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brain development

·March 24, 2026·11 min read

COVID-19’s Stalling Effect on Children’s Executive Function

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly stunted the growth of children's executive function skills regardless of family income. This delay in self-control and attention development may be a primary driver of post-pandemic academic and behavioral struggles.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 23, 2026·7 min read

Mild Hypoxia Rewires the Preterm Brain Without Direct Injury

Mild hypoxia in preterm babies impairs memory by altering protein channels in the hippocampus. Researchers successfully reversed these deficits in adult models, identifying a potential target for treating long-term cognitive issues.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 18, 2026·8 min read

Positive Childhood Experiences and Special Health Care Needs

Researchers identify that 20% of U.S. children with special health needs are missing out on the protective "Positive Childhood Experiences" vital for adult health.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 2, 2026·6 min read

Brain’s Family Tree: A New Theory of Neural Self-Organization

A new theory of brain development suggests that neurons find their place by staying near their relatives, rather than following distant chemical signals.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·February 25, 2026·7 min read

RNA Cleanup System Maps the Brain

Lost without a map. Scientists identify an RNA "surveillance system" that acts as a GPS for neurons, ensuring they reach the right layers to build a functioning brain.

This shows a brain of fresh foods and processed foods, representing how diet affect brain and cognitive development.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 16, 2026·11 min read

Early Life Diets Quietly Shape IQ Years Later

New research shows that a toddler's diet can predict their IQ in elementary school, and ultra processed foods are the primary culprit.

This is an abstract image of a head and an eye with bight colored objects surrounding it representing visual experiences.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·February 15, 2026·8 min read

Visual Experiences Shape the Brain’s Feedback Loop

Your brain is a reflection of what you see. New research shows that visual experience doesn't just activate the brain—it physically wires the feedback loops that define how we perceive the world.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·December 29, 2025·8 min read

Missing Brain Receptor May Hold the Key to Autism

Autistic adults show reduced availability of a key glutamate receptor, mGlu5, across widespread brain regions. This difference supports the theory that an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling may contribute to autism-related traits.

This shows DNA and other cellular factors associated with ASD.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 10, 2025·9 min read

Many Autism Cases May Be Preventable

A new study proposes that autism arises when genetic vulnerability, an early environmental trigger, and prolonged activation of the cellular stress response align during critical developmental windows. This “three-hit” metabolic model reframes autism as a disorder of disrupted cellular communication and energy metabolism rather than an inevitable genetic outcome.

This shows the outline of a child's head.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 8, 2025·6 min read

Extreme Heat Linked to Delays in Early Childhood Development

Young children exposed to unusually high temperatures are less likely to reach basic developmental milestones in literacy and numeracy. Analyzing data from over 19,000 children across multiple countries, the study found that average maximum temperatures above 86 °F were associated with measurable declines in early learning outcomes.

This shows a child reaching to touch neurons.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 3, 2025·6 min read

Early-Life Stimulation Switches On a Molecular Code for Memory

New research shows that childhood environments shape lifelong memory through a single molecular switch that controls learning-related gene activity. In animal models, enriched early experiences activated this switch, strengthening neural circuits involved in memory and cognition, while deprived environments suppressed it.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 1, 2025·5 min read

Smelling Fatty Foods in Pregnancy May Raise Obesity Risk in Children

New research shows that exposure to the smell of fatty foods during pregnancy and early life can reprogram the developing brain and increase the risk of obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood. Even when mothers consumed a healthy low-fat diet, the presence of fatty food odors altered how offspring responded to high-fat foods later.