Field: Brain

A potential new Alzheimer’s drug represses the harmful inflammatory response of the brain’s immune cells, improving cognition in tests.

A microdevice that injects up to 20 drugs into gliomas at once could help doctors quickly identify the best treatment for cancer patients.

A newly discovered brain cell that appears to be a hybrid of the two other primary types could shake up the world of neuroscience.

Speech BCIs that use brain implants and algorithms to translate brain signals into text are changing the lives of people with paralysis.

Training an AI to reconstruct a song from listeners’ brain activity revealed insights about the brain that could lead to better speech BCIs.

Newly identified patterns of injury linked to “hidden consciousness” could lead to better outcomes for people in comas or vegetative states.

A new brain mapping study identified commonalities in the brains of people with mental illnesses, and it could lead to better treatments.

A noninvasive form of brain stimulation developed by Japanese researchers improved the symptoms of Parkinsonian gait in a small trial.

Speech is unique to humans, yet most brain structures involved in speech are also present in Old World monkeys and other primates — except this one.

Researchers found brain wave signatures that could help determine when patients are transitioning into a deep state of unconsciousness.

A first-of-its-kind AI-powered brain implant has restored movement and feeling in a New York man with quadriplegia since 2020.

The Australian military is funding research into "organoid intelligence" that involves stimulating lab-grown mini-brains with electrodes.

Microglia perform many functions in the brain, and their role in seizures is unclear — a new study in mice aims to find out more.

Researchers found a surge of neurophysiological activity in the dying human brain, including in regions associated with conscious processing.

Brain-computer interfaces raise many ethical questions about how and whether they should be used for certain applications — including war.

Two teams of researchers have used CRISPR to alter the genes of mice to alleviate signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Research from the 1960s proves creating new neurons as adults is possible, and modern-day research explains how to promote it.

Scientists reviewed 40 years of clinical studies that assessed the effects of NA-targeting drugs, such as certain ADHD drugs, on Alzheimer’s.

A brain scanning study on unconsciously processed visual information disrupts a leading theory of consciousness: global workspace theory.

A sensory mechanism that governs how quickly flies age may also have a corollary in people.

If Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with its mind, imagine what humans could do with the same technology in just a few years.

Theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow offers three strategies for relaxing your cognitive filters to give your brilliant ideas time to shine.

Japanese researchers have discovered that the cancer drug sunitinib can prevent the formation of brain aneurysms in mice.

Neural activity may be more influenced by the shape of the brain – its grooves, contours, and folds – than by its complex interconnections.

Startup Precision Neuroscience has tested its flexible, ultra-thin brain implants in people for the first time.

An analysis of over 100 studies helps resolve conflicting evidence on the benefits of transcranial alternating current stimulation, or tACS.

A trial of patients with treatment-resistant depression found ketamine to be at least as effective as electroconvulsive therapy.

Brain stimulation during sleep appears to help with memory consolidation, suggesting a new way to treat people with memory disorders.

The first treatments proven to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s are helping settle a decades-long debate about how the disease starts.

A man with paralyzed legs is walking again thanks to a “digital bridge” between his brain and a spinal stimulator.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) appears to relieve depression by correcting brain signals that are traveling the wrong direction.

A soft brain implant that unfurls under the skull could make implantation surgeries less costly and risky.

A surgical team has performed a surgery that alleviated a dangerous brain condition before it was too late.

Researchers have turned to this unique genetic population to find insights into how our genes play a role in mental health.

Researchers have measured gamma waves, a sign of brain activity, in patients who were dying.

Eli Lilly’s new Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a phase 3 trial, but two people died from side effects.

Self-organising networks of tiny silver wires appear to learn and remember in much the same way as the thinking hardware in our heads.

The discovery of an "anxiety gene" — and a natural way to put the brakes on it — in mice could lead to new treatments for anxiety disorders.

A new brain cancer treatment not only cured 100% of mice that received it, but also trained their immune systems to fight future cancers.

A new brain imaging technique that generates ultra-high resolution images of mouse brains could revolutionize neuroscience research.

MindMed and University Hospital Basel have announced top line results for their phase 2 trial.

The “wonder material” graphene has been used to develop a dry sensor that could enable anyone to control technology with their minds.

When does our consciousness disappear? And are we really flooded by memories in our final moments? Scientists hope to find out.

Thanks to groundbreaking innovations in neuroscience, we’re seeing that forms of paralysis long assumed to be permanent can be reversed.

Here are the latest developments in neurotech, from brain-computer interfaces to brain-inspired AI.

3D printing could make blood vessel replicas with the soft feel and the structural accuracy surgeons need.

A new protein discovery may have highlighted a "switch" in brain cells that slows down inflammation and aging.

A new wrist-worn device from the University of Nottingham uses electrical pulses to help curb Tourette syndrome symptoms.

The FDA has approved Pfizer’s zavegepant, a nasal spray for migraines that can ease pain in as few as 15 minutes.

Digital distractions have become a ubiquitous part of work and life. But these distractions begin with emotional discomfort.

