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sensory neuroscience

This illustration shows a brain wrapped in a scarf and covered in snowflakes.

·February 21, 2026·6 min read

How Your Brain Knows It’s Cold

How do we feel the frost? Scientists have captured the first atomic-level images of the body’s "cold sensor" in action, revealing how menthol tricks our brain.

This shows a neuron with a broken myelin sheath.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 11, 2025·7 min read

Losing Myelin Scrambles the Brain’s Sensory Signals

New research reveals that even a small loss of myelin—the protective coating around neurons—can severely disrupt how the brain sends and interprets sensory information. Studying corticothalamic circuits in mice, scientists found that when the first segment of myelin closest to the neuron’s cell body was degraded, nerve signals slowed and lost their crucial “first wave,” altering how sensory information was encoded.

This shows a person holding their head while watching a movie.

Featured Neuroscience Pain

·November 27, 2025·6 min read

Watching Pain on Screen Can Make Your Body Flinch

Watching someone experience pain on screen activates your own brain’s touch-processing system in a highly organized, body-specific way. Visual regions of the brain contain hidden maps of the body that allow sight alone to trigger sensations normally produced by physical contact.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 24, 2025·7 min read

Thought Begins Before We’re Born

New research using human brain organoids shows that early neural activity follows structured, time-based patterns long before sensory experience begins. These findings suggest the human brain comes preconfigured with a built-in “operating system” for organizing information, rather than relying solely on external input to form its circuits.

This shows a finger with the sensor on it.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 19, 2025·9 min read

Ultra-Thin Finger Patch Recreates Touch With Human-Level Precision

Engineers have created VoxeLite, the first wearable haptic device capable of matching the sensitivity of the human fingertip. Built as a paper-thin, flexible bandage for the finger, it uses high-density electroadhesive “pixels of touch” to recreate fine textures and directional cues with lifelike accuracy.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 17, 2025·4 min read

Brain Splits Smell Into “What It Is” and “How It Feels”

New research shows that the brain separates “what an odor is” from “how it feels,” with each processed at distinct times. Shortly after an odor is presented, the brain activates a fast, objective signal that tracks molecular features and supports accurate odor discrimination.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·September 19, 2025·5 min read

How Neurons Pick Just One Scent Receptor

Researchers studying clonal raider ants have uncovered how each sensory neuron manages to express just one odorant receptor gene from a library of hundreds. Unlike fruit flies or mammals, ants employ a unique system of transcriptional interference: once one receptor gene is chosen, surrounding genes are silenced by readthrough and antisense transcripts.

This shows a robotic hand touching a rose.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 8, 2025·5 min read

Prosthetic Hand Restores Real Sense of Touch

A next-generation neuroprosthetic hand that restores a sense of touch is moving into a pivotal home-use clinical trial. The “iSens” system uses implanted electrodes to read muscle intent and stimulate nerves, relaying fingertip sensations to the brain so the prosthesis feels embodied.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 24, 2025·7 min read

Whiskers That Whisper: Mice Use Sound to Sense Their World

New research reveals that mice use not only touch but also sound to navigate their environments through whisking. These whisker-generated sounds are processed by the auditory cortex, even when tactile input is blocked, suggesting that mice can interpret them as a separate sensory signal.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 20, 2025·5 min read

Silent Signals: How We Recognize Social Rank Instantly

Mice, like humans, navigate social hierarchies using subtle cues—but instead of reading facial expressions or clothing, they rely on chemical signals. A new study reveals that male mice can determine the social rank of unfamiliar opponents using airborne odors and physical scent cues.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 15, 2025·4 min read

All Senses Activate Deep Brain Hubs for Focus and Consciousness

A new study reveals that all human senses—sight, hearing, taste, and touch—activate the same deep brain regions linked to consciousness when attention is sharply focused. Using fMRI data from over 1,500 healthy participants, researchers found that sensory input, regardless of the type, engages the midbrain reticular formation and central thalamus. These areas are crucial for regulating alertness, attention, and awareness.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 9, 2025·2 min read

Majority of Parents Report Sensory Overload From Daily Family Chaos

A new survey finds that nearly 75% of parents experience sensory overload—when sounds, sights, and chaos from daily life overwhelm the brain. The most common triggers include children arguing, loud household noise, and clutter from toys and messes.