Field: Neuroscience

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

A psychiatrist and neuroscientist began to think of prescribing exercise as telling patients to take their “exercise pills.”

Some anxiety is normal and, in fact, necessary and helpful. But what happens when it interferes with a child's daily functioning?

Most types of antidepressants work by increasing neurotransmitter levels throughout the brain, which take weeks. A new drug takes hours.

Kids' brains develop in four main stages. Each has its own particular set of advancements and challenges for parents.

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.

New research is revealing how physical activity can reduce and even ward off depression, anxiety and other psychological ailments.

Whether you’re trying to break a bad habit or start a good one, psychologists have some tips to get you started.

A psychiatrist and neuroscientists investigate how breathing affect the brain and biological markers of stress and immune function.

Two people with binge eating disorder reported that deep brain stimulation helped them control their eating and lose weight in a small study.

Positive and negative memories are stored in different parts of the brain, raising the possibility of therapeutic memory manipulation.

An injectable gel that prevents scar formation and stimulates regeneration successfully repaired severe spinal cord injuries in mice.

Using computed tomography, a team of researchers generated images of what the brains of early Homo species likely looked like.

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

A new device allowed a paralyzed patient to "speak," spelling out full sentences in real-time with an error rate of about 8%.

Swiss researchers have used epidural electrical stimulation to restore walking in nine people with chronic spinal cord injuries.

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

With ketamine showing potential as an antidepressant, researchers investigate another anesthetic: nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas."

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

People who chose change over inaction, regardless of the decision, self-reported being better off and happier after six months.

Electroconvulsive therapy is more effective than ketamine at treating severe depression, according to a new meta-analysis.

A scientific review found that withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants and antipsychotics can last for over a year.

Deep brain stimulation relies on thin electrodes implanted deep in the brain that deliver electrical currents. Could it treat OCD?

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

Entire religions are constructed around theories of an afterlife, but former monk Stephen Batchelor lists three reasons you won't come back.

The ability of tofersen, a gene-based treatment for ALS, to improve symptoms is being hailed as a “treatment milestone.”

Researchers identified a “building plan” that holds true for every species they looked at — except for humans.

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%.

Creatine shows promise as a treatment for depression, boosting the effects of SSRIs and potentially working as a standalone medication.

Axolotls are a model organism researchers use to study a variety of topics in biology because of their regenerative abilities.

One possible explanation of near death experiences is that our brains are flooded with a hallucinogenic, DMT.

After being separated as toddlers, two identical twins were raised apart in the US and South Korea.

Data-collecting sensors in shoes can predict a Parkinson’s patient’s fall risk almost as accurately as standard walking tests.

People are being diagnosed with depression earlier than in the past because of a decrease in stigma and better diagnostic guidelines.

Life's modern distractions, such as news and social media, have overwhelmed our evolutionarily designed attention spans.

What if there is nothing special about self-awareness? What if it is just evolutionary dead weight, bound to disappear soon?

A new epilepsy treatment that's delivered as a nasal spray may be able to prevent seizures or even interrupt them.

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?

How do you engineer an implant that doesn't harm an organ as soft as tofu? MIT engineers 3D-printed new soft brain implants.

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.

A study by Yale researchers finds that reading books in particular returns cognitive gains that increase longevity.

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

Research shows if you cultivate a more optimistic mindset, you might further increase your chances for a long life.

A tiny implant that wraps around nerves and cools them to deliver targeted pain relief could help address the opioid crisis.

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.

Unexpected outcomes trigger release of noradrenaline, which helps the brain focus its attention and learn from the event.

Every social interaction is a game of chess, trying to get inside someone’s head to navigate what they are thinking or what they will do.

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

Scientists in the relatively new field of “geopsychology” are seeing links between personality and location.

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

The common HIV drug maraviroc improved memory linking in aging mice and might be able to help people experiencing memory loss, too.

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

An ultra-small deep brain stimulation (DBS) device could increase the number of Parkinson’s patients to receive the powerful treatment.

