Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Light-field microscopy enables snapshot volumetric imaging of fast neural activit

Neural activity is three-dimensional and fast. Signals propagate through brain circuits on millisecond-to-microsecond timescales, while animals move, sense, and act.

6 Aug 2026

Live tracking reveals how robotic surgery impacts surgeon stress

Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is one of the most advanced tools in modern medicine. These systems give surgeons extreme precision, allowing procedures to be performed through small incisions that minimize both pain and recovery time.

6 Aug 2026

Study identifies a novel direct drug target for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment for head and neck cancers, the seventh-most common cancer type worldwide.

6 Aug 2026

Risk-adapted frameworks reshape pediatric neuroblastoma care

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor outside the brain in children younger than five years old and accounts for about 15% of pediatric cancer deaths.

6 Aug 2026

High-resolution scans reveal how depression affects hippocampal subfields

Researchers from the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found that depression is associated with smaller volume in a specific part of the hippocampus, a brain region essential for learning and memory.

6 Aug 2026

Barrow launches clinical study of ibogaine for neurological recovery

Barrow Neurological Institute has received a $5-million grant from the Arizona Department of Health Services to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical trial investigating ibogaine for treating people with neurological disorders such as traumatic brain injury (TBI).

6 Aug 2026

Researchers map how blood cells cross into the brain during aging

The brain's immune system has long been thought to exist independently from the rest of the body, complete with its own specialized immune cells and a blood-brain barrier that limits what can travel into the brain.

6 Aug 2026

Healthy midlife habits linked to longer dementia-free years

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.

6 Aug 2026

Scientists combine imaging and phototherapy in a single tool against glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

6 Aug 2026

Study reveals treatment gaps for atypical Alzheimer's disease patients

Many people with less common forms of Alzheimer's disease may not qualify for newer anti-amyloid treatments designed to slow the disease, according to a study published August 5, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Aug 2026

NIH funds Boston University center for Alzheimer's prevention studies

Maria Glymour, Andrew Stokes, and Deborah Carr will lead the Boston University-Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program (BU-SHARP) to foster national research collaboration on preventing and ameliorating the consequences of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in disproportionately affected populations.

5 Aug 2026

Neural stem cells split early into distinct neuron lineages

The cerebral cortex is densely packed with different nerve cells that enable us to perceive, think and act. Yet how these cell types arise while the brain develops is still not fully understood.

5 Aug 2026

AI tool aims to accelerate Alzheimer's treatment through faster referrals

Vanderbilt Health researchers have received a grant from Eli Lilly and Company, a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, to build an artificial intelligence (AI) tool within the electronic health record system (EHR) to get patients with Alzheimer's disease to treatment faster.

5 Aug 2026

Engineered spinal interneurons show promise for repairing spinal cord injuries

Spinal cord injuries affect an estimated 15 to 20 million people worldwide, often causing lasting impairments in movement, sensation, and independence.

5 Aug 2026

Patient-derived tumor models strengthen precision oncology research

A research project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with collaborators around the country and the world, has generated one of the most extensive and diverse collections of patient-derived tumor models.

5 Aug 2026

Expanded DepMap reveals new cancer vulnerabilities through 3D tumor models

For nearly a decade, the Cancer Dependency Map, or DepMap, at the Broad Institute has helped scientists uncover new cancer dependencies - the genetic changes some cancers need to thrive that can potentially be targeted by new cancer drugs.

5 Aug 2026

New insights highlight Megalin's expanding role in disease management

A comprehensive new analysis is shining a spotlight on Megalin, a powerful and highly versatile receptor that plays a central role in maintaining cellular balance, organ function, and overall human health.

5 Aug 2026

Inherited Neandertal gene variant increases muscle mass in modern humans

Neandertals were generally more strongly built than most people living today. Their bones show signs of large muscles, and they had characteristic features such as prominent brow ridges and relatively short tooth roots.

5 Aug 2026

Biofortified millet improves toddler gut health without adverse effects

Toddlers who ate iron- and zinc-biofortified pearl millet for nine months did not experience adverse effects typically associated with increased iron intake and developed gut microbiomes with distinct and potentially beneficial changes, according to a new study led by researchers at Cornell University's Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health.

5 Aug 2026

Neuroscience-informed therapy provides massive cost-savings for opioid addiction treatment

A new economic evaluation from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has revealed that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) - an innovative, evidence-based, neuroscience-informed therapy for opioid misuse and chronic pain - provides $12 in cost savings for every dollar spent, between two and six times more cost effective than other addiction treatments such as residential or intensive outpatient treatment.

5 Aug 2026