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.

Babies as young as 12 months old can encode memories, study shows

Challenging assumptions about infant memory, a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study shows that babies as young as 12 months old can encode memories, researchers report.

20 Mar 2025

New MRI technology enables life-changing surgery for epilepsy patients

A new technique has enabled ultra-powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to identify tiny differences in patients' brains that cause treatment-resistant epilepsy.

20 Mar 2025

Study reveals the structural underpinnings of memory formation in the mouse brain

In a study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers revealed the structural underpinnings of memory formation across a broad network of neurons in the mouse brain.

20 Mar 2025

Deep sleep may protect against neurodegeneration

Sleep disturbances may accelerate neurodegeneration, but whether they cause or result from disease remains unclear. Improving sleep quality could help protect against cognitive decline and brain aging.

20 Mar 2025

Deep brain stimulation shows promise for reducing self-injurious behavior in children with autism

Severe self-injurious behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses a significant risk of permanent physical injury.

20 Mar 2025

New targeted therapy shows early success in treating pediatric high-grade gliomas

An international team of clinical collaborators, led by physician scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, performed a first-ever clinical test of the targeted therapy avapritinib in pediatric and young patients with a form of high-grade glioma.

20 Mar 2025

Daytime sleepiness may double dementia risk in elderly women

For women in their 80s, experiencing increasing sleepiness during the day over a five-year period is associated with double the risk of developing dementia during that time, according to a study published on March 19, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Mar 2025

Strawberries enhance brain speed and heart health, but cognitive benefits remain unclear

Strawberries may modestly enhance processing speed and lower systolic blood pressure in older adults, but they do not significantly improve overall cognitive function or vascular health.

19 Mar 2025

Experimental drug shows promise in reducing risk of Alzheimer's-related dementia

An experimental drug appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's-related dementia in people destined to develop the disease in their 30s, 40s or 50s, according to the results of a study led by the Knight Family Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), which is based at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

19 Mar 2025

Study identifies brain areas crucial for word memory in epilepsy

The parts of the brain that are needed to remember words, and how these are affected by a common form of epilepsy, have been identified by a team of neurologists and neurosurgeons at UCL.

19 Mar 2025

Pitt researchers develop a new way to profile pediatric brain tumors

Researchers and pediatric neurosurgeons at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh developed a new way to profile brain cancers in children, paving the way for improved diagnostics and treatments.

19 Mar 2025

Study sheds light on brain activity during learning in mice

By revealing for the first time what happens in the brain when an animal makes a mistake, Johns Hopkins University researchers are shedding light on the holy grail of neuroscience: the mechanics of how we learn.

19 Mar 2025

Brain dynamics during male sexual behavior revealed

To uncover what drives sexual behavior in animals, researchers studied the brain activity of male mice throughout the series of actions involved in sex leading up to ejaculation.

19 Mar 2025

Parakeet brain reveals secrets of human-like speech patterns

A new study explains how a parakeet's brain helps it to mimic human words.

19 Mar 2025

Most in-depth simulation of brain metabolism yet reveals new targets for future dementia treatments

The findings come from the most comprehensive computer model of brain metabolism to date, which incorporates more than 16,800 biochemical interactions between proteins and chemicals across brain cells, supporting cells, and the blood.

19 Mar 2025

Cambridge and London hospitals to pioneer brain implants to combat alcohol and opioid addiction

People suffering from severe alcohol and opioid addiction are to be offered a revolutionary new technique involving planting electrodes in the brain to modulate brain activity and cravings and improve self-control.

19 Mar 2025

GP reveals seven ways to relieve endometriosis symptoms

In the UK, one in 10 women has Endometriosis. With March marking Endometriosis Awareness Month, Dr Bhavini Shah, a GP from LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, reveals ways to relieve endometriosis symptoms.

19 Mar 2025

UCLA Health discovers drug that mimics stroke rehabilitation effects in mice

A new study by UCLA Health has discovered what researchers say is the first drug to fully reproduce the effects of physical stroke rehabilitation in model mice, following from human studies.

19 Mar 2025

Understanding the role of CD2AP in Alzheimer's disease

A groundbreaking peer-reviewed Thought Leaders Invited Review article in Brain Medicine (Genomic Press, New York) explores how CD2-associated protein (CD2AP) contributes to Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most devastating neurodegenerative disorders affecting millions worldwide.

19 Mar 2025

$1 million CPRIT grant focuses on AI to improve prostate cancer outcomes

Erzsébet Merényi, a statistics research professor at Rice University, and co-investigators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Pratip Bhattacharya, professor of cancer systems imaging, and Dr. Patrick Pilié, assistant professor of genitourinary medical oncology, were awarded $1 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can identify lethal forms of prostate cancer earlier and improve treatment selection.

18 Mar 2025