Brain, intellect, IQ

A proof-of-concept study suggests the 5-HT4 receptor agonist prucalopride, which is approved for chronic constipation, improves cognition in patients with remitted depression.

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine may have uncovered a promising new way to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Instead of trying to stop Tau and alpha-synuclein proteins from gathering into tiny droplets inside brain cells, the researchers found that tubulin—the protein that builds the cell’s internal transport network—can redirect these proteins away from forming toxic clumps and toward healthy, productive work.

Fathers show changes in some of the same brain areas as mothers, but the effect of parenthood on dads isn’t nearly as well studied

As newborn neurons make their way through the developing brain, they must squeeze through incredibly tight spaces to reach their final destinations. Researchers discovered that this physical journey routinely causes some of the most severe forms of DNA damage—double-strand breaks—yet the young brain has evolved an impressive ability to repair the damage almost immediately.

It might soon be “game over” for the video game controller. Yale researchers have developed a new kind of

To function properly, neurons need to recycle cellular waste before it becomes toxic. When neurons can no longer

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Older mice that received a faecal microbiome transplant from younger animals went on to have improved brain plasticity, which meant their brains could overcome a neurological condition that is typically successfully treated only in childhood

Instagram use could influence not only how we see our bodies, but also how our brain perceives as "ours" the bodies we inhabit.

A newly identified molecule called OLE helped restore the brain’s immune cells to a more protective state in Alzheimer’s models. The treatment reduced toxic plaque buildup and improved memory, raising hopes for a new therapeutic approach.

Traumatic experiences can cause memory problems, and estrogen may be a key factor that shapes the brain's resilience against such stressors, a mouse study finds.

This week, I covered the story of Casey Harrell—a man with ALS who is “the first power user” of a brain implant, according to the researchers who worked with him. Harrell is paralyzed and unable to speak coherently without the device. He has now spent almost three years using a brain-computer interface (BCI) that enables…

Nearly all Michiganders age 50 and over say it's very important to keep their brains healthy as they grow older, a new poll finds.

A chance discovery at Nagoya University in Japan has shown that a well-known brain enzyme has a hidden ability: It builds a sugar chain on itself, becomes secreted from the cell and deactivates, then switches on outside the cell once the chain is removed. The finding, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, overturns a decades-old assumption about how polysialic acid, a sugar chain critical for brain development and function, is produced and shows a new way an enzyme can regulate its own activity.

Spiraling waves of neural activity appear and travel in the brain. Scientists hope to learn if these rotating waves on-the-move play a global role in sensing and interpreting internal and external stimuli, in laying down memory, and in managing motor performance.

Novocure said on Thursday that a late-stage trial showed early use of its non-invasive cancer therapy ⁠did not significantly improve overall survival in patients with newly...

Established laboratory tests mainly capture average values across many cells and show, for example, how many cancer cells survive after contact with immune cells.

THURSDAY, June 18, 2026 — A new type of brain implant can help improve walking among Parkinson’s disease patients by providing real-time stimulation in response to each stride, a new study says.The implanted brain stimulator can detect neural...

For traumatic brain injury (TBI) and certain brain diseases, it looks like the risk may go in both directions, according to a study published on June 17, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that pre-operative radiation therapy for brain metastases not only targets tumor cells directly but also can activate immune pathways that can make tumors more receptive to immunotherapy.

Putting brain cells into a hibernation-like state via drugs that cool down core body temperature may help to preserve them following a stroke

By the time we’re born, our brains have all the hardware in place to form thoughts, and possibly even some conscious awareness

Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, yet the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms behind it remain largely unclear.

Why the human brain can't fathom what it means to be a trillionaire

Newborn nerve cells must squeeze through crowded, narrow spaces-through dense tissue, past other cells, between fibers-to reach the areas where they form neural circuits in the brain cortex.

Carnegie Mellon University and University of California, San Francisco researchers found that childhood trauma, poverty, social isolation and other adverse life experiences are associated with brain changes linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders - findings that could help researchers identify people at risk earlier and develop interventions before severe symptoms emerge.

