neurobiology

In a new study, researchers from North Carolina State University show that itch sensations in the face are perceived differently from those in the body due to differences in signaling between trigeminal (located in the brain) and spinal pain pathways.

IntroductionTic disorders (TDs) are common neurodevelopmental conditions with unclear pathogenesis and a lack of objective biomarkers. This study aimed to explore the associations among circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), erythroid phenotypes, iron homeostasis, and pediatric TD.MethodsA total of 30 TD children and 10 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum levels of five candidate miRNAs, erythroid par…

Nature, Published online: 29 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01431-w Cephalopods are very smart, but have brains that evolved very differently than vertebrates. Plus, detailed maps of olfactory receptors in mice transform what we know about smell.

IntroductionThe lateral septum (LS) is a brain area involved in important physiological functions such as reward, stress response, and autonomic regulation. The LS is one of the brain areas with the highest expression of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), and pharmacological modulation of GLP-1R in the LS affects food intake. However, the relationship between obesity development and L…

IntroductionRosmarinic acid (RA), gallic acid (GA), and 3-hydroxytyrosol (3-HT) are phenolic compounds abundant in medicinal plants traditionally used to support cognitive function and neurological wellbeing. Although their antioxidant and neuroprotective properties are well documented in mammalian systems, their behavioral effects remain insufficiently explored in alternative in vivo models rele…

A new large-scale genetic analysis reveals that common gene variants associated with autism are also linked to lower neurite density among the general public, suggesting a shared biological architecture between neurodevelopment and microscopic brain structure.

Published in Journal of Pineal Research, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpi.70095

Chronic psychological stress is known to induce functional and molecular alterations in central circuits regulating micturition. Here, we investigated whether odor-specific olfactory stimulation modulates stress-associated bladder dysfunction and related brain transcriptional responses. Female C57BL/6J mice were subjected to repeated water avoidance stress (WAS) and exposed to inhalated essential…

Cells long thought to play a secondary role in brain function build their own far-reaching connections, a new study in mice showed. These pathways appear to connect distant regions in ways that have not been mapped before.

Nature Immunology, Published online: 23 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41590-026-02488-5 In this Review, the authors look at the function of astrocytes in immunotherapy and the immune response to glioblastoma and brain metastases.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found they can reverse the effects of HNRNPH2-related neurodevelopmental disorder using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in preclinical models. ASOs are short synthetic nucleic acid strands that target specific messenger RNA.

Neurobots—xenobots with neurons—show self-organized nervous systems and enhanced behaviors, revealing new insights into how biology builds functional structures. In 2020, researchers at Tufts University developed tiny living structures known as xenobots using frog cells. These microscopic organisms could move through water, repair themselves, and even gather loose cells to form new xenobots. Scie…

Nature Communications, Published online: 23 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71919-6 Deng et al. use genetics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to find that inhibiting the BMP signaling pathway in astrocytes improves some symptoms of fragile X syndrome in the Fmr1 KO mouse model. Mechanisms underlying the improvement are identified.

IntroductionPerinatal depression (PND) is the most common psychiatric disorder experienced during pregnancy and postpartum and is characterized by persistent low mood, difficulty adapting to gestational changes, helplessness, social withdrawal, and, in severe cases, suicidal or infanticidal thoughts. In this study, using a mouse model of PND, we examined the impact of PND on placental angioneurot…

Researchers at McMaster University have identified, for the first time, a ​​​novel region of ​DNA ​​​and two associated genes ​connected to frailty,​​ offering neurological and immune-related insights that might ​help explain why some older adults​ are more likely to be frail than others.

As the body ages, cells naturally accumulate dozens of genetic mutations each year. New research from Boston Children's Hospital, published in Cell, finds that the brain's resident immune cells, microglia, amass mutations in specific cancer-driving genes yet they don't manifest as cancer.

Glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive brain tumor type in adults, remains difficult to treat because it can infiltrate surrounding brain tissue and spread far beyond the main tumor.

This paper develops a biological theory of conscience in which conscience is not a substance, not an eternal entity, and not a metaphysical field. Instead, conscience is a holographic manifestation produced by a living system that perceives. When an organism generates perceptual intervals—differences in light, pressure, motion, or internal states—it creates the minimal temporal structure required…