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Oxford study identifies brain mechanisms behind our sense of control

A study led by the University of Oxford has identified the brain mechanisms that help us work out whether the consequences we experience are caused by our own actions or by circumstances beyond our control.

21 Aug 2026

Scientists create brain organoids with distinct cortical regional identity

The human brain is often described as one of the most complex structures in biology, and much of its power comes from how it's organized.

20 Aug 2026

Researchers maintain brain organoids for longer than ever before

An international team of researchers has maintained brain organoids, three-dimensional models of human brain tissue, for longer than ever before.

20 Aug 2026

New brain wave theory explains cognition and consciousness

A new theory, published in The Journal of Neuroscience by three scientists in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT, offers an explanation of how the brain produces cognition and consciousness: It uses traveling waves of rhythmic neural activity to coordinate nimble neural networks with analog computations.

20 Aug 2026

Two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults

Researchers from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found that two distinct types of brain tissue work together to support cognition in older adults, and that the health of the brain's short-range wiring may help soften the cognitive effects of gray matter loss.

20 Aug 2026

Leisure-time exercise linked to lower dementia risk

For years, scientists have known that regular physical activity can help lower the risk of dementia. But new USC research suggests that it's not only the amount but also the activity's context - for work or for leisure - that makes a difference.

18 Aug 2026

Five-week training program helps college students regulate their emotions

A five-week training intervention taught college students to better regulate their emotions in response to negative events, a new study finds.

18 Aug 2026

Neuroscientists study the brain circuits mediating experience-dependent decision-making in mice

A brain must constantly cope with the highly variable, fast-paced nature of the world when trying to judge what's going on around it.

14 Aug 2026

New cross-species map links mouse and marmoset brain regions

Most neuroscience research still runs on mice, even though much of what applies to mice does not hold up in humans. Marmosets have emerged as a bridge between species.

13 Aug 2026

Comprehensive brain cell map opens new avenues for Alzheimer's therapies

The brain's immune cells are increasingly recognized as key players in Alzheimer's disease, but exactly how they change as the disease develops has remained unclear.

11 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

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

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

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

Researchers uncover hierarchical sensory processing system in the zebrafish brain

How does the brain make sense of what we see, hear, and feel—and transform these separate signals into a coherent perception of the world?

31 Jul 2026

Soy lysolecithin reduces salt-induced hypertension and cognitive decline

High salt (HS) intake is a major global health concern, closely linked to hypertension and growing evidence of cognitive and emotional decline.

31 Jul 2026

New method reveals three-dimensional nanoplastic distribution in neonatal mouse brains

Nanoplastics-plastic particles smaller than one micrometer-are generated through the degradation and abrasion of plastic products and are increasingly detected in food, drinking water, air, and biological tissues.

29 Jul 2026

A closer look at Parkinson’s brains finds tau where standard tests saw little

Researchers used single-molecule and super-resolution imaging to profile protein aggregates across six brain regions from 29 post-mortem donors, detecting high-intensity phosphorylated tau aggregates in the Parkinson’s disease putamen despite negligible conventional tau staining. PD cases with dementia showed greater tau burden than those without dementia, while the assay did not detect a PD-specific population of nanoscopic alpha-synuclein aggregates.

29 Jul 2026