Summary: Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) used high-resolution neuroimaging and genetic tools to map how psilocybin remodels cortical circuits in living brains. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study shows that a single dose of psilocybin rapidly stimulates the growth and maturation of dendritic spines, reshaping synaptic connections in ways that depend … Read more

Summary: Researchers at EPFL’s Integrated Neurotechnologies Laboratory have created LogSync, an ultra-low-power, implantable system-on-chip (SoC) designed to advance deep brain stimulation (DBS) for severe psychiatric disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and other mood and anxiety conditions. Unlike conventional open-loop stimulators or single-site implants, LogSync continuously monitors oscillatory synchrony across distributed brain networks and runs … Read more

Summary: A large-scale meta-analysis combining data from up to 1.14 million people across 46 research groups presents the most detailed picture to date of the genetic architecture of human personality. Published in Nature, the study maps 1,260 genetic variants associated with the Big Five personality traits—extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness—including 824 loci not previously … Read more

Summary: A longitudinal neuroimaging study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC finds that children who consume larger proportions of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) show increased neural activation in the dorsal striatum when exposed to appetizing food cues. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study links this heightened reward responsivity to measurable increases in body … Read more

Summary: A neuroimaging investigation led