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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.

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

New research reveals a distinct brain activity signature in children who become overwhelmed by sensory input such as noise, touch, or bright lights. Using functional MRI, scientists found that overly sensitive children show reduced activation in outward-facing sensory and motor networks while increasing activation in inward-focused networks tied to cognition and impulse control.
A new study has identified a specific brain circuit that can push behavior into a compulsive “repeat mode,” forcing mice to continue digging and sniffing even when rewards are available. The circuit links the nucleus accumbens to the hypothalamus and then to the lateral habenula, a region involved in processing negative experiences.
New research shows that dementia risk is best predicted by combining genetic vulnerability with cardiovascular disease markers, revealing a more precise and actionable way to identify who is most likely to develop the condition. While genes such as APOE4 and family history contribute heavily, equally powerful are modifiable factors like hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.
A new study shows that oral arginine, a naturally occurring amino acid, can significantly suppress amyloid-β aggregation in Alzheimer’s disease models. Researchers found that arginine not only prevented Aβ42 from clumping but also reduced plaques and inflammation in mouse and fruit fly models carrying Alzheimer’s-related mutations.
A large-scale analysis of nearly 1,900 children found that those with a family history of substance use disorder show early differences in how their brains transition between activity states, long before any drug exposure. Girls with family history showed increased transition energy in introspective networks, suggesting greater difficulty shifting out of internal, stress-linked states.

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

A new meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials shows that lithium supplementation does not significantly slow cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. While preclinical evidence suggests lithium supports resilience against amyloid and tau pathology, these benefits failed to translate to clinical outcomes using traditional lithium salts.
New research reveals that women with long COVID show distinct biological disruptions — including gut inflammation, anemia, and abnormal hormone levels — that may explain their heightened and persistent symptoms. These findings emerged from immune, biomarker, and genetic analyses in people one year after infection.
A new study reveals that people with lower incomes and those from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups carry a higher burden of modifiable dementia risk factors. Vision loss and social isolation were among the most significant contributors for those living below the poverty line, suggesting that better access to healthcare and community support could have major protective effects.
A large-scale study of more than 86,000 Europeans found that speaking multiple languages may help slow biological and cognitive aging. Using artificial intelligence to assess “biobehavioral age gaps,” researchers discovered that multilingual individuals were over twice as likely to show signs of healthy aging compared to monolinguals.

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

A new study demonstrates that an AI assistant can conduct psychiatric assessment interviews with greater diagnostic accuracy than widely used mental health rating scales. In a sample of 303 participants with confirmed psychiatric conditions, the AI assistant Alba provided DSM-based diagnostic suggestions after a brief conversational interview, outperforming rating scales in eight of nine disorders.
A team of researchers used a massive dance video dataset and advanced AI models to map how the human brain interprets dance, revealing striking differences between experts and nonexperts. By pairing fMRI recordings with AI-derived cross-modal features, they found that higher-order brain regions outperform simple motion or sound cues when processing choreography.
Researchers showed that large language models use a small, specialized subset of parameters to perform Theory-of-Mind reasoning, despite activating their full network for every task. This sparse internal circuitry depends heavily on positional encoding, especially rotary positional encoding, which shapes how the model tracks beliefs and perspectives.
A new brain decoding method called mind captioning can generate accurate text descriptions of what a person is seeing or recalling—without relying on the brain's language system. Instead, it uses semantic features from vision-related brain activity and deep learning models to translate nonverbal thoughts into structured sentences.
Researchers have shown that adaptive music systems that adjust tempo and rhythm to match a user’s movement can make exercise significantly more enjoyable and motivating. These personalized interactive music systems use real-time data from wearables to keep music aligned with walking, cycling, or weightlifting intensity, helping users stay in rhythm and maintain effort.

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

A new behavioral study demonstrates that sudden, unexpected events can significantly increase altruistic behavior in everyday environments. When a person dressed as Batman appeared on a Milan subway, passengers were nearly twice as likely to give up their seats to a pregnant woman compared to the normal routine condition.
A large international survey of 858 electroconvulsive therapy recipients found that women are twice as likely as men to receive ECT and experience more adverse effects. Women reported higher rates of memory loss, greater feelings of coercion, and more harmful emotional outcomes, often describing the treatment as retraumatizing.
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial shows that cannabis with active THC reduces immediate alcohol cravings and lowers drinking levels in heavy-drinking young adults. After smoking THC, participants not only drank less, they waited longer before taking the first sip and reported lower urges to drink.
New research shows that infants whose mothers had higher cortisol levels during late pregnancy experience significantly earlier eruption of primary teeth. Babies of mothers with the highest cortisol levels had, on average, four more teeth by six months than those of mothers with the lowest levels.
A new clinical trial shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) improved symptoms in half of adults with treatment-resistant depression, with one-third reaching remission. Researchers found that theta-frequency brain activity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) predicted how well each patient responded.

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A new study reveals that the brain’s responsiveness and capacity for learning shift with the time of day, governed by molecules like adenosine that link metabolism, sleep, and neural signaling. Using optogenetics, researchers found that identical stimuli activated brain cells differently at sunrise versus sunset, suggesting that neuronal excitability and plasticity follow daily rhythms.
Neuroscientists have discovered that when the brain is distracted, coordinated “rotating” waves of neural activity help it steer back to focus. Using electrical recordings in animals, the team found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex synchronize in circular patterns—like starlings in flight—to recover from cognitive interruptions.
Older adults who regularly listen to or play music may significantly lower their risk of dementia, according to a study of more than 10,800 people over age 70. Those who always listened to music showed a 39% lower risk of developing dementia and better memory performance, while those who played instruments had a 35% lower risk.