Neurosurgeons at University of Michigan Health completed the first-in-human implant of a Paradromics Inc., wireless brain-computer interface, or BCI, as part of a national clinical trial for patients with difficulty speaking.

A study assessed whether exposure to their own reflection influences the development of facial mimicry, a process associated with empathy and emotion recognition, in 4-month-old infants.

Neuroscientist Kauê M. Costa talks about surprising results that are changing how we think dopamine works and how the brain really learns

Flexible graphene neural interface records and modulates brain activity, enabling two-way communication for future neurological treatments.

Inspired by the human brain, researchers have developed a new light-sensitive device that combines sensing and memory while controlling how digital memories strengthen or fade over time.

Neural interfaces are devices that can detect or modulate neuronal activity when placed in contact with the brain. They are already used to treat various conditions related to the nervous system. However, current technologies still have limitations that can reduce their effectiveness. One example is their unidirectional function. While most existing interfaces can stimulate the brain, they cannot accurately detect or decode brain activity simultaneously. Even when they can do so, they often face limitations in the detection of certain signals, particularly those at very low frequencies.

Neurologist Emily Rogalski studies "superagers" – people in their 80s or 90s with unusually keen memories, whose lifestyles suggest ways to slow cognitive decline

UC San Francisco researchers have developed a new form of deep brain stimulation (DBS) that adjusts in real time as a person walks, helping improve gait and reduce falls in people with Parkinson's disease.

Humans evolved to pay close attention to danger, but today that instinct is being overwhelmed by an endless supply of bad news from around the world. Researchers say the answer isn’t to stop following current events—it’s to build healthier habits around how, when, and where we get our news.

TUESDAY, June 16, 2026 — A family’s financial situation has more impact on their children’s brain development than parenting style, a new study says.Family finances and opportunities in a child’s neighborhood account for about 16% of the...

Evidence is mounting that there are distinct subtypes of autism, and now, scientists have found that the condition can vary according to the strength of people's brain connections

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. This man with ALS is the first “power user” of a brain implant that lets him speak Casey Harrell has had a set of electrodes embedded in his brain for almost…

Consider what we ask of a clinical trial. We gather people who differ in nearly every way that matters, we give them the same drug at the same dose, and then we average the result and call the average truth.

A new study from the University of Jyväskylä shows who is more likely to experience mixed emotions while listening to music – and that our relationship with music is more complex and nuanced than we might assume.

In a new JNeurosci paper, Xuanyi Chen and Esti Blanco-Elorrieta, from New York University, explored whether Spanish–English speakers use the same or different brain mechanisms to speak each language.

A new study of bilingual speakers suggests that a single “grammatical engine” in the brain can power multiple languages at once.

Scientists have long known that being obese increases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. What remains unclear is how that risk develops in the brain.

A new study of bilingual speakers suggests that a single “grammatical engine” in the brain can power multiple languages at once.

A new study from scientists at the University of Rochester Medicine suggests that reinforcing the body's natural daily rhythms to improve sleep could help the brain recover after a stroke, pointing to a potential new strategy to improve brain waste clearance and outcomes long after the initial injury.

A man went to hospital complaining about weakness in his left leg, and subsequent brain scans revealed his abnormally small brain.

Adults vary in how easily they learn new languages. While previous studies suggest this variability may be due to the distribution of groups of brain areas involved in attention, control and memory, a direct link has been lacking. Using a large sample of participants (101 people), Gangyi Feng, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues explored whether individual differences in the organization of these brain systems can explain variability in language learning in adulthood. This work was published in JNeurosci.

Dual-target CAR T cell therapy for recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), delivered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), triggers a broad immune response, with natural killer (NK) cell activation linked to better patient outcomes and longer overall survival.

Casey Harrell has had a set of electrodes embedded in his brain for almost three years. Harrell, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is paralyzed, first used his brain-computer interface (BCI) to “speak” sentences with the help of a research team in 2023. Since then, Harrell has clocked thousands of hours of use. He…

A large-scale study suggests that men with higher levels of the amino acid tyrosine may have shorter lifespans, potentially losing close to a year of life expectancy. The finding is especially intriguing because tyrosine is commonly associated with brain health and is often used in supplements aimed at boosting focus and performance.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used for more than three decades to treat motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Music composed to evoke sweetness or sourness engaged taste-related brain regions and strengthened gustatory and sensorimotor responses when paired with matching taste stimuli. Sweet music also made tastants more pleasant, although effects on sweetness and sourness intensity were modest.

