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Genetic schizophrenia risk linked to neurodevelopmental changes during early adolescence

Research has found that children with higher genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia show decreases in frontal cortical surface area during early adolescence, in contrast to the regional expansion observed in children with low genetic susceptibility.

13 May 2026

Researchers map the brain histamine system to understand mental health

New research, from King's College London and the University of Porto, has mapped the histamine system in the brain. Histamine, a molecule more commonly associated with allergies, plays a separate but poorly understood role in brain function.

12 May 2026

Study links metabolic dysfunction to cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder

While they share similar depressive and cognitive symptoms, the biological underpinnings of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are distinct.

11 May 2026

Adults of all ages can improve brain performance through practice

A landmark study recently published in the Nature Portfolio journal Scientific Reports reveals that cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of aging.

8 May 2026

Brain imaging study identifies two distinct biological migraine subtypes

They've been described as "brain on fire" or "an ice pick through the head." Migraine headaches affect more than one in 10 Americans, and they're so much worse than a regular headache.

8 May 2026

Study challenges long-held assumptions about causes of lacunar stroke

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that challenges long-held assumptions about the causes of a common type of stroke, offering clues as to why widely used treatments may not work.

6 May 2026

Mapping brain circuits helps identify the causes of psychiatric symptoms

If a small stroke in one corner of the brain can tip a previously healthy person into mania or set off obsessions and compulsions where none existed before, then the circuit connected to that lesion is telling us something rare in psychiatry.

5 May 2026

Study links microplastics in arterial plaque to fourfold increase in stroke risk

In a Perspective published today in the inaugural issue of Brain Health (https://doi.org/10.61373/bh026p.0006), an international team of investigators argues that the human microplastic burden has crossed the threshold from environmental concern to brain health emergency. The article appears alongside the launch of Brain Health, a new peer-reviewed journal from Genomic Press dedicated to the science of lifelong brain resilience.

5 May 2026

Virginia Tech researcher wins NIH award to study metabolic brain health

Mary Elizabeth Baugh, a research scientist with Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been awarded a National Institutes of Health Mentored Research Scientist Development Award to study how metabolic health influences the brain systems that shape what and how we eat.

4 May 2026

Identifying the ages when Alzheimer’s biomarkers sharply change

New research identifies critical ages for Alzheimer's biomarkers, enhancing screening strategies and understanding neurodegeneration across the aging spectrum.

1 May 2026

New spinal cord interface restores bladder control and sensation

Approximately 308,000 people in the United States live with spinal cord injury. Nearly all lose bladder control. And yet the vast majority of research and engineering attention in neurotech has poured into motor restoration-making paralyzed limbs move again.

30 Apr 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Teen cannabis use alters brain development and raises addiction risk

A systematic review reveals adolescent cannabis use alters brain structure, elevates addiction risk, and impacts cognitive outcomes during critical development.

29 Apr 2026

Ultra-processed foods linked to poorer attention and higher dementia risk scores

Research shows that higher ultra-processed food consumption may impair attention and elevate modifiable dementia risk, highlighting concerns for brain health.

28 Apr 2026

Stronger slow-wave sleep helps older adults regulate anxiety overnight

Researchers at Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas have identified a specific feature of sleep that helps older adults regulate anxiety overnight - and shown that, as it deteriorates with age, emotional wellbeing deteriorates along with it.

27 Apr 2026

Shared brain connectivity patterns found across major neurodevelopmental disorders

Differences in brain connectivity are linked to several neurodevelopmental disorders, yet scientists still struggle to determine what changes are shared or unique to each condition.

25 Apr 2026

Brain-Gut Health Initiative supports AI-assisted diagnosis of psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders affect millions worldwide, but their diagnosis still relies on clinical observation instead of standard biological tests.

25 Apr 2026

New insight into how molecular measures of aging relate to neuroimaging markers of brain health

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 7, 2026, titled "Association of epigenetic age acceleration with MRI biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration."

25 Apr 2026

Early childhood interventions may safeguard brain health after maternal stress

Researchers from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and Queens College suggest that building strong adaptive skills in early childhood may serve as a buffer against the detrimental effects of prenatal stress on a child's developing brain.

24 Apr 2026

Large brain mapping dataset expands with new set of cognitive tasks

The Individual Brain Charting (IBC) project has released its fifth and largest update of high-resolution fMRI data, adding a new set of cognitive tasks to one of the most detailed brain-mapping datasets available today.

22 Apr 2026