Neuroscience News - AI, Neuroscience, Psychology Research

·November 21, 2025·5 min read

What Triggers Tantrums? Sensory Overload May Be To Blame

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.

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·November 21, 2025·5 min read

Brain Circuit That Forces Behavior Into “Repeat Mode” Identified

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.

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·November 21, 2025·6 min read

Genetics Plus Heart Health Markers Sharpen Dementia Risk

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.

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Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 21, 2025·6 min read

Supplement Shows Promise in Blocking Amyloid in Alzheimer’s

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.

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Featured Neuroscience

·November 21, 2025·6 min read

Early Brain Activity Differences Predict Addiction Risk in Boys vs Girls

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.

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Neuroscience

·November 21, 2025·7 min read

Screen Time in Tweens Predicts ADHD, Slower Brain Growth

A large, two-year study of nearly 12,000 children found that higher screen time at ages 9–10 predicts an increase in ADHD symptoms, independent of a child’s starting symptom level. Brain imaging revealed that heavy screen use is associated with smaller cortical volume and disrupted development in regions critical for attention, cognition, and reward processing.

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·November 20, 2025·5 min read

Thrill Fatigue: How Dopamine Devalues Repeated Rewards

New research shows that the same dopamine receptor mechanism responsible for drug addiction also governs the natural decline in motivation when we repeat rewarding behaviors. By studying male fruit flies, researchers found that dopamine acting through the D2 receptor promotes persistence during mating, but repeated experiences cause these receptors to desensitize.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 20, 2025·6 min read

AI Interviews Outperform Standard Mental Health Rating Scales

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.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 20, 2025·5 min read

Unexpected Superhero Cameos Make People Kinder

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.

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Featured Neuroscience

·November 20, 2025·8 min read

Language Emerged From Many Roots, Not Just One

A new framework argues that human language did not arise from a single evolutionary leap but from the convergence of many biological abilities and cultural processes. The authors highlight how speech learning, grammar formation, and social cooperation evolved along different paths before merging into the complex communication we use today.

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·November 20, 2025·7 min read

The Brain Has a Dance Mode, And AI Just Mapped It

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.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 20, 2025·10 min read

Brain Releases Hidden Kinase to Supercharge Pain and Learning

New research reveals that neurons release a little-understood extracellular kinase called VLK to strengthen synaptic connections, providing a missing piece in how the nervous system adapts during learning and pain. The kinase phosphorylates EphB receptors outside the cell, which recruits NMDA receptors and amplifies synaptic signaling.

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