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.

Allen Institute launches global research initiative to accelerate new treatments for brain disorders

The Allen Institute, together with partner organizations, today launched the Brain Health accelerator: an ambitious global research initiative seeking to identify the specific brain cells and circuits affected in neurodegenerative disease and other brain disorders and use that knowledge to accelerate the development of new treatments.

2 Jun 2026

Cannabis and tobacco co-use lowers cognitive performance in at-risk youth

New research shows that among people at clinical high risk for psychosis, cannabis and tobacco co-use was associated with lower cognitive performance compared to healthy controls.

2 Jun 2026

How dysregulated collagen IV homeostasis causes cerebral microbleeds

Millions of older adults have tiny brain hemorrhages called cerebral microbleeds, which are strongly associated with dementia, cognitive decline, and stroke.

2 Jun 2026

New reference models track lifespan changes in brain wiring

Researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have created one of the largest reference models ever developed for the human brain, using diffusion MRI scans from more than 54,000 people to chart how the brain's communication pathways develop, mature, and decline across the lifespan.

2 Jun 2026

Research sheds light on the brain mechanisms underlying age-related changes in postural control

Researchers from University College Dublin (UCD) and the ULB Neuroscience Institute have shed light on the brain mechanisms underlying age-related changes in postural control.

2 Jun 2026

New ultrasound pacemaker design promises minimal recovery time for cardiac patients

MIT engineers have developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants.

2 Jun 2026

Cellular reprogramming helps outsmart progressive Alzheimers disease

A team led by researcher José Vicente Sánchez Mut at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), together with researcher Johannes Gräff at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), has identified an experimental molecule capable of "reprogramming" the brain's immune cells to restore part of their protective function against Alzheimer's disease.

2 Jun 2026

Eating a Mediterranean diet may lower anxiety symptoms in teens

Findings reveal that the Mediterranean diet may reduce anxiety symptoms in adolescents, with maternal dietary habits also impacting offspring mental health.

2 Jun 2026

New magnetic particle imaging ensures precision cell therapy injection tracking

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they used a form of magnetic imaging to track cell therapy injections commonly used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and cancers.

2 Jun 2026

Researchers develop real time sensor system for early detection of ICU brain infections

A research team led by the University of Waterloo has created a new monitoring system to save lives and significantly reduce health-care costs in brain-injury cases through the early detection of infections in intensive care units.

2 Jun 2026

New blood test tracks real time gene expression inside living brain tissue

Cell function is determined by how DNA is expressed into proteins. That process includes two main steps - transcription, when messenger RNA (mRNA) makes copies of active genes, and translation, when mRNA guides protein assembly.

2 Jun 2026

Deep brain stimulation rewires brain circuits linked to depression

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have uncovered the first direct evidence that deep brain stimulation (DBS) can remodel white matter pathways in the brain and alter communication across large-scale neural networks, revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism that may explain how the therapy helps patients recover from severe depression.

1 Jun 2026

Pediatric experts reveal the 10 research areas set to shape child health

Pediatric research leaders identified 10 high-promise areas likely to shape child health over the next 5 to 10 years, including genomics, mental health, vaccines, artificial intelligence, perinatal medicine, precision therapeutics, health equity, nutrition, environmental health, and cancer treatment. The paper argues that these opportunities will only translate into better outcomes if pediatric research receives sustained funding, public trust, workforce support, advocacy, and equitable implementation.

1 Jun 2026

Antibiotic-free therapy seeks to prevent newborn meningitis by blocking E. coli

Newborn meningitis is one of the most dangerous childhood infections. It is often life-threatening and can cause serious and lasting damage, including developmental problems, in the children who survive.

1 Jun 2026

New brain probe simultaneously records and controls neuron activity

A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

1 Jun 2026

Study shows how HIV leads to chronic pain

Over half of the people carrying HIV experience chronic pain at some point, which is difficult to treat. In a new JNeurosci paper, Hui-Lin Pan, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues used mice to explore how HIV leads to chronic pain.

1 Jun 2026

Hovione advances intranasal drug delivery with commercial-ready dry powder platform ahead of 4th Nasal Formulation & Delivery Summit

Hovione is bringing momentum to the intranasal field after announcing that its lead single-use nasal dry powder device, developed in collaboration with Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd (IDC), is now available for commercial partnerships.

From Hanson Wade Group - 4th Nasal Formulation & Delivery Summit 1 Jun 2026

Lower Alzheimer’s amyloid levels in Black and Latinx adults

Findings show lower amyloid PET positivity in Black and Latinx adults with cognitive impairment, highlighting disparities in dementia diagnosis and treatment.

1 Jun 2026

Mesenchymal drift may explain how aging cells lose their identity

Mesenchymal drift may help explain how cells lose stable identity and acquire pro-fibrotic, inflammatory mesenchymal traits during aging. The review proposes MD as a unifying framework that links multiple hallmarks of aging and highlights partial reprogramming as a potential, but still preclinical, way to counteract this process.

1 Jun 2026

Higher-dose ocrelizumab depletes more B cells but does not slow MS progression

Higher-dose ocrelizumab produced greater peripheral B-cell depletion than the approved 600 mg regimen in two phase 3b trials of relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. However, the higher doses did not significantly delay disability progression, supporting the 600 mg dose as the current standard regimen with a favorable benefit-risk profile.

31 May 2026