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Neuroscience News is an independent open access science magazine. Since 2001, we have featured neuroscience research news from labs, universities, hospitals and news departments around the world. Topics include brain research, AI, psychology, neuroscience, mental health and neurotech.

Latest Neuroscience News

Science news articles cover neuroscience, neurology, psychology, AI, mental health, robotics, neurotechnology and cognitive sciences.

Brain Balances Rhythms to Switch Between Memory Recall and Novelty

Researchers discovered how the brain flexibly switches communication pathways depending on context, balancing between memory recall and processing new information. The mechanism depends on the interaction of slow (theta) and fast (gamma) rhythms, regulated by distinct inhibitory circuits.

Opioid Use in Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism or ADHD Risk

A large-scale study analyzing over a million births in Sweden found no evidence that prescribed opioid pain medications during pregnancy cause autism or ADHD in children. While earlier data suggested a potential link, those associations largely disappeared after accounting for genetics, parental mental health, and shared family environment.

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Oxytocin Fuels Reciprocity and Empathy

Researchers developed a fully automated cooperation task showing that rats engage in true reciprocity, not just mutual benefit. Social interaction enhanced success, while dampened interaction reduced cooperative performance.

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AI Spots Subtle Facial Cues Linked to Early Depression Risk

Depression’s earliest signs can be hard to spot, but a new study shows AI can detect them in subtle facial movements. Japanese students with subthreshold depression were perceived as less friendly and expressive by peers, despite not seeming nervous or fake.

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Lifestyle Changes Show Power to Prevent Alzheimer’s

A growing body of research underscores that Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline are not inevitable parts of aging. Lifestyle interventions targeting exercise, diet, social engagement, and cognitive stimulation have been shown in large clinical trials to improve brain function and slow decline.

Neurology News Articles

Neurology news articles cover neurology, brain cancer, traumatic brain injuries, neurosurgery, neuroanatomy, brain research and neurological disorders.

Green Mediterranean Diet Slows Brain Aging

A large-scale dietary trial has shown that a green-Mediterranean diet can slow brain aging by altering key blood proteins linked to neurodegeneration. Using MRI scans and proteomic profiling, researchers tracked nearly 300 participants over 18 months and found that diet significantly shaped the brain age gap.

PET Tracer Maps Synapse Loss After Spinal Cord Injury

Researchers developed a new PET tracer capable of measuring synapse loss after spinal cord injury, offering insights into both spinal and brain changes. In rat models, the tracer revealed significant synaptic reductions at the injury site and in distant brain regions, highlighting how widespread the effects of injury can be.

Defective Exosome Production Linked to Alzheimer’s Gene Mutation

New research reveals that a gene mutation tied to Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the production of exosomes, tiny cellular particles essential for communication between brain cells. Cells with a defective SORLA protein produced about 30% fewer exosomes, and those exosomes were up to 50% less effective at supporting cell growth.

Cooler Nights and Brighter Days Boost Sleep in Dementia Patients

A large-scale study shows that indoor environmental changes—such as cooler bedroom temperatures at night and brighter indoor light during the day—can significantly improve sleep in people living with dementia. Researchers analyzed over 26,000 days of data using contactless sensors placed in participants’ homes.

Brain Iron Levels Predict Cognitive Decline Risk

A new study demonstrates that brain iron levels, measured with a special MRI technique, can predict cognitive decline years before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. Researchers followed 158 cognitively healthy older adults and found that higher iron levels in memory-related regions of the brain were associated with a greater risk of mild cognitive impairment.

AI News Articles

AI news articles cover science articles about artificial intelligence including ChatGPT, Bard, Dalle, neural networks, machine learning, LLMs, AGI and other AI related topics.

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Why Humans Adapt Faster Than AI

Humans excel at adapting to new situations, while machines often stumble. A new interdisciplinary study reveals that the root lies in how humans and AI approach “generalization,” the process of transferring knowledge to new problems.