Researchers have discovered that psychedelics can activate 5-HT2A receptors inside of cortical neurons, a possible cause of their therapeutic effects.

End of life patients face existential and spiritual challenges other patients do not. Psychedelics may be uniquely suited to helping them.

Spinal cord stimulation has been shown to improve upper-limb mobility in stroke survivors for the first time.

London-based Small Pharma has released positive top-line results for their phase 2a trial of DMT as an antidepressant.

New research has shown that human “mini brains” can integrate with damaged rat brains to perform functions related to sight.

Stanford researchers have developed a brain-computer interface that allowed a woman to “type” 62 words per minute using only her thoughts.

Alto Neuroscience’s depression drug seems effective in early trials, a proof-of-concept for biomarker-based design.

Researchers possibly witnessed entanglement in the brain, indicating that some brain activity, like consciousness, operates on a quantum level.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound has been used to deliver chemo into the brain of a pediatric cancer patient for the first time.

A new hypothesis suggests that Alzheimer's disease is the result of "jumping genes" in the brain, not inflammation or plaque.

Lecanemab, a new Alzheimer’s medication shown to slow cognitive decline in patients, has been granted accelerated approval by the FDA.

Research suggests that microglia play a key role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases by helping to remove toxic waste.

MIT researchers are developing a therapy that uses 40-Hz light and sound to alter Alzheimer’s patients’ gamma waves.

Researchers suggest that dreaming helps us generalize our experiences so that we can adapt to new circumstances.

LA-based startup Bionaut Labs is developing micro-sized medical robots that are guided through the body by magnets.

During a livestreamed event, a Neuralink robot precisely inserted 64 electrode-packed threads into a dummy brain in just 15 minutes.

Northwest Biotherapeutics reports that its new brain cancer vaccine can extend glioblastoma patients’ lives by months or even years.

An intensive form of mindfulness was found as effective as Lexapro in treating anxiety in adults in the first head-to-head comparative study.

A deep brain stimulator powered by breathing could eliminate the need for patients to undergo regular battery-change surgeries.

The Stentrode — a brain-computer interface implanted through minimally invasive surgery — has been used to send text messages from an iPad

Washington University in St. Louis is embarking on a drug trial that may also put the amyloid hypothesis to its ultimate test.

A new mouse study suggests that synthetic retinoids may be able to help restore vision in adults with Leber congenital amaurosis.

Eisai and Biogen are reporting that their new Alzheimer’s antibody slowed cognitive decline by 27% in a global trial.

Researcher Nako Nakatsuka has turned to DNA to tackle an important challenge: how do we measure chemicals in the brain?

A brain-zapping "memory prosthesis" funded by DARPA improved trial participants' ability to retain new information by more than 50%.

A treatment that “starved” aggressive glioblastoma tumors in the brains of mice suggests a way to finally fight the deadly cancer in humans.

In the long run, procrastination isn’t an effective way of managing emotions and causes health and work setbacks.

A new drug can repair stroke damage in mice, improving memory and motor skills. If it works in humans, it could lead to a paradigm shift in stroke treatment.

Are we really only a moment away from "The Singularity," a technological epoch that will usher in a new era in human evolution?

The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has sent a memo supportive of psychedelic therapies. What does that mean for the field?

UNC researchers have found evidence that the genetic makeup of a crucial receptor may impact your psychedelic experience.

The 5-hour rule asks us to devote at least one hour a day to learning, experimenting, and reflecting. Here's how to make it work for you.

Crows and the rest of the corvid family keep turning out to be smarter and smarter. A corvid's pallium has more neurons than a great ape's.

University of Arizona researchers have uncovered a protein that might be behind some epilepsy cases with currently unknown causes.

How can we know that we're dead after we die? Some evidence attributes a certain neurological phenomenon to a near death experience.

After decades, the Department of Veterans Affairs is once again investigating psychedelic therapies.

A retrospective study found that Alzheimer’s symptoms improved in patients who took two FDA-approved drugs that treat psychiatric disorders.

Yale researchers have conducted a small study finding DMT is safe and tolerable enough for more research.

Researchers believe they may have discovered the mechanism behind fear’s sticking power in our memory.

Researchers have developed a microbot-containing, magnetically controlled catheter for removing blood from brain hemorrhages.

Advanced neuroprosthetics are here, and they could hook our brains into the Internet of Things.

Researchers are trying to harness deep sleep to bolster the glymphatic system, which helps flush brain tissue.

Ohio State researchers have found that an already approved anticonvulsant drug helps increase stroke recovery in mice.

A robotic finger can feel like a part of our hand after just a short time using it, suggesting that our brains can "own" extra body parts.

When you struggle with anxiety or depression, sex may be the last thing on your mind. But it can be a tool for well-being.

Stanford researchers have found that an infusion of cerebrospinal fluid from young mice improves the memory of old ones.

On the mountainsides of Nepal and Turkey, bees sometimes produce a strange and dangerous concoction: mad honey.

It's the first time the FDA has approved clinical trials for a brain-computer interface.

A study of nearly 6,000 stroke patient genomes suggests a treatment idea abandoned for decades should get a second look.