symptoms of schizophrenia.

New research has found no evidence that the transitional symptoms of menopause such as brain fog and memory problems have a lasting impact on cognitive performance. The research, published in npj Women’s Health, found that while brain fog is a real symptom commonly experienced by peri- and postmenopausal women, there is no evidence that it has an ongoing impact on a person’s cognitive abilities.

The largest-ever Parkinson’s study shows how symptoms differ between men and women.

A recent study published in NeuroImage reveals that neuroticism is linked to altered communication between different brain networks rather than isolated brain activity. Researchers discovered that people with higher levels of this personality trait show increased connectivity between brain regions responsible for processing emotions, regulating memory, and detecting threats. These findings suggest that emotional instability arises from how the brain’s emotional hubs synchronize with other areas.

New research indicates that storytelling may be linked to the evolution of human memory and could enhance everyday retention.

Having type 1 diabetes is linked to a higher risk of dementia, according to a recent study published in Neurology. Type 2 diabetes also carries a higher risk compared to those without diabetes. However, this study shows an association and does not prove that diabetes causes dementia. Type 1 diabetes is rare, representing about 5% of diabetes cases.

Finally, new research shows that harmonically consonant musical chord progressions during face-to-face interactions enhance brain circuits linked to social connection and emotional processing.

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*Segmented and labelled images of a normal brain. Credit: Worcester Polytechnic Institute*

Researchers utilised AI to examine anatomical brain changes, achieving a 93% accuracy in predicting Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings indicate that these changes, including brain volume loss, vary by age and sex.

Lithium—a decades-old treatment for bipolar disorder—may hold potential neuroprotective benefits beyond mood stabilisation. An exploratory clinical trial suggests that low-dose oral lithium may help slow the decline of verbal memory, or ability to remember and recall words and sentences, in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, particularly among those with evidence of amyloid beta—one of the hallmark biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists have discovered new diagnostic markers for multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects 3 million people worldwide.

A study published in Nature Communications, has identified specific DNA-level changes in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using advanced biological analysis, the team mapped alterations in the brain’s regulatory landscape that may help explain why Alzheimer’s presents and progresses differently from person to person. The findings could also open new avenues for understanding other neurodegenerative diseases.

Researchers have demonstrated through Magnetoencephalography (MEG) that memories can be reactivated in the brain without reaching conscious awareness, indicating these memories persist even when believed forgotten.

Could the deepest parts of the brain hold some of the secrets of sleep that still remain elusive to science? An in-depth study that penetrates into the brain, finding that during the deepest sleep, breathing patterns and brain activity become more independent of one another—unlike in lighter sleep or quiet wakefulness.

New research objectively quantifies multisensory losses in patients with COVID-19. The study, published in BMC Medicine, follows long COVID patients reporting issues in smell, taste, balance, hearing, and brain fog.

Researchers may have found a reason why young adults with autism are about six times more likely to get Parkinson’s disease as they age. Some young adults with autism have issues with dopamine transporters—small molecules in the brain that recycle dopamine—on brain scans usually used to diagnose older adults with Parkinson’s disease.

Why do people with compulsive traits—seen in OCD, addiction, and eating disorders—rely on repetitive habits? A recent study reveals it’s not due to an inability to plan for the future, but rather a paralysis by uncertainty.

A meta-analysis of over 900 scientific papers has mapped the “immune signatures” that determine if our brains recover or decline post-infection. The study reveals that the immune response creates a chemical environment in the brain that can either protect or harm our memory, attention, and processing speed.

Finally, this week, a team of researchers has developed a technology capable of enabling early diagnosis of major neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia, using only a small amount of saliva.