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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.

Simple biological age score flags higher cognitive decline risk in older adults

A study of 4,818 middle-aged and older Chinese adults found that higher light BioAge was associated with greater risks of cognitive impairment, episodic memory decline, and reduced mental intactness. The simple measure, based on age, creatinine, glucose, and CRP, added modest predictive information but requires further validation before clinical use.

10 Aug 2026

New USC center seeks answers to sex differences in aging

Women live longer than men in nearly every country in the world, yet they experience higher rates of disability, dementia and many other age-related conditions.

7 Aug 2026

Silencing prefrontal cortex helps mice adopt better strategies

The prefrontal cortex, a brain region long associated with learning more flexible behaviors, can sometimes block the ability to think outside the box, a new study in mice shows.

7 Aug 2026

Targeting small group of brain cells may reduce opioid addiction risk

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal.

7 Aug 2026

Using AI to improve precision of visual cortical prostheses

Researchers from three institutions, including UC Santa Barbara, have demonstrated that artificial intelligence has the potential to make future visual prostheses, like a bionic eye, more precise, predictable and responsive to an individual user.

7 Aug 2026

New computer model connects brain chemistry to neural activity patterns

Researchers have developed a computer model of the human cortex that links its microscopic chemistry to its brain-wide patterns of activity, providing new evidence that regional differences in receptor density help shape how activity and information move across the brain.

7 Aug 2026

Phages explode bacteria to share vital vitamin B12 with microbes

Vitamin B12 is biological gold. All living organisms need a little bit of it to form red blood cells and DNA, as well as to build and support brain and nerve cells.

7 Aug 2026

New research aims to switch off chronic pain at its source

A major new Adelaide University research program will strive to improve the lives of millions by developing targeted therapies for chronic visceral pain, a debilitating primary symptom associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and endometriosis.

7 Aug 2026

Disrupted RNA methylation pathway accelerates Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s risks

A growing understanding of RNA biology is reshaping how scientists view the relationship between environmental toxicants, brain development, and neurodegenerative disease.

7 Aug 2026

New research highlights carbohydrate role in early human brain development

Fruit, honey and other naturally sweet foods may have helped fuel the evolution of the human brain, according to new research from the University of Sydney and the University of Glasgow.

7 Aug 2026

IL-6 receptor blockers show promise for preventing MOGAD relapses

An international study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has identified interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor blockers as a promising option for preventing relapses in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). MOGAD is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that can cause vision loss, paralysis and other serious neurological complications.

6 Aug 2026

Brain's extracellular matrix controls learning windows and memory stability

For many who have struggled to learn a new language or instrument, it's a familiar pattern: they make rapid progress at first, then hit a plateau that no amount of diligent practice or concentration seems to break.

6 Aug 2026

Study uncovers how brain cells coordinate movement planning

Which neurons in the brain control movements, and how? This question was addressed by a team of researchers from the fields of neuroscience and artificial intelligence in a study conducted on an animal model at the interdisciplinary research centre BrainLinks-BrainTools at the University of Freiburg.

6 Aug 2026

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