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FDA-approved anti-seizure drug could help fight Alzheimer's disease

While physicians and scientists have long known Alzheimer's disease involves the buildup of toxic protein fragments in the brain, they have struggled to understand how these harmful fragments are produced.

12 Feb 2026

Visual experience shapes feedback wiring in the brain

Visual experience triggers the formation of a web of neural connections in different brain areas in order to make sense of the world – and in particular, of feedback connections, which send information from higher-level visual centres back to earlier ones.

11 Feb 2026

Neuron lattice structure may guard against neurodegeneration

Brain cells are constantly swallowing material from the fluid that surrounds them - signaling molecules, nutrients, even pieces of their own surfaces - in a process known as endocytosis that is essential for learning, memory and basic neural upkeep.

11 Feb 2026

Defective ASTN1 gene linked to developmental delay and neurological disorders

Nearly 30 years ago, researchers began studying the gene Astn1, which encodes the cell adhesion protein astrotactin 1 in mice, and its role in brain development.

10 Feb 2026

'Partial reprogramming' of engram neurons restores memory performance in mice

Age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are often thought of as irreversible.

10 Feb 2026

Chronic brain compression triggers neuron death through multiple pathways

To think, feel, talk and move, neurons send messages through electrical signals in the brain and spinal cord.

9 Feb 2026

Study identifies genetic fingerprint of neuropathic pain neurons

Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and their international colleagues have determined the molecular signature of human sleeping - or silent - nociceptors: sensory neurons that are unresponsive to touch or pressure yet are key culprits in neuropathic pain.

4 Feb 2026

Estrogen levels in the brain may play a role in women’s risk of stress-related memory problems

Experiencing multiple acute stresses at the same time, as in natural disasters or mass shootings, can leave lasting memory scars.

3 Feb 2026

Aging brains struggle to recycle synaptic proteins

As we age, we begin to lose the connections that wire up our brains-and neuroscientists aren't sure why.

2 Feb 2026

Regulating microglial phagocytosis through immunotherapy could slow Parkinson's disease progression

By analyzing tissue from patients with Parkinson's disease, and animal and cellular models of the disease, a research team from the Institut de Neurociències of the UAB has shown that the main immune cells of the brain become reactive and overexpress certain receptors that promote the elimination of dopaminergic neurons, even when these neurons are still functional.

2 Feb 2026

New fluorescent markers reveal dynamic cell-to-cell communication

Living organisms are made up of hundreds of thousands of cells that cooperate to create the organs and systems that breathe, eat, move, and think.

30 Jan 2026

Hippocampus reorganizes memories to anticipate future outcomes, study finds

A preclinical study published in Nature has found evidence that the hippocampus, the brain region that stores memory, also reorganizes memories to anticipate future outcomes.

30 Jan 2026

Lab-grown corticospinal neurons offer new models for ALS and spinal injuries

Researchers have developed a way to grow a highly specialized subset of brain nerve cells that are involved in motor neuron disease and damaged in spinal injuries.

29 Jan 2026

New evidence shows Parkinson’s spreads via immune cells from the gut

New research reveals how Parkinson's spreads from the gut to the brain, with the help of immune cells – offering a new potential therapeutic strategy – in a study in mice led by scientists at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (University College London).

29 Jan 2026

Overactive protein cleanup disrupts nuclear pores in neurodegenerative disease

When it comes to neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and certain forms of dementia, researchers have known that protein quality control and damage to the nuclear pore are key players.

27 Jan 2026

Game-changing discovery reveals how viruses may trigger ALS development

A large, multidisciplinary team led by researchers from Texas A&M University has made a potentially game-changing discovery about the development of devastating motor neuron diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

27 Jan 2026

Tiny plastic particles may interfere with brain processes implicated in Parkinson’s disease

Micro- and nanoplastics are increasingly detected in human tissues, including the brain, and experimental evidence suggests they can interact with biological pathways central to Parkinson’s disease pathology. This review synthesises mechanistic data indicating that plastic particles may influence protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the gut–brain axis, while emphasising the need for prospective human studies.

26 Jan 2026

Ageing slows brain protein clearance and shifts synaptic waste to microglia

Ageing slows neuronal protein degradation in mice, leading to widespread accumulation and aggregation of long-lived proteins, particularly at synapses. As neuronal clearance declines, microglia selectively accumulate synaptic proteins, suggesting a compensatory but potentially strained proteostasis pathway in the ageing brain.

22 Jan 2026

Long-term air pollution exposure raises motor neuron disease risk

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with a higher risk of developing motor neuron disease and poorer prognosis after diagnosis in a large nationwide Swedish study. Higher particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide exposure were also linked to faster functional decline and increased likelihood of invasive ventilation.

21 Jan 2026

Prolonged exposure to air pollution linked to elevated risk for ALS

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can be linked to an elevated risk for serious neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and seems to speed up the pathological process, report researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

20 Jan 2026