Female patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are 26% less likely to be admitted to a specialized trauma center than males, according to a study on data from Ontario published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.251721. This difference persisted even after the researchers accounted for factors such as age, severity of injury, other health conditions, and socioeconomic circumstances.

Variants in the DHDDS gene cause a severe neurodegenerative condition, characterized by tremors, seizures, coordination and learning difficulties, usually manifesting in early childhood. This Parkinson's-like condition is extremely rare, and until recently, parents were told that there was nothing that could be done to slow down its progression.

Researchers developed FEDE, a high-fidelity digital brain twin pipeline that combines MRI-derived anatomy with biophysical modeling to reconstruct brain structure and simulate EEG activity. In a single toddler with autism spectrum disorder, the model closely reproduced recorded brain activity and suggested possible patient-specific alterations in neural noise and excitatory-inhibitory balance.

A Nature Metabolism study identifies brain hyperglycosylation as a metabolic driver of Alzheimer’s disease, with increased N-glycan biosynthesis seen in human AD tissue and mouse models. Reducing glycosylation improved memory in AD mice, while glucosamine worsened memory deficits in 5xFAD mice and was associated with poorer outcomes in dementia patients.

In a first, a large, international team led by multiple labs at Harvard Medical School and Princeton University has published a complete wiring diagram of all the connections between neurons in the central nervous system of an adult fruit fly.

A three-year study of nearly 4,000 adults ranging from age 19 to 94 found that brain health can improve at any age, challenging the common belief that mental sharpness must decline as we get older. Participants spent just a few minutes a day on brain-training activities, and researchers found measurable gains across multiple aspects of brain health, including thinking clarity, emotional well-being, and sense of purpose.

This week's notable citations: Astronomers believe collapsing stars could spawn mini universes. Chimpanzees do not like unfairness. And a single dose of psilocybin temporarily restored function in an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil have discovered a new strategy that may protect neurons and other brain cells involved in Parkinson's disease in the future.

FRIDAY, June 12, 2026 — Trying weed, alcohol or smoking. Getting into fights. Attempting dangerous "Jackass"-style stunts. Dating that skeevy guy.Ever wonder why some teens are driven to do dumb things? It could be because their developing brains...

Scientists at the University of Hong Kong have created a remarkable new type of brain-inspired chip that can function just above absolute zero, one of the coldest environments imaginable. By using a standard silicon carbide transistor in a completely new way, the team made a single device behave like an energy-efficient neuron, firing electrical “spikes” similar to those in the human brain.

A novel hierarchical deep learning framework enables direct Desikan-Killiany brain parcellation using only diffusion MRI-derived data, removing the need for structural scans.

In the split second after you hear a noise, your brain is already making a potentially life-or-death deduction: Did I do that, or did something else? Our nervous systems answer this question using something called corollary discharge, a copy of a motor command that tells sensory areas what to expect from our own actions. This mechanism is at the center of a new study by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, published in Current Biology.

Intermittent theta-burst stimulation matches the efficacy of standard transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression in Parkinson’s disease but with a shorter treatment time, new research shows.

Cambridge scientists have grown miniature circuits in the lab that mimic how the brain and spinal cord connect

A large MRI study of more than 47,000 adults found that cerebellar aging is uneven, with posterior association regions and some motor-related areas showing steeper age-related changes. Larger cerebellar volumes were linked to better cognitive performance, supporting a threshold-reserve model in which the cerebellum may help sustain cognition before Alzheimer’s pathology becomes widespread.

A new study suggests that variables linked to socioeconomic status (SES) – such as increased stress and reduced sleep – have strong relationships to brain structure and function in children.

The same memory can feel vivid and accessible one moment, yet stubbornly out of reach the next - even when the memory itself remains intact.

