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Open Neuroscience Articles

Open access neuroscience articles are research articles that use at least one open access research paper as a reference. Open access articles are free for anyone to read.

This shows a person exercising and a brain.

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·September 23, 2025·5 min read

Lactate Infusions Mimic Exercise’s Brain-Boosting Benefits

A new study shows that the brain benefits of exercise may be partly replicated with an IV infusion of lactate, the by-product of intense physical activity. Researchers found that such infusions increased pro-BDNF levels in the blood—molecules linked to brain growth and resilience—without requiring exercise.

This shows people walking up and down hills.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 28, 2025·3 min read

The Midlife “Unhappiness Hump” Has Vanished, But at a Cost

A new large-scale study finds that the long-observed “unhappiness hump,” where mental distress peaked in midlife, has disappeared. Instead, younger people now report the highest levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, with ill-being declining across the lifespan.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 27, 2025·3 min read

Cannabis Linked to Reduced Insomnia and Anxiety

A new study suggests cannabis-based medical products may help people with insomnia sleep better over the long term. Across 124 patients followed for up to 18 months, participants consistently reported improved sleep quality, less anxiety and depression, and a better overall quality of life.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 15, 2025·3 min read

Childhood Emotional Trauma Linked to Later Social Distress

A new study reveals that childhood emotional trauma increases social avoidance and distress in adolescents, but resilience can help mitigate these effects. Surveying 577 junior high students, researchers found resilience acted as a buffer, enabling traumatized teens to engage more positively with peers.

This shows a person sleeping and cheese.

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·July 1, 2025·6 min read

Eating Dairy May Trigger Nightmares

A new study links lactose intolerance and food sensitivities to disrupted sleep and frequent nightmares. Researchers surveyed over 1,000 students and found that those with dairy intolerance reported more vivid and disturbing dreams, likely due to nighttime gastrointestinal discomfort.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 29, 2025·4 min read

How Personality and Family Shape Athletic Self-Perception

A new study of Japanese undergraduates finds that students' perceptions of their own athletic ability are shaped by a mix of personality traits, childhood environment, and social feedback. Those who rated themselves as more athletic also tended to display grit, resilience, and a growth mindset. Factors like early walking age, athletic parents, frequent sports participation, and being called athletic by others were also linked to higher self-ratings.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·May 20, 2025·4 min read

Color Knowledge Tied to Language-Visual Brain Circuitry

A new study shows that our ability to recall details about familiar objects—like a banana’s typical color—depends on strong connections between visual and language-processing areas of the brain. Researchers found that stroke patients with disrupted neural pathways between these regions had weaker object-color knowledge and altered brain activity.

This shows a group of people and a person on their own.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 8, 2025·5 min read

People Prefer to Empathize With Groups Over Individuals

People are more likely to choose to empathize with groups rather than individuals, even though they find empathizing equally difficult in both scenarios. Using a card-based empathy selection task, participants opted to empathize 53% of the time when shown groups, versus just 34% for individuals. Researchers suggest that groups provide more contextual information, making empathizing feel more intuitive or meaningful.

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·May 5, 2025·5 min read

Out-of-Body Experiences Offer New Clues About Consciousness

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are often dismissed as hallucinations or brain malfunctions, but a new study gives voice to those who have lived them. Through in-depth interviews, participants described their OBEs as vivid, often peaceful, and undeniably real—sometimes more real than waking life.

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·April 18, 2025·5 min read

How Intent Shapes Perception of Action

A groundbreaking study used a brain-machine interface to explore how intentions, actions, and their outcomes are temporally linked in the human brain. By recording single-neuron activity from a paralyzed individual with implanted electrodes, researchers enabled intentional hand movement through machine-learning-driven muscle stimulation.

This shows a person sticking out their tongue and neurons.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 10, 2025·5 min read

Purkinje Cells Control Tongue Precision in Skilled Movements

Researchers studying marmosets discovered that Purkinje cells in the cerebellum help regulate tongue movement by signaling when to stop as the tongue nears its target. These cells were highly engaged during precision tasks, like inserting the tongue into narrow tubes, but not during casual grooming.

This shows a hand holding a brain and another reaching out to touch it.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 9, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Separates Touch We Choose vs. Touch We Receive

Touch is a vital sense, yet the brain processes active and passive touch using distinct pathways. In mice, researchers found that different regions of the thalamus—the brain’s sensory hub—respond uniquely depending on whether the animal actively explored with its whiskers or passively received a touch.