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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.

Some mice showed signs of stress resilience before the stress even began

Researchers found that mice later classified as resilient showed stronger coordination between neuronal OFF-periods and slow-wave activity in the prelimbic cortex even before social stress. After social defeat, resilient mice also showed a distinct reorganization of neuronal silence during NREM sleep, linking local sleep dynamics with behavioral resilience.

17 Sep 2026

New MRI measure maps blood flow and cellular organization

Researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have developed a new, noninvasive way to examine how blood flow and cellular organization align across the layers of the living human brain.

17 Sep 2026

High estrogen alters brain circuit causing temporary memory impairment during pregnancy

Many women usually say the same thing during pregnancy: they walk into a room and forget why, misplace their keys or struggle to follow a conversation.

17 Sep 2026

Genetic risk for PTSD varies across different types of trauma

A groundbreaking study reveals that your genes may make you more vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from certain types of trauma-particularly childhood neglect-than from others.

17 Sep 2026

Mindfulness and tai chi practices help cancer survivors manage symptoms

The cancer journey for many patients doesn’t end after treatment. Many live with long-term side effects that affect their ability to sleep and cause pain, impacting daily life.

16 Sep 2026

POTS identified in nearly two-thirds of Long COVID patients

Dizziness, fatigue, brain fog and a racing heart. They're commonly associated with Long COVID, but new Adelaide University research suggests that for some people, these symptoms may also be indications of Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a debilitating and difficult-to-diagnose condition.

16 Sep 2026

Military blast exposure associated with long-term health conditions

Exposure to high-level blasts from incoming explosive devices or land mines among military veterans is associated with an increased risk of several conditions such as seizures, neuropathy and stroke years later, according to a study published September 16, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Sep 2026

Study identifies neural signature of pure awareness during meditation

What happens in the brain when thoughts, perceptions and other everyday mental activity become very quiet, while we remain awake and aware?

16 Sep 2026

Bulimia nervosa linked to structural differences in brain regions

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that individuals with bulimia nervosa have structural differences in brain regions involved in reward and motivation, as well as social and sensory processing, and that more frequent binge eating is associated with more widespread differences in brain structure, according to research published today in JAMA Psychiatry.

16 Sep 2026

Shatavari may affect more than hormones, and the gut could help explain why

A review in Nutrients examined how bioactive compounds in Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) may influence cognitive health through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, estrogen-related signaling, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitter regulation. Evidence from computational, cellular, animal, and limited human studies suggests several plausible biological pathways, but key questions remain about bioavailability, brain exposure, dosing, and clinical efficacy.

16 Sep 2026

Cold plunges may boost your mood, but the evidence is still on thin ice

A Molecular Psychiatry review examined evidence linking cold exposure with mood and mental health outcomes, alongside proposed roles for catecholamines, the HPA axis, and immune-inflammatory pathways. Early studies report short-term mood improvements and physiological changes, but clinical evidence remains limited, and the proposed mechanisms have not been established as drivers of lasting psychiatric benefits.

16 Sep 2026

The music in psychedelic therapy may be more than background sound

A narrative review examines how music interacts with psychedelics, psychological support, and treatment context in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, arguing that its role cannot be understood as an isolated component. The authors highlight limited evidence on music-specific effects and propose studying PAP as a complex intervention, with music described according to its therapeutic function rather than fixed playlists or genres.

16 Sep 2026

Morning speech therapy benefits young people with childhood apraxia

For young people with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a disorder that affects the brain's ability to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech, speech difficulties can persist well beyond childhood.

16 Sep 2026

Study links missing brain protein to ADHD-like behaviors

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect attention, activity levels, and impulse control, with symptoms often beginning in childhood and sometimes continuing into adulthood.

16 Sep 2026

Severe intestinal inflammation in preterm infants directly triggers brain damage

NEC is one of the most common and lethal gastrointestinal emergencies in preterm infants, with mortality rates ranging from 15% to 30%.

16 Sep 2026

Study: Multiple dietary patterns linked to slower biological aging

A study by DZNE finds that healthy eating is associated with slower biological aging-and that there is more than one way to eat healthily.

16 Sep 2026

New AACR report outlines future of cutting-edge cancer research

Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the 16th edition of its annual Cancer Progress Report.

16 Sep 2026

Norwegian scientists harvest super donor cells to fight diverse diseases

Cells from nine "super donors" are being collected in Oslo. The aim is for these to be used to repair or replace damaged cells, tissue and organs in people suffering from conditions ranging from heart attacks to Parkinson's disease.

16 Sep 2026

One brain implant could give people with paralysis a more expressive way to communicate

Researchers showed that a single high-density ECoG implant could decode attempted speech and upper-body gestures in parallel in people with severe paralysis, allowing two participants to control a personalized full-body avatar. Training the decoders on both isolated and concurrent behaviors improved performance across contexts and reduced false activations, offering proof-of-concept evidence for more expressive multimodal BCIs.

16 Sep 2026

Exercise usually helps the brain. During a 15-day fast, the story was different

In a 28-day controlled study of 22 healthy adults, 15 days of complete fasting produced a glucose-to-ketone metabolic shift and selectively affected attention and implicit learning while time perception remained relatively stable. Moderate-intensity exercise during early fasting was associated with poorer performance on some learning measures, while fasting also increased sleepiness and reduced calmness at some time points.

15 Sep 2026