Nervous System

The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous system contains the brain and spinal cord.

Cancer and the Nervous System: Tumor Growth, Metastasis, and Neurobiology

Cancer neuroscience reveals a bidirectional relationship in which neural circuits, neurotransmitters, neurotrophic factors, and immune signaling can shape tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Tumors can, in turn, remodel nerves and exploit neural pathways, creating new opportunities and challenges for cancer therapy.

The Impact of Hormones on the Nervous System

Pathology of the Nervous System

What is the Nervous System?

Development of the Nervous System

Bioelectronic Medicine: Hacking Nervous System Signals for Therapeutic Benefits

What are Schwann Cells?

Function of the Nervous System

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Evolutionary history reveals why brains connect to opposite bodies

Dr Martin Wessendorf is a neuroscientist and an associate professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on how the brainstem controls the function of neurons in the spinal cord.

27 Oct 2026

Researchers decode speech rhythm from brain activity

New in JNeurosci, Pyry Heikkinen and colleagues, from the University of Helsinki, explored how emotional meaning influences the way the human brain prioritizes information during naturally spoken conversations in a cocktail party setting.

27 Oct 2026

Autistic people show weaker brain responses to negative feedback

Some people who have autism spectrum disorder struggle to adapt to changing demands in their environment.

27 Oct 2026

Researchers develop versatile genetic tool to investigate cell interactions

Our bodies are composed of many different types of cells that work together to build and maintain normal physiological functions.

27 Oct 2026

Dismissive consultations leave some autoimmune patients distressed and suicidal

Patients have been left feeling suicidal after feeling like their doctor was saying their symptoms were 'all in their head' – according to research from the University of East Anglia and the University of Cambridge.

26 Oct 2026

Marine-derived compound shows promise against deadly brain eating amoeba

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a parasitic disease that causes the rapid deterioration of brain tissue, is one of the most lethal infections known, with a fatality rate exceeding 97%.

26 Oct 2026

Research shows how the brain merges faces and voices to read emotions

Communicating effectively with others involves recognizing emotions from faces and voices. How does the brain process and integrate emotional information from visuals and sounds that others display? New in JNeurosci, Olivier Collignon, from the Catholic University of Louvain, Stefania Mattioni, currently at Ghent University, and colleagues mapped responses in people's brains to faces and voices expressing different emotions.

22 Oct 2026

Newer anticoagulants linked to fewer strokes and deaths after brain bleeds

For people with atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heartbeat, and intracranial hemorrhage, a type of stroke also known as a brain bleed, anticoagulant use was associated with a lower risk of an ischemic stroke and death, according to a new study published October 21, 2026, in Neurology®, the official medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Oct 2026

Early heart rhythm control linked to fewer recurrent strokes

For people hospitalized with ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation (AFib), restoring the heart's normal rhythm within eight weeks after stroke is associated with a lower risk of having another stroke, according to a new study published October 21, 2026, in Neurology®, the official medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Oct 2026

Altered fatty acid metabolism drives glioblastoma growth and treatment resistance

Glioma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, and glioblastoma (GBM), particularly IDH (Isocitrate dehydrogenase)-wildtype disease, has the poorest prognosis.

21 Oct 2026

Biological framework tracks postpartum vulvar tissue recovery timelines

A new biological model published in Sexual Medicine Reviews by Oxford University Press addresses why pain with sex after childbirth-reported by 60% of women at three months-persists for some long after hormones return to normal.

21 Oct 2026

Alzheimer’s biomarkers may help predict disease progression in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurodegenerative disease in which the nerve cells that control the body's muscles break down.

20 Oct 2026

Study links abnormal immature astroglia to lower fluid intelligence in older epilepsy patients

A new USC-led study links abnormal immature astroglia, star-shaped cells that support brain function, to lower fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve new problems, in older adults with epilepsy.

20 Oct 2026

Epilepsy linked to higher risk of young-onset dementia

People with epilepsy may be more likely to develop young-onset dementia than people without epilepsy, according to a study published October 14, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Oct 2026

Three months of yoga before surgery revealed a surprising difference in stress hormones

In a non-randomized study of 40 adults with severe obesity awaiting bariatric surgery, researchers found significantly lower plasma noradrenaline levels in yoga participants than in controls after adjusting for baseline measurements. The researchers detected no significant DNA methylation changes in three inflammatory genes and found no clear psychological or metabolic benefits.

12 Oct 2026

Lifelong blindness enhances brain processing for better pitch discrimination

Are people who have been blind for most of their lives better at hearing than sighted individuals? New in JNeurosci, Woon Ju Park, from Georgia Institute of Technology, and colleagues, broached this question by comparing tone detection and pitch discrimination in people with and without sight.

12 Oct 2026

Three-dimensional genome structure shapes complex traits in cephalopods

Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, collectively known as coleoid cephalopods, have evolved exceptionally large and elaborately structured nervous systems capable of complex behaviours such as problem-solving and rapid camouflage.

12 Oct 2026

Brain injuries change how the hypothalamus responds to stress

Researchers from the Department of Cell Biology, Genetics and Physiology at the University of Malaga have led an international scientific team that has studied how a traumatic brain injury caused by a severe blow to the head conditions the brain's long-term response to subsequent stress situations.

9 Oct 2026

Epilepsy drugs may reduce effectiveness of hormonal contraceptives

People with epilepsy who use certain hormonal birth control methods may be at risk for reduced contraceptive effectiveness because of interactions with certain antiseizure medications, according to a study published October 7, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Oct 2026

Study identifies RGS4 protein as potential target for chronic pain

Chronic pain can continue long after an initial injury. When a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord (a peripheral nerve) is damaged and does not heal properly, it keeps sending constant pain signals.

6 Oct 2026