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Researchers Discover Prenatal Genetic Origins of Childhood Absence Epilepsy

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a previously unrecognized mechanism by which inherited calcium channel mutations disrupt early brain development and predispose children to epilepsy and related cognitive challenges.

6 Apr 2026

Excessive RNA Editing May Explain Neurological Differences in Down Syndrome

A collaborative research study co-led by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Liber Institute for Brain Development has for the first time identified a biological process that may help explain how the brain develops differently in people with Down syndrome. The study was a collaboration among scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, the Medical University of Sofia in Bulgaria, and the University of Arizona.

2 Apr 2026

Study Reveals How Distributed Networks Support Complex Behavior

Understanding how the brain works requires more than studying single regions in isolation. The cerebral cortex depends on long-distance connections that link specialized areas into coordinated networks. But scientists have had limited tools for selectively turning these specific connections "on" or "off" in animal models that most closely resemble the human brain.

31 Mar 2026

Fusion Protein Rewires Brain Development to Trigger Pediatric Cancer

A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital and collaborating institutions reveal in the journal Nature a novel mechanism that drives the development of pediatric supratentorial ependymoma (EPN), the third most common pediatric brain tumor.

28 Mar 2026

The Future of Vision Restoration With ReVision Implant

ReVision Implant is pioneering neuroprosthetic technology to restore vision in blind patients using advanced cortical implants and flexible electrode arrays.

26 Mar 2026

Newly Discovered Neurons Respond to Complex Spatial Frequencies

The visual cortex is the part of the brain that enables visual perception. In this area millions of nerve cells, called neurons, process stimuli from the outside world.

11 Mar 2026

Tirzepatide Reduces Alcohol Drinking And Relapse In Preclinical Study

Tirzepatide alters brain reward signaling and reduces alcohol intake in rodents, indicating its potential as a therapeutic option for alcohol use disorder.

4 Mar 2026

Scientists Map Millions of Oligodendrocytes Across Mouse Brains

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have used 3D imaging, special microscopes and artificial intelligence (AI) programs to construct new maps of mouse brains showing a precise location of more than 10 million cells called oligodendrocytes.

24 Feb 2026

Unlocking the Fear Circuitry of the Brain

Consider a star-shaped cell in the brain, extending its spindly arms to cradle the neurons surrounding it. That is an astrocyte, and for a long time, scientists assumed its role was to care for the brain, gluing neurons together and preserving neural circuits.

23 Feb 2026

Brain Enzymes MNK1 and MNK2 Regulate Distinct Behaviors in the Brain

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center show that two related enzymes, MNK1 and MNK2, act on the brain to regulate different behaviors.

20 Feb 2026

Reprogrammed Engrams Reverse Cognitive Decline in Mice

Age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are often thought of as irreversible.

11 Feb 2026

Neuronal Activity Maps Challenge Traditional Anatomical Divisions of Prefrontal Cortex

For more than a century, maps of the brain have been based on how brain tissue looks under the microscope.

21 Jan 2026

A Week of 40-Hz Sound Triggers Long-Lasting Amyloid Changes in Monkeys

Forty-hertz auditory stimulation in aged monkeys doubles CSF amyloid-β levels, offering insights into non-invasive strategies for Alzheimer's disease treatment.

15 Jan 2026

Computational Brain Model Predicts Errors, Uncovers Previously Unseen Neurons

A new computational model of the brain based closely on its biology and physiology not only learned a simple visual category learning task exactly as well as lab animals, but even enabled the discovery of counterintuitive activity by a group of neurons that researchers working with animals to perform the same task had not noticed in their data before, said a team of scientists at Dartmouth College, MIT, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

30 Dec 2025

Homer1 Gene Plays a Critical Role in Shaping Attention

Attention disorders such as ADHD involve a breakdown in our ability to separate signal from noise.

26 Dec 2025

Researchers Reveal How the Brain Forms Hidden-State Inferences

Animals survive in changing and unpredictable environments by not merely responding to new circumstances, but also, like humans, by forming inferences about their surroundings-for instance, squirrels understand that certain bird noises don't signal the presence of a predator, so won't seek shelter when they later hear these same sounds.

18 Nov 2025

Rare Stress-Sensitive Neurons Hold the Key to Healthy Brain Blood Flow

While the exact causes of neurodegenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia are still largely unknown, researchers have been able to identify a key characteristic in affected brains: reduced blood flow.

12 Nov 2025

Expansion Microscopy Reveals Hidden Architecture of Oceanic Plankton

Plankton are the invisible engines of life on Earth, producing much of the planet's oxygen and forming the foundation of the oceanic food chain.

3 Nov 2025

Research Sheds New Light On How Neurons Transmit Strains and Stresses

How do embryos develop? Why does the cortex of the mammalian brain fold? How do we feel touch at our fingertips? These and other fundamental biological questions remain unsolved. Yet, scientists know they all rely on a common principle: the conversion of a physical stimulus into a biochemical signal.

30 Oct 2025

Leptin-Sensitive Brain Circuit Helps Overcome Anxiety to Perform Essential Behaviors

How do mammals manage to eat in situations that cause anxiety, step into exposed spaces, or slow down when anxiety drives them to keep moving? A new study pinpoints a leptin-sensitive circuit in the lateral hypothalamus that helps to overcome anxiety to perform essential behaviors such as exploring, feeding, and limiting maladaptive hyperactivity.

21 Oct 2025