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Your Words May Reveal More Than You Think: AI Shows How

Psychologists are turning to artificial intelligence to uncover hidden psychological cues in speech, from word choice to tone and pacing.

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AI Matches Human Social Perception

Researchers found that ChatGPT could assess social interactions in videos and images almost as accurately as humans. The AI’s evaluations of social features like cooperation, hostility, and body movements were even more consistent than those of a single person.

Humans and AI Share Similar Learning Strategies

Researchers found that humans and AI share a similar interplay between two learning systems: flexible, quick in-context learning and gradual incremental learning. Experiments showed that AI could develop in-context learning abilities after extensive incremental practice, much like humans do.

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AI Robots Learn Touch and Vision to Handle Objects Like Humans

A new breakthrough shows how robots can now integrate both sight and touch to handle objects with greater accuracy, similar to humans. Researchers developed TactileAloha, a system that combines visual and tactile inputs, enabling robotic arms to adapt more flexibly to real-world tasks.

Psychology News Articles

Science research articles cover psychology, depression, mental health, schizophrenia, mental disorders, happiness, stress, PTSD, autism, psychiatry and therapy.

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Brain Circuits Show Why Friends’ Lies Are Easier to Believe

Researchers explored how people process deception from friends versus strangers, using brain imaging to study decision-making in gain and loss contexts. Volunteers were more likely to believe lies in situations promising rewards, with brain activity highlighting circuits for risk, reward, and intention.

Simple Hair Test May Spot Mental Health Risks in Kids

Long-term stress, measured through hair cortisol, may help predict mental health risks in children living with chronic physical illnesses. In a four-year study of 244 children, researchers found that persistently high cortisol levels were strongly linked to anxiety, depression, and behavioral difficulties.

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Loneliness Drives Teens to Seek Rewards

A new study reveals that adolescents are highly sensitive to even brief periods of social isolation, showing a sharp increase in motivation to seek rewards after just a few hours alone. This heightened drive can encourage reconnection but may also lead to risky behaviors if social contact isn’t available.

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Aggression Is Contagious: Observing Violence Primes the Brain for Aggression

A new study shows that observing violence can make individuals more likely to act aggressively later, but the effect depends on familiarity. Male mice who watched familiar peers attack others became more violent afterward, driven by amygdala neurons that “prime” aggression.

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Brain Structure Differences in Children with ADHD Discovered

Researchers tested a new MRI correction method, called the traveling-subject (TS) approach, to resolve inconsistencies in ADHD brain imaging results. By scanning the same healthy subjects across multiple MRI machines, they identified and corrected for measurement biases, producing more reliable data.

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Study Links Thumb Length to Brain Size and Cognition

New research reveals that primates with longer thumbs tend to have larger brains, suggesting that manual dexterity and brain evolution developed together. The study analyzed 94 living and extinct primate species and found a consistent link between thumb length and brain size.

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Evolution of Human Brain May Explain High Autism Rates

A new study suggests that autism may be linked to the rapid evolution of brain cell types unique to humans. Researchers found that outer-layer neurons in the human brain evolved far more quickly than in other apes, with significant changes in autism-associated genes.

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Elderly Positivity Bias May Signal Early Cognitive Decline

New research suggests that the tendency of older adults to misinterpret neutral or negative emotions as positive may be a warning sign of cognitive decline. In a study of 665 participants, positivity bias was associated with poorer cognitive performance but not with emotional decline such as depression.

Experimental Drugs Reverse Autism Symptoms

Researchers have identified hyperactivity in the reticular thalamic nucleus as a driver of autism-like behaviors in mice. This brain region, which gates sensory information, was found to be overactive during stimuli and social interactions, leading to seizures, repetitive behaviors, and social withdrawal.

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Your Red Is My Red: Shared Brain Codes for Color

Human brains share common patterns of activity when perceiving colors, suggesting universal neural coding of color. Researchers compared brain responses from one group of participants to predict what colors another group was viewing, finding high accuracy in decoding both color and brightness.

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