Cortex News and Research

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Metastatic Lung Cancer Cells Cozy Up to Neurons and Form Synapses

Small cell lung cancer cells that metastasize to the brain cozy up to neurons and form working electrical connections, called synapses, according to an upcoming study led by Stanford Medicine researchers.

11 Sep 2025

PV Interneurons Regulate Social Behavior and Empathy in Mice

A special set of neurons directs mice's attention to or away from their peers, depending on the situation. The Kobe University discovery has implications for finding causes for neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia.

27 Aug 2025

New Imaging System Reveals Cellular Activity at Unprecedented Depths

Both for research and medical purposes, researchers have spent decades pushing the limits of microscopy to produce ever deeper and sharper images of brain activity, not only in the cortex but also in regions underneath such as the hippocampus.

8 Aug 2025

Neuroscientists Uncover Separate Brain Regions for Recognizing Liquids and Solid Objects

Imagine a ball bouncing down a flight of stairs. Now think about a cascade of water flowing down those same stairs.

1 Aug 2025

Thalamus Found to Modulate Cortical Sensitivity to Touch

The cerebral cortex processes sensory information via a complex network of neural connections. How are these signals modulated to refine perception? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified a mechanism by which certain thalamic projections target neurons and modify their excitability.

31 Jul 2025

New Computer Program Mimics Human and Animal Cell Behavior

Using mathematical analysis of patterns of human and animal cell behavior, scientists say they have developed a computer program that mimics the behavior of such cells in any part of the body.

28 Jul 2025

Gat3 Knockout Disrupts Visual Information Encoding in Mice

Cells called astrocytes are about as abundant in the brain as neurons, but scientists have spent much less time figuring out how they contribute to brain functions.

23 Jul 2025

Brain Ripples Help Segment Experience Into Memories

A research team from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Barcelona, the UB Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has identified, for the first time in humans, and in a realistic environment, a key neurophysiological mechanism in memory formation: ripple-type brain waves -high-frequency electrical oscillations that mark and organize the different episodes or fragments of information that the brain stores as memories.

18 Jul 2025

Hormone-Sensitive Brain Circuit Drives Mating Behaviors in Mice

In animals with social structures, the drive to reproduce is a complex process; governed by the brain, it's influenced by both internal cues such as hormones and external factors such as interactions with potential mates.

17 Jul 2025

Study Finds Shared Brain Signature Across Autism Variants

New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School suggests that different genetic forms of autism may lead to similar patterns in brain activity and behavior. The findings were recently published in Nature Neuroscience.

16 Jun 2025

Shared Brain Activity Patterns in Diverse Genetic Forms of Autism

Research from the University of Minnesota identifies common neural patterns in autism, suggesting genetic variants influence brain activity and behavior.

16 Jun 2025

Distinct Neural Patterns Reveal How Mice Navigate Ambiguous Landmarks

When navigating a place that we're only somewhat familiar with, we often rely on unique landmarks to help make our way.

9 Jun 2025

UC Davis Study Links Specific microRNAs to Mental and Neurological Disorders

A study in Nature Aging from researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine has identified specific microRNAs - non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression within cells - that likely contribute to bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Parkinson's disease.

5 Jun 2025

Exon-Specific Analysis Uncovers Novel Insights into Psychiatric Disease

This research highlights the role of exons in mental illnesses, offering new perspectives on genetic factors that influence psychiatric disorder development.

3 Jun 2025

Learning Reshapes Brain Wiring Through Thalamocortical Pathways

A landmark study published by scientists at the University of California San Diego is redefining science's understanding of the way learning takes place.

8 May 2025

Genes Influence When Babies Start Walking, Study Finds

Researchers examined over 70,000 infants’ genomic information in the first research of its kind. Eleven genetic markers were found to influence when babies begin to walk, providing a number of possibilities for more in-depth biological research.

8 May 2025

Complete Reference Genomes Unlocked for Six Ape Species

Comprehensive reference genomes have now been assembled for six ape species: siamang (a Southeast Asian gibbon), Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, gorilla, bonobo and chimpanzee.

12 Apr 2025

Study Sheds Light on Development and Evolution of the Human Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a small but critical region at the base of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, regulates body temperature, signals hunger and thirst, exerts hormonal control over the pituitary gland, helps set circadian rhythms, influences sexual behavior and reproduction, and plays a role in instinctive behaviors like fear, aggression, and maternal bonding.

9 Apr 2025

Scientists Identify Crucial Mechanism for Maintaining Neuronal Identity in the Brain

A team of researchers from the Institute for Neurosciences, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, in collaboration with researchers from Columbia University (New York, USA), has identified a mechanism that regulates the production of two different proteins from the same gene.

24 Mar 2025

Dendritic Spine Clusters Physically Link Memories Formed Close in Time

According to a recent study, the reason why memories from the same day seem connected while events from weeks apart feel separate is as follows: Human brains use dendrites, which are spiny extensions of neurons, rather than the cell bodies to physically connect memories that happen in close succession.

24 Mar 2025