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brain development

This shows the outline of heads and DNA.

·September 9, 2025·4 min read

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.

This shows a teen alone in a dark room with a cell phone, surrounded by emojis.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 9, 2025·5 min read

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.

This shows a speech therapist and a child.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 8, 2025·3 min read

Biofeedback Speeds Up Speech Therapy for Struggling Kids

A large-scale clinical trial tested biofeedback-based therapy for children with residual speech sound disorder, a condition where pronunciation errors persist past age eight. Biofeedback methods—like ultrasound imaging or acoustic displays—gave children visual cues to adjust their tongue movements, accelerating progress with difficult sounds such as “r.”

This shows people of different ages and speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 8, 2025·3 min read

How Teens and Adults Really Change Language

For decades, scholars believed children’s speech errors were the seeds of language change, but new research challenges that view. The study argues that everyday language use among adolescents and adults, not children, is the real driver of linguistic evolution.

This shows a mom holding a baby with a clock in the background.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 6, 2025·5 min read

Breast Milk Has a Built-In Body Clock for Babies

Breast milk is more than nourishment—it delivers circadian cues that may shape infant sleep, immunity, and metabolism. Researchers analyzing milk samples found that melatonin peaked at night and cortisol in the early morning, while other immune-related proteins remained steady.

This shows the outline of a child's head and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 5, 2025·6 min read

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.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 4, 2025·5 min read

Autism Gene Found to Alter Brain’s Social Hormone Signals

A new study reveals how a mutation in the Shank3 gene, associated with autism, alters social behavior by disrupting vasopressin release in the brain. In mice, this mutation reduced sociability and defensive aggression by limiting vasopressin reaching the lateral septum.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 4, 2025·5 min read

Astrocyte Disruption Tied to Depression After Childhood Stress

Researchers have shown that astrocytes in the lateral hypothalamus play a pivotal role in how stress shapes behavior, particularly after early-life adversity. In mice, stress led to smaller, less branched astrocytes and abnormal orexin neuron activity, with sex-specific patterns in activity levels.

This shows a mom and baby surrounded by speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 4, 2025·5 min read

Why Babies Babble: New Clues Reveal Language Origins

Human babies’ babbling is more than cute noise—it’s a feedback-driven learning strategy that sets the foundation for language. A new study shows that marmoset monkeys, despite being distant relatives, also babble and learn faster when adults respond, suggesting a shared mechanism.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 30, 2025·5 min read

“Junk DNA” Plays Key Role in Brain Development and Disease

A new study shows that repetitive DNA, once dismissed as “junk,” plays a critical role in shaping the human brain. Scientists found that LINE-1 transposons, a type of mobile DNA element, are active in stem cells and regulate key genes during early brain development.

This shows a brain and an unkempt child standing alone.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2025·5 min read

Child Neglect Alone Alters Brain Pathways

A new neuroimaging study reveals that child neglect alone, without other forms of abuse, can alter critical brain pathways. Researchers found abnormalities in white matter regions tied to movement, attention, language, and emotional regulation.

This shows a family consulting with a doctor about treatments.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·August 28, 2025·5 min read

Most Alternative Autism Treatments Unproven

A sweeping review of 248 meta-analyses on complementary and alternative medicines (CAIMs) for autism found no strong evidence to support their use. Researchers assessed 19 types of interventions, from music therapy to probiotics, but results were generally unreliable and safety evaluations were scarce.