neuroscience

An excellent overview and analysis by Patrick Mineault on the exciting news that 7 chemogenetics clinical trials have begun in China! I very much hope that these trials show enough promise that they stimulate further work in this area. Spotlight on DREADDs and chemogenetics.

Cognitive similarities between biological and digital systems are often treated with suspicion. When an artificial system exhibits attention, memory integration, salience, self-modeling, recursive interpretation, or persistent relational organization, resemblance to biological cognition is frequently dismissed as anthropomorphism. This paper argues that such dismissal may overlook a more general …

Some people taking GLP-1 medications report feeling less pleasure or motivation, beyond simply losing interest in food.

Salk Institute scientists found that immune cells in the central nervous system identify and kill specific nerve cells in the spinal cords of mice with late-stage ALS, worsening the disease. The findings could help inform new approaches to cancer and autoimmune therapies. In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the nerve cells that control movement gradually die, [...]

The longer we stay awake, the more certain brain cells appear to turn up the pressure to sleep, eventually making rest nearly impossible to resist. Sleep drive is the biological pressure to rest that builds during waking hours, making it increasingly difficult to stay alert. After prolonged wakefulness, it typically produces longer, deeper recovery sleep, [...]

npj Science of Learning, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41539-026-00453-3 CGRP inhibition in the PBN shifts defensive strategy from freezing to active avoidance in a platform-based active avoidance paradigm

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77377-4 Organization and function of CNS synapses are instructed by synaptic cell adhesion molecules (sCAM). Here, authors show that the main sCAMs NRX and PTPRs are interlinked by the tetraspanins T178A,B, thus forming ternary complexes that serve as core-modules of transsynaptic networks.

Researchers have identified a specific brain circuit that drives increased alcohol intake following social isolation. The findings provide a biological mechanism for how a negative social environment changes what the brain treats as a valuable reward.

Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex hinders a person's ability to let their mind wander. A new small study suggests this brain region is necessary for generating the internal thoughts and memories that distract us from the present.

Scientific Reports, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-69225-8 TNF-α and IFN-γ induce neurotoxicity in human iPSC-derived astrocytes that is enhanced by aging

Creative experts had younger-looking functional-connectivity patterns, and a small controlled gaming experiment moved the same modelled measure. Neither result shows that biological ageing was reversed.

BackgroundRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a well-established neuromodulation technique for post-stroke motor rehabilitation with a favorable safety profile. However, its safety in patients with acute/subacute cerebral infarction remains incompletely characterized, particularly regarding unusual behavioral responses. Gelastic seizures, characterized by stereotyped, inappropr…

The latest advances from Cedars-Sinai investigators are highlighted in this month's tip sheet.

Two groundbreaking studies have fundamentally challenged established paradigms of Alzheimer’s disease progression by revealing previously unrecognized mechanisms of neurodegeneration. First, researchers from Columbia University overturned long-held assumptions about the tau protein, discovering that it is produced locally in neuronal dendrites rather than migrating from axons as previously believ…

TSMC is steering the future of artificial intelligence toward high-density three-dimensional advanced packaging designed to mimic the architectural connectivity of the human brain, as traditional two-dimensional silicon scaling approaches its physical limits, a top TSMC executive said at SEMICON Taiwan 2026.

Conventional wisdom holds that younger brains are better equipped to recover from injury. Their greater flexibility allows them to adapt, rebuild connections and compensate for damage in ways older brains often cannot.