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By referring to artificial neural networks as model organisms, we run the risk of distorting funding priorities and disregard the explanatory power of a shared evolutionary history across biological organisms.
The TransmitterBrain tech and AI
Neuroscience News
How does the human brain wire its reward and motor centers before birth? Using 3D genome sequencing across nearly 287,000 brain cells, UCLA scientists mapped the developing basal ganglia from mid-pregnancy to infancy, pinpointing how spiny projection neurons carry early genetic risk for schizophrenia.
Mental health
Neuroscience News
Words vs. numbers: A University of Tokyo study reveals that adults with autism spectrum disorder are strongly influenced by positive or negative verbal framing—such as "possible" versus "unlikely"—rather than underlying percentages when making medical decisions.
Development and aging
Neuroscience News
Does Alzheimer's start outside the brain? Gladstone Institutes researchers mapped the first atlas of 92 blood proteins that cross the blood-brain barrier, discovering that the barrier shuts down the import of protective liver proteins before it ever begins leaking toxins.
Brain disorders
The Transmitter
With a standardized cell naming system and infrastructure for data collection and analysis, the basal ganglia project sets the stage for a whole-brain primate atlas.
Science News
What determines which moments are remembered? The amygdala, typically associated with regulating fear and aggression, may play a major role
Memory and learning
ScienceDaily
Crows may be even smarter than we thought, and their brains are astonishingly fast. Researchers at the University of Tübingen discovered that crows can make visual decisions twice as quickly as humans and monkeys, taking just 235 milliseconds on average to identify the direction of moving dots while maintaining remarkable accuracy.
Emotion and behavior
The Transmitter
The model provides a way to investigate genetic variation in regions of the genome whose functions have been difficult to interpret.
Development and aging
Neuroscience News
Why does artificial touch fade over time? Penn State engineers used fNIRS brain imaging to solve sensory habituation during transcutaneous nerve stimulation, discovering a 5-second pulse protocol that maintains a stable sense of touch while the brain recruits distributed networks.
Senses and movement
Neuroscience News
Ever jolt awake with a racing heart just as you drift off? A study in PLOS Mental Health reveals that frequent hypnic jerks—or sleep starts—are not simple muscle twitches, but markers of anxiety, insomnia severity, and nervous system hyperarousal.
Sleep and dreams
Neuroscience News
Why does brain volume loss in multiple sclerosis follow distinct patterns? An MRI study of 2,187 patients reveals that atrophy originates in metabolically exhausted network hubs—including the thalamus and sensorimotor cortices—spreading outward along structural connections.
Mental health
Neuroscience News
When sleep invades wakefulness: An EEG study of 84 Parkinson’s patients reveals that sleep-like slow brain waves intrude into daytime consciousness, directly tracking with hallucinations and cognitive decline while offering a potential prodromal biomarker.
Sleep and dreams
The Transmitter
Neuroscientists are divided about whether foundation models that predict brain responses will help the field understand how brains work.
Brain tech and AI
Neuroscience News
Meet the brain's trash compactor: UVA Health researchers discovered that the CASS4 risk gene directs microglia to tightly pack and contain toxic amyloid plaques, proving Alzheimer's risk operates directly through immune defenses rather than neurons.
Brain disorders
Neuroscience News
Can an infection in youth seed Alzheimer's in old age? FAU and TUM scientists investigate a "cellular long-term memory" in neurons and microglia, where damaged long-lived RNA molecules leave brain cells primed for neurodegenerative collapse.
Brain disorders
Neuroscience News
Is cannabis during pregnancy truly risk-free? A UC Merced study of over 2 million births in the Annals of Epidemiology finds women with cannabis use disorder face triple the risk of postpartum psychiatric emergencies, alongside a 40% surge in diagnoses post-legalization.
Development and aging
Neuroscience News
How does the human placenta form in the earliest, hidden days of pregnancy? Columbia University researchers created a 3D stem-cell model that self-assembles into placental tissue and lacunae, revealing the molecular triggers behind implantation and pregnancy failure.
Development and aging
Neuroscience News
Most psychedelic journeys don't happen in hospital clinics. Backed by $8.5 million in ARPA-H funding, UCSF neuroscientists led by Robin Carhart-Harris launched CANOPY—a global project tracking 3,000 real-world psychedelic users with remote surveys, brain imaging, and wearable sensors.
Mental health
Science News
As neurotechnology aims to restore seamless speech to those who can no longer talk, what’s next for the science, and for the people it promises to help?
Brain tech and AI
The Transmitter
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 November.
Development and aging
The Transmitter
Michael W. Cole’s new book makes a convincing case that the dynamic movement of signals underpins just about everything the brain does, though it misses mention of relevant theoretical and single-cell work.
Senses and movement
