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brain research

Research articles and news stories tagged with brain research

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·August 12, 2025·4 min read

When Gut Rhythms Over-Sync With the Brain, Mental Strain Rises

A large-scale study has found that unusually strong coordination between brain activity and the stomach’s slow, rhythmic waves may signal greater mental distress. Using fMRI and electrogastrography on more than 240 people, researchers observed that higher synchronization was associated with elevated anxiety, depression, and stress.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 12, 2025·4 min read

Why the Blood-Brain Barrier Weakens With Age

A new study has uncovered why the blood-brain barrier — the brain’s protective shield — becomes leakier with age, potentially triggering memory decline. Researchers identified that proteins N-cadherin and occludin, which help maintain the barrier’s tight junctions, decrease over time.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·10 min read

Friendship Chemistry: How Oxytocin Shapes Who We Bond With

New research on prairie voles shows that while oxytocin is not strictly necessary for friendship, it plays a vital role in quickly forming and maintaining strong social bonds. Voles lacking oxytocin receptors took up to a week to develop preferences for peers that normal voles formed in a day, and they often failed to prioritize known companions in group settings.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·5 min read

Basal Ganglia Switches Neural Codes for Learned vs. Innate Skills

A new study reveals that the brain’s basal ganglia use two distinct neural “languages” to control movement — one for learned skills and another for innate behaviors. Studying rats, researchers found that the dorsolateral striatum was essential for learned tasks but not for natural movements like walking or grooming.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·5 min read

Reshaping Nuclear Speckles Could Halt Alzheimer’s

A groundbreaking study reveals that reshaping nuclear speckles — tiny structures inside cell nuclei that regulate protein maintenance — could be a novel way to treat proteinopathies like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases. Researchers found that pyrvinium pamoate, an existing FDA-approved drug, alters the surface tension of nuclear speckles, making them less round and more effective at supporting proteostasis.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·5 min read

Brain’s Memory Rhythm: How Neurons Sync to Store and Recall

Researchers studying people with epilepsy have discovered that nerve cells in the medial temporal lobe coordinate their firing with slow brain waves to encode and retrieve memories. This synchronization, known as theta-phase locking, occurs at one to ten cycles per second and is active during both learning and recall.

This shows two people with brain overlays.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·3 min read

Oxytocin’s Social Boost Depends on Motivation

A new study reveals that oxytocin’s ability to enhance social behavior depends heavily on the recipient’s motivation. In rhesus monkeys, the hormone boosted and sustained social decision-making only when the animals were already inclined toward social engagement.

This shows a brain with the cerebral cortex highlighted.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·7 min read

Touch-Processing Brain Layers Age Differently

Researchers found that the touch-processing region of the brain ages in a layered pattern, with some layers staying resilient while others thin over time. High-resolution MRI scans revealed that the middle and upper layers of the primary somatosensory cortex often remain stable or thicken with age, likely due to frequent sensory stimulation.

This shows healthy microglia and neurons.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 11, 2025·8 min read

Microglia Transplant Restores Function in Degenerative Brain Disease

Scientists have developed a targeted brain cell transplant that could transform treatment for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases. By depleting diseased microglia and replacing them with healthy donor precursor cells, researchers restored crucial enzyme function in the brain and dramatically extended lifespan in mice.

This shows the outline of a sad child, a child looking into the mirror and an ominous adult in the background. There are chains tying the child to the adult.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 11, 2025·5 min read

Early Abuse Shapes Adult Sexual Behavior

A new study has found that sexual narcissism mediates the link between childhood trauma and compulsive sexual behavior. Researchers compared individuals with and without compulsive sexual behavior, measuring trauma history, sexual narcissism, and hypersexuality.

This shows a couple at a crossroads. One way shows a bright future, the other, a darker future.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 10, 2025·6 min read

How Upbringing Shapes Risk Decisions

A new study suggests that the way you take risks as an adult may depend less on how risky you are by nature and more on the types of resources you had growing up. Researchers found that people who were “socially rich” (strong social support, less money) and “economically rich” (more money, less social support) took similar risks but used different brain regions to get there.

This shows two people working and listening to music at the same time.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 10, 2025·6 min read

When Music Meets Attention: How Background Tunes Shape Focus

A new study compared background music listening habits between young adults with and without ADHD, revealing distinct patterns in when and what they listen to. ADHD-screened participants reported more frequent music use during both less demanding tasks and while studying, with a stronger preference for stimulating tracks.