Using infrared light and a Nobel Prize-winning molecule that detects chili pepper heat, researchers can control brain cells from a distance.

A new technique compares the reasoning of a machine-learning model to that of a human, so the user can see patterns in the model’s behavior.

The future of chronic pain relief could include psychedelics, gene therapies, brain implants, and other cutting-edge alternatives to opioids.

L-DOPA is a miraculous Parkinson’s drug with terrible side effects. Researchers have created drug-producing bacteria that may help.

Seeing one’s life flashing before one’s eye might be our ultimate attempt – however desperate – to find meaning in our lives.

By using quantum physics to measure magnetic fields, researchers are pushing closer to measuring the brain in ways we couldn't before.

To better understand how these effects manifest in the brain, we analyzed over 6,000 written testimonials of hallucinogenic experiences.

A man with total locked-in syndrome has used a brain-computer interface to spell out sentences with his mind.

A study finds that baby mammals dream about the world they are about to experience to prepare their senses.

Researchers believe they have discovered two new types of brain cells that play a key role in memory.

A new study suggests that the causes of these disorders are hidden in "dark genes," which may account for the enigma of their development.

The brain appears to remember immune responses, and memories can trigger them to happen again.

Prozac is a widely used antidepressant. Data indicates that the drug could be used to prevent blindness due to macular degeneration.

A meta-study of placebo effect research has revealed a link between the phenomenon and brain stimulation as a depression treatment.

A mouse study has yielded new insights into the effect of a bedtime routine on the brain, which could lead to new therapies for insomniacs.

Researchers have used ultrasound to trigger the brain cells of mice with a technique called sonogenetics.

Scientists have used CRISPR to edit the "Icelandic mutation," which protects carriers against Alzheimer's, into human cells.

A team at the University of Oregon have decoded the patterns of brain activity to predict basic actions in mice.

Small pilot trials of two different types of external electrical brain stimulation suggest the technique may work as a long COVID treatment.

Blocking an immune system molecule that accumulates after traumatic brain injury could significantly reduce the injury’s detrimental effects

Brain folding is another poorly understood mechanism of the most complex known structure in the universe.

Why do so many people encounter these 'elves' after smoking large doses of DMT?

Briefly entering the hypnagogic state appears to boost creative thinking, just like Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí said it would.

A treatment for spinal cord injuries was able to reverse paralysis in mice by “dancing” to connect with cells near the site of the injury.

Architects are incorporating neuroaesthetics insights into designs for medical facilities in an attempt to promote positive mental health.

A woman with severe treatment-resistant depression has found relief, thanks to “pacemaker” implanted in her brain by UCSF researchers.

Physiologists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research on human sensory perception.

A psychological treatment for chronic back pain left two-thirds of study participants with little-to-no pain after just one month.

Researchers have grown mini brains with light-sensitive eye structures that could lead to breakthrough treatments for vision disorders.

Researchers have developed a brain-wide gene editing technique that treated Alzheimer’s disease in mice.

A new kind of brain-computer interface uses tiny neural implants called “neurograins” to record brain activity in rats.

The spacing effect — a strange phenomenon by which you retain information more readily if you take study breaks — is now less of a mystery.

A small phase 2 study has found evidence that ALS medication riluzole may have potential as a drug for Alzheimer’s.

The first neuron-level 3D image of an entire macaque monkey brain could have a major impact on the world of neuroscience.

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed an injectable swarm of nanosenors they hope will measure the brain noninvasively.

Before the eyes of baby mice open, their brains appear to use retinal waves to prep their vision systems to detect objects and motion.

A treatment that reversed age-related memory loss in mice could one day treat or prevent such cognitive decline in older people.

An experimental neuroprosthesis that translates brain activity into words on a computer screen has given a paralyzed man back his “voice.”

A new implant that delivers pain-relieving spinal cord stimulation can be put into place using just a needle — no invasive surgery required.

Kernel has developed two mind-reading helmets that record the same brain activity data as massive, million-dollar machines, but cost just $100,000.