Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Researchers trace metabolic superpowers of hibernators to shared DNA

Animals that hibernate are incredibly resilient. They can spend months without food or water, muscles refusing to atrophy, body temperature dropping to near freezing as their metabolism and brain activity slow to a crawl.

1 Aug 2025

Scientists develop light-responsive transistors that mimic brain synapses

An interdisciplinary research team led by Professor Francesca Santoro and Dr. Valeria Criscuolo from the Institute of Biological Information Processing – Bioelectronics at Forschungszentrum Jülich, in cooperation with colleagues from RWTH Aachen University – Professor Daniele Leonori and Junior Professor Giovanni Maria Piccini (now University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) – has engineered a new class of organic photoelectrochemical transistors (OPECTs).

1 Aug 2025

Synthetic torpor moves closer to real-world medical use

Nature is often the best model for science. For nearly a century, scientists have been trying to recreate the ability of some mammals and birds to survive extreme environmental conditions for brief or extended periods by going into torpor, when their body temperature and metabolic rate drop, allowing them to preserve energy and heat.

1 Aug 2025

Copper may protect brain health after stroke

Research shows dietary copper intake boosts cognitive function in older adults, particularly those with a stroke history, highlighting its neuroprotective role.

1 Aug 2025

MRI brain scans help identify effective use of self-guided anxiety app

By understanding differences in how people's brains are wired, clinicians may be able to predict who would benefit from a self-guided anxiety care app, according to a new analysis from a clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

31 Jul 2025

Study sheds light on molecular mechanisms of brain aging

Aging and neurodegeneration are both known to disrupt the production of functional proteins in cells – a process called "proteostasis," or protein homeostasis.

31 Jul 2025

Chemotherapy treatment linked to lasting cognitive changes in rats

Researchers at The City College of New York have linked chemotherapy treatment to lasting cognitive changes in rats – potentially shading light, for the first time, on cognitive problems some cancer survivors experience long after treatment ends.

31 Jul 2025

New research reveals why fiber-rich diets fuel you better than refined foods

This study quantifies how much energy the human body harvests from gut microbial fermentation of dietary fiber, integrating bacterial physiology, diet, and metagenomic data. Results reveal that dietary fiber, not microbiome composition, mainly determines the amount of short-chain fatty acids absorbed, impacting daily energy and metabolic health.

31 Jul 2025

Selective impairment of translation contributes to brain aging in killifish

Aging selectively impairs the production of crucial DNA- and RNA-binding proteins, which contributes to hallmarks of aging in the brains of killifish, according to a new study.

31 Jul 2025

Understanding how the brain distinguishes between stuff and things

Imagine a ball bouncing down a flight of stairs. Now think about a cascade of water flowing down those same stairs.

31 Jul 2025

New treatment shows promise in protecting brain following stroke reperfusion

Cambridge scientists have developed and tested a new drug in mice that has the potential to reduce damage to the brain when blood flow is restored following a stroke.

31 Jul 2025

Flooding linked to increased hospitalizations among older adults

New research examining 17 years of data from Medicare hospitalization claims and major flooding events finds increased rates of skin diseases, nervous system diseases, and injuries or poisonings among adults aged 65 and older following major floods.

31 Jul 2025

$5.5 million federal grant funds research to improve measurement of FXTAS treatments

UC Davis Health Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences David Hessl will help lead a major research project to develop better ways to measure treatments for fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS).

31 Jul 2025

Novel eye-tracking metrics can help properly identify concussion-related vision disorders

In a new study led by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), researchers found that novel eye-tracking metrics can help properly identify concussion-related vision disorders, a common phenomenon among patients with persisting post-concussive symptoms that last more than 28 days after their initial injury.

31 Jul 2025

Metformin lowers blood sugar by acting on brain pathways

Although metformin has been the go-to medication to manage type 2 diabetes for more than 60 years, researchers still do not have a complete picture of how it works.

31 Jul 2025

Perceived sickness activates real immune responses

Findings indicate the brain's anticipatory response to virtual infections activates immune mechanisms, showcasing the link between neuroscience and immunity.

31 Jul 2025

Infant brain activity shows faster maturation after general anesthesia

New research published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) finds that prolonged and/or repeated exposure to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) anesthetic agents (sevoflurane, propofol) for infants in the first two months of life resulted in an accelerated maturation of brain electrical activity patterns evoked by visual stimuli when recorded at 2-5 months of age, compared to infants who did not have early general anesthesia exposure.

30 Jul 2025

Thalamic feedback pathway found to tune sensory perception

The cerebral cortex processes sensory information via a complex network of neural connections. How are these signals modulated to refine perception? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified a mechanism by which certain thalamic projections target neurons and modify their excitability.

30 Jul 2025

Myth of tongue swallowing delays life-saving CPR in collapsed athletes

Despite widespread public health efforts, the dangerous myth of "prevention of tongue swallowing" continues to persist during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

30 Jul 2025