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brain research

Research articles and news stories tagged with brain research

This shows a pregnant woman and gut bacteria.

·July 21, 2025·7 min read

Pregnancy Stress Disrupts Baby’s Microbiome, Increasing Depression Risk

Prenatal stress in mothers can leave a lasting imprint on their offspring, predisposing them to depression-like behaviors. Researchers found that maternal stress disrupts the gut microbiome and metabolite production, which are vertically transmitted to the young.

This shows people and wolves with cell phones.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 21, 2025·7 min read

FoMO and Dark Personalities Drive Online Political Engagement

A large cross-national study examined how psychopathy, narcissism, fear of missing out (FoMO), and cognitive ability influence online political participation. Across eight countries, people high in psychopathy and FoMO consistently engaged more in digital political activities, while narcissism predicted participation only in some contexts.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·July 21, 2025·6 min read

Youthful Blood Restores Aging Retina and Vision

Researchers demonstrated that systemic factors from young mice can rejuvenate the aging retina by alleviating cellular senescence and restoring function. Using heterochronic parabiosis and single-cell RNA sequencing, the study identified AdipoR1 and its downstream AMPK signaling as key drivers of retinal rejuvenation.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·July 21, 2025·6 min read

Study Reveals Biological Bias in Baby Boy or Girl Odds

A massive study of over 58,000 women shows that families may have their own subtle biological bias toward having boys or girls, rather than offspring sex being purely random. Researchers found that older maternal age at first birth and specific maternal genetic variants were linked to having only sons or only daughters.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 20, 2025·6 min read

The Brain’s Ripple Effect: How Memories Are Structured

Researchers have identified ripple-type brain waves as key to how humans segment and store memories. By recording brain activity in epilepsy patients watching a TV episode, they found ripples marked event boundaries in the hippocampus while supporting information processing in cortical areas.

This shows a woman holding her head in pain.

Featured Neuroscience Pain

·July 20, 2025·5 min read

How Stress Sounds Amplify Pain and Inflammation

Pain isn’t just physical—it can be socially and emotionally transmitted. New research shows that ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by mice in pain trigger hyperalgesia in nearby mice, even without direct injury.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 19, 2025·4 min read

Flavored Vapes Trigger Reward Centers Even Without Nicotine

A new study shows that some e-cigarette flavorings, like vanilla and cherry, can trigger reward-seeking behaviors in adolescent mice even without nicotine. Researchers found that these flavors alone could activate the brain’s dopamine system, raising concerns about their potential for fostering addiction-like behavior.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·July 19, 2025·6 min read

Genetic Link Between Cannabis Use Disorder and Mental Health

A large genetic study reveals that cannabis use disorder (CanUD) is strongly linked to increased risk for multiple psychiatric disorders, including depression, PTSD, ADHD, and schizophrenia. By analyzing global and local genetic correlations, colocalization, Mendelian randomization, and structural equation modeling, researchers showed CanUD has distinct genetic signatures compared to casual cannabis use.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 19, 2025·6 min read

More Than Serotonin: How Psychedelics Engage the Whole Brain

Classical psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline are known for activating the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, but a new study reveals their effects go far beyond. Researchers profiled 41 psychedelics against over 300 human receptors and found potent activity at serotonin, dopamine, and adrenergic sites.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·July 19, 2025·7 min read

Why Antidepressants Work Better for Some

A meta-analysis of gene expression data from humans and rodents reveals key biological pathways influencing response to the antidepressant fluoxetine. The study highlights the role of immune-related pathways, including toll-like receptor signaling, and neural signal transduction mechanisms in distinguishing responders from non-responders.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 18, 2025·5 min read

Tiny AI Models Reveal How We Really Make Decisions

Decision-making often involves trial and error, but conventional models assume we always act optimally based on past experience. A new study used small, interpretable artificial neural networks to uncover how humans and animals actually make choices—revealing the suboptimal strategies we often use.

This shows a doctor and herbal remedies.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 18, 2025·4 min read

Illusory Beliefs Fuel Risky Health Choices

Beliefs in pseudoscientific health ideas can undermine trust in conventional medicine and lead to riskier health decisions, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed over 1,500 participants and showed that stronger illusory beliefs were linked to higher use of unvalidated therapies and lower adherence to evidence-based practices.