Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Experimental smartphone game quickly identifies patients with depression

An experimental diagnostic tool in the form of a computer game was able to quickly identify patients with depression based on anhedonia, a key feature of the disease, a new study shows.

19 May 2026

Early neural activity regulates speech-related gene to build communication circuits

Communication begins long before children learn to speak. Researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan have now uncovered how early brain activity helps build developing communication circuits via regulating FOXP2/Foxp2, a gene linked to human speech and communication disorders.

19 May 2026

Davis Joseph wins international award for revolutionary cancer treatment discovery

The Sustainability through Science and Technology Summit 2025 (SIPS 2025), celebrating its 21st edition in Cebu, Philippines, from 17–20 November 2025, presented the 2025 Ciechanover International Biology Award to Davis Joseph.

19 May 2026

Psychology professor calls for more thorough diagnostic assessments for ADHD

An increasing number of people are being diagnosed with ADHD, without researchers knowing exactly why. Greater awareness of ADHD and changes in diagnostic criteria may be one reason.

19 May 2026

German start-up receives funding for smart epilepsy wearables

Smart Monitoring for People with Epilepsy Start-up project at the University Hospital Bonn and University of Bonn to receive €2.7 million in GO-Bio next funding from the BMFTR.

19 May 2026

Advanced AI architectures improve meningioma detection on MRI scans

Meningiomas are the most common brain cancers arising from the protective soft tissue cover of the brain called the meninges.

19 May 2026

Real-time narration, head safety, and biometrics with wearables

Wearables can bridge the communication gap between the body and a computer. They can serve various purposes, from displaying real-time narration from actual speech, to generating readable, measurable signals translated directly from the body and understood within the medical space.

19 May 2026

Young cancer survivors frequently report long-term sexual problems

Many young adults who have been treated for cancer experience sexual problems. This is shown in a doctoral dissertation at Karolinska Institutet, which also highlights gaps in information provided by the healthcare system.

19 May 2026

Loneliness increased significantly over the past four decades in Japan

Despite widespread claims that social changes have intensified loneliness, no study has yet examined how loneliness has changed over time in Japan.

19 May 2026

Researchers use living human cells on a chip to study memory loss

A University of Bath-led project has secured £500,000 to develop a first-of-its-kind 'organ-on-chip' device that replicates connections between the brain, gut and pancreas.

19 May 2026

Researchers discover water's role in brain learning and memory signaling

How do we learn to remember? At the most fundamental level, it's all about chemicals and electricity. Beyond their roles in diet and nutrition, calcium and magnesium work as ions, or charged particles, in the brain.

19 May 2026

Treatment delays rising among teens with cannabis use disorder

Teens may turn to marijuana use for many reasons: curiosity, stress relief, peer pressure, help with mental health, or for the positive feelings of being "high." However, there is a difference between casual use and reliance on cannabis to function.

18 May 2026

UCLA researchers identify potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome

UCLA Health researchers have identified a potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism that affects roughly 1 in 2,000 boys.

18 May 2026

Low-frequency ultrasound waves directly manipulate blood flow properties

For decades, ultrasound has been associated with diagnostics – a routine scan in a hospital room, a monitor displaying organs, tissues, or the first image of a baby.

18 May 2026

Discovery of memory switch in the brain opens new avenues for dementia therapies

"Why do patients with dementia or cognitive decline remain stuck in past memories?" KAIST researchers have identified, for the first time in the world, the existence of a "neural switch" in the brain that selectively retrieves the most recent memories.

18 May 2026

Sleep complaints highlight Alzheimer's risk in genetically predisposed women

Sleep complaints may be an important Alzheimer's disease risk factor in older women with a higher genetic predisposition to the disease, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California San Diego.

18 May 2026

Exhausted brain immune cells drive aggressive multiple system atrophy

A rare and fatal brain disorder with no available treatment or cure. One that attacks the nervous system, balance, and the ability to move.

18 May 2026

Gut microbiome metabolite butyrate relieves chronic jaw joint pain

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain is associated with disrupted gut microbiome metabolites. Researchers reveal that butyrate, administered as tributyrin, alleviates pain by restoring histone acetylation and reversing gene regulatory changes in the brain.

18 May 2026

Preclinical models map genetic changes behind multiple sclerosis nerve damage

More than 1 million people across the United States live with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the brain, optic nerves and spine.

18 May 2026

Silent heart attacks may speed cognitive decline

Research shows hidden heart attacks accelerate cognitive decline, highlighting the need for better identification of cardiovascular risks to brain health.

18 May 2026