Children living in areas with low socioeconomic opportunities have more tired and stressed brains, a new study finds

THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 — Few people who’ve suffered a stroke or brain injury are being offered top-quality, hospital-based rehab, a new study says.Only about 22% of patients who’ve suffered a stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury are sent to...

THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 — Getting enough vitamin C may be linked to better brain health as we age.Researchers in Japan studied more than 2,000 adults over the age of 64, comparing vitamin C levels in their blood plasma to MRI scans of their...

An eight-month-old baby from Israel has become the first human ever to receive an experimental gene therapy designed to replace a missing gene responsible for a devastating neurological disease that until now offered no hope of survival.

The cGAS-STING pathway is emerging as a key driver of chronic neuroinflammation through its effects on glial activation, neuronal stress, blood-brain barrier integrity, and type I interferon signaling. The review highlights why selective, context-dependent modulation of cGAS-STING could help treat neurodegenerative diseases, while preserving its essential roles in antiviral defense and tumor surveillance.

An unexpected lab observation led a team of scientists to discover how diet can influence survival in animal models of glioma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer.

A study of 2,044 older Japanese adults found that those with lower vitamin C levels in their blood plasma tended to have a lower volume of gray matter in their brains, as well as lower connectivity amongst a collection of brain regions known as the default mode network.

Findings from a new study suggest that macrophage accumulation and smooth muscle cell loss may contribute to brain aneurysm rupture, identifying potential markers that could help predict rupture risk and prevent stroke. The post Brain Aneurysm Study Identifies Structural, Immune Markers of Rupture Risk appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

A new study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology challenges the traditional, reactive model of mental health care by demonstrating that proactive brain training can strengthen the human mind before mental health challenges take root.

Daniel Daneshvar, MD, PhD, director of the HealthSpan Lab and Chief of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham, and Charlotte Luster, of the HealthSpan Lab, are the senior and lead authors of a paper published in Neuroepidemiology, "Brain Cancer Mortality following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): A TBI Model Systems Study."

A new study from UC San Francisco shows how certain cells in the brain may cause aneurysms to weaken and rupture.

Experts in Heidelberg have developed an AI system that can classify brain tumors with unprecedented accuracy using standard microscopic tissue sections.

New findings, published in Nature, help answer the riddle of how vertebrates evolved the diverse array of brain cells that distinguishes them from other animals. It appears that a dramatic expansion of the genetic toolkit more than 450 million years ago enabled the emergence of different kinds of brain cells. These cellular innovations are shared across vertebrates—from primitive fish to mammals—and form the basis of the sophisticated brains seen today.

Researchers gave top AI models a classic attention test used in psychology and found a major flaw. While the models could correctly name colors in short lists, their performance deteriorated sharply as the task became longer and more complex. Some leading systems fell from over 90% accuracy to nearly complete failure.

Scrape marks inside a skull and sharpened limb bones in a set of remains found in Scotland may be evidence of unusual Iron Age funerary rituals

A new analysis of 2,000-year-old skeletons found in northern Scotland has revealed an unusual funeral ritual involving the manipulation of dead bodies.

It is difficult to identify funerary practices in Iron Age (c. 800 BC–AD 43) Britain, as human remains rarely survive. However, evidence is particularly prominent in north-west Scotland, because environmental conditions support the preservation of bone. To take advantage of this, a team of researchers from the U.K. and U.S. examined two individuals (one adult female and one juvenile male) buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, close to the north-west extremity of the Scottish mainland.

Research at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont reveals how menopause, once a taboo topic, affects brain function, reinforcing the idea that the menopause transition is not only a reproductive milestone, but also a critical neurological phase.

New research from the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has discovered subtle but widespread differences in the brain's communication networks in people with bipolar disorder, offering new insight into how illness severity and treatment may relate to brain wiring.

A circuit that runs from the prefrontal cortex near the front of the brain to a deeper brain structure called the insular cortex appears to mediate the antidepressant effects of a newer form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Middle cerebral artery Doppler and cerebroplacental ratio can help predict adverse neurologic outcomes in foetal growth restriction, supporting antenatal risk stratification.