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.

Experimental neurointerventional technique shows promise for severe back pain

Researchers at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 23rd Annual Meeting presented an experimental neurointerventional technique designed to treat severe back pain, a leading cause of disability and opioid use, by delivering medication directly through the arteries supplying the painful area.

22 Jul 2026

Parenting quality at age 3 predicts adolescent reward responsiveness

In 465 young people followed from late childhood to late adolescence, EEG reward responses increased until mid-adolescence before declining by age 18. Higher positive parenting and lower negative parenting at age 3 predicted stronger developmental changes in neural responses to monetary rewards, while early stress exposure showed no significant association.

22 Jul 2026

Frequent TV watching links to higher white matter lesion volume

ARIC researchers linked self-reported TV watching and occupational sitting in midlife with brain MRI measures obtained roughly 24 years later in 1,712 adults without dementia. Frequent TV watching was associated with greater white matter hyperintensity volume and lower volumes in several brain regions, while sitting at work was associated with lower white matter hyperintensity volume and larger selected cortical volumes.

22 Jul 2026

UVA researchers develop a new experimental approach to target glioblastoma

University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have developed a promising new experimental approach to targeting glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest brain cancer.

22 Jul 2026

Fecal microbe capsules show promise in treating chronic insomnia

In a randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, ingesting capsules containing fecal microbes from healthy donors helped treat symptoms of insomnia.

22 Jul 2026

New study uses sleep monitoring and AI to detect Alzheimer's

Researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Hospital Universitario Severo Ochoa in Leganés, part of the public health network of the Comunidad de Madrid, have developed a methodology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze brain electrical activity during sleep and facilitate the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

22 Jul 2026

UWM neuroscientist explores how estrogens regulate memory and brain function

Karyn Frick likes to think big. In college, she spent the summer after her junior year studying the neurobiology of memory in a lab at Johns Hopkins University. For hours at a time, Frick would watch rats scurry through mazes, entranced by their behavior.

22 Jul 2026

Understanding the role of cerebral venous flow in idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a rare and poorly understood neurological disorder that affects 1 to 20 people per 100,000-most often women of childbearing age.

22 Jul 2026

Low-dose lithium may protect brain networks in early Alzheimer’s disease

This perspective examines whether restoring physiological lithium levels could help protect cognition in early Alzheimer’s disease. It proposes that lithium may support cholinergic signaling and brain connectivity, but emphasizes that rigorous, safety-monitored clinical trials are needed.

21 Jul 2026

Dementia addiction and psychiatric disorders show distinct patterns of accelerated brain aging

People with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, alcohol addiction, or psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia show increased brain aging, each in specific patterns within the brain, according to a study published July 21st in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Shile Qi from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, and colleagues.

21 Jul 2026

New light-sheet imaging system tracks brain seizure dynamics in 3D

Seizures can race through the brain in seconds, making them difficult to capture in detail. To overcome this challenge, researchers have developed a new high-resolution light-sheet imaging system that is fast enough to image seizure propagation in the brain of a larval zebrafish in 3D.

21 Jul 2026

Salk neuroscientists identify traveling brain waves as a computational engine

Your brain has something surprising in common with the ocean: waves! Electrical activity washes over the brain's surface, creating what are called traveling brain waves or neural traveling waves.

21 Jul 2026

Mount Sinai establishes new autoimmunity center with $5 million gift

A $5 million gift from philanthropists Judith and Stewart Colton will establish a Colton Center for Autoimmunity within the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

21 Jul 2026

Childhood unpredictability linked to higher mental health risks

Children who grow up in unpredictable environments may face elevated risks for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health challenges, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University and Rady Children's Hospital Orange County, formerly called Children's Hospital of Orange County.

21 Jul 2026