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brainstem

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·November 4, 2025·6 min read

BrainSTEM Atlas Maps Every Cell of the Developing Human Brain

Scientists have built one of the most comprehensive single-cell maps of the developing human brain. The new BrainSTEM framework analyzed nearly 680,000 fetal brain cells to chart their growth and interactions, offering a detailed reference for studying neuron development.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·October 8, 2025·8 min read

Hunger, Fear, and the Brain’s Hidden Switch to Turn Off Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects nearly 50 million Americans, yet new research reveals the brain may have an internal switch that can turn it down. Scientists identified a group of neurons in the brainstem that regulate long-term pain by integrating signals related to hunger, fear, and thirst.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·June 20, 2025·4 min read

Chronic Pain Linked to Neuron Overactivity in the Brainstem

A new study reveals that neurons in the brainstem respond very differently to acute versus chronic pain, potentially explaining why some pain persists long after injury. In acute pain, neurons in the medullary dorsal horn reduce their activity through a natural “braking” system involving A-type potassium currents, helping limit pain signals.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 2, 2025·4 min read

Brain-Body Links in Emotion and Health

Researchers have developed D-PSCAN, a novel imaging technique that enables high-resolution, minimally invasive observation of the brainstem’s nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) in living animals. The NTS, a vital relay for signals from organs via the vagus nerve, plays a key role in emotion regulation and overall mental health.

This shows a head, a brain, neurons, and sound waves.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·January 10, 2025·5 min read

New Neuron Types Discovered in Brainstem’s Sound Processing Center

Researchers have identified and mapped diverse cell types in the cochlear nucleus, the brainstem region responsible for processing sound. Using advanced molecular techniques, they uncovered distinct and newly identified cell types that process specific sound features, such as sharp noises or pitch changes.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 2, 2024·6 min read

Brainstem Plays Vital Role in Visual Attention

Researchers highlights the locus coeruleus (LC), a small brainstem region, as critical in enhancing visual sensory processing through its production of norepinephrine. In the study scientists used optogenetics to activate these specific neurons in non-human primates, significantly improving their performance in a visual attention task.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 27, 2022·3 min read

A Brain Circuit Underpinning Locomotor Speed Control

A neural circuit that decodes the start, duration and sudden change of speed of locomotion has been identified.

This shows a drawing of a brain over a hand

Featured Neuroscience

·September 3, 2022·8 min read

How the Brain Processes Sensory Information From Internal Organs

A new mouse study provides clues as to how the brain processes sensory information from internal organs, revealing feedback from organs activates different clusters of neurons in the brain stem.

This shows the outline of a fork and spoon

Featured Neuroscience

·August 27, 2022·4 min read

Mapping Brain Stem’s Control of Eating Could Lead to Better Treatments for Obesity

Researchers investigate neural pathways that meet in the brainstem which help control feeding behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 16, 2022·4 min read

How the Brain Gathers Threat Cues and Turns Them Into Fear

CGRP neurons found in subregions of the thalamus and brainstem relay multisensory threat information to the amygdala. These neural circuits are essential for the formation of aversive memories, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Pain

·June 6, 2022·3 min read

Activating an Amygdala-Brainstem Pathway Relieves Pain and Improves Emotional State in Rats

Researchers report activating a pathway between the amygdala and brain stem helps to relieve pain and reduce defensive behaviors in rat models.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 7, 2022·4 min read

Brainstem Atrophy Is Linked to Extrapyramidal Symptoms in Frontotemporal Dementia

Patients who suffer from frontotemporal dementia with extrapyramidal symptoms have brainstem atrophy and reduced metabolic activity in specific brain regions compared to those with FTD without extrapyramidal symptoms.