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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

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

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

UCLA researchers identify brain circuit controlling memory organization

When a person has a new experience, their brain faces a subtle but critical decision: should this experience be categorized with other stored memories, or should it be filed away as its own new memory? Getting it right allows the brain to help people navigate the world.

28 May 2026

Miniature lab grown circuits unlock hidden recovery paths for paralysis

Cambridge scientists have grown miniature circuits in the lab that mimic how the brain and spinal cord connect up, which underlies our movements. They used this model to show how damage to these connections previously considered 'irreversible' could, in fact, be reversible.

28 May 2026

Virtual reality navigation deficits predict future brain volume loss

Alzheimer's disease (AD) often begins long before it is clinically recognized, with subtle brain changes emerging years before noticeable memory loss or cognitive decline.

27 May 2026

Neural progenitor timing influences formation of distinct brain layers

The outer regions of the brain, the cortex, have specific layers of different cells - neurons - that are similarly ordered among all mammals, from tiny mouse brains to huge elephant brains.

26 May 2026

Shared humor and play strengthen children’s brains and emotional wellbeing

Making children laugh can build deep emotional connections and soothe their nervous systems, making them more resilient and open to new ideas, a leading child development expert tells us.

24 May 2026

Smartphone overdependence may signal higher alcohol and smoking risk in teens

Higher smartphone overdependence was significantly associated with greater odds of self-reported lifetime alcohol and tobacco use among more than 100,000 Korean adolescents. The study found graded dose-response patterns, with earlier initiation and heavier alcohol or smoking behaviors linked to a higher adjusted probability of high-risk smartphone overdependence.

21 May 2026

Uneven grey matter loss serves as a powerful new biomarker for early neurodegeneration

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Alzheimer's disease begins to weave a web in the brain and remodel neuronal tissue 15 to 20 years before the first symptoms appear. From the time this happens, however, until the disease is diagnosed and, later, enters an advanced phase, it progresses along a continuum of changes to the brain.

21 May 2026

Key neural circuit helps the brain “change gears”

Most people have experienced the feeling: switching from one task to another, only to find the brain momentarily stuck in the old mode of thinking. Sometimes, even after realizing a strategy no longer works, the mind keeps returning to it anyway.

21 May 2026

Neuroplex pipeline monitors nine neuronal populations in moving mice

Scientists at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI), in collaboration with ZEISS and MetaCell, have developed a powerful new imaging pipeline called Neuroplex.

20 May 2026

How food and alcohol cues leave different signatures in the brain

Food and alcohol cues appear to engage partially distinct EEG oscillatory patterns, with food cues linked mainly to increased delta activity and alcohol-related processing showing alpha and delta differences in key contrasts. The effects were strongest in participants with relatively higher AUDIT scores, but neural changes were small and subjective cue responses were more robust.

20 May 2026

Neutrophils may play unexpected role in schizophrenia development

The most common white blood cells in your body - immune cells called neutrophils - can make a protein nobody knew they were making, Stanford Medicine investigators have discovered.

19 May 2026

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

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

New study identifies dopamine's role in reversing Alzheimer's

Imagine if patients with Alzheimer's could have their memories restored. Such a future may seem like a pipe dream, but a new study by researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, has identified dopamine dysfunction as a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying memory impairment, unlocking a potential therapeutic means of reversing cognitive decline.

18 May 2026

Retinal stimulation via contact lenses effective as antidepressants in mice

Materials scientists have designed brain-stimulating contact lenses that are as effective as Prozac at treating depression in mice. The soft, transparent contact lenses have in-built electrodes that deliver mild electrical signals to the brain via the retina to stimulate specific brain regions associated with depression.

14 May 2026

Study reveals how brain cells process vision amidst thousands of synaptic inputs

Even in the primary visual cortex, a brain region named for its specialized role in processing basic features of what the eyes see, not every neuron ends up answering the call to process properties of visual input. Maybe that's because each neuron receives a wide variety of inputs via thousands of circuit connections, or "synapses," and has to opt to respond to the visual information vs. something else.

14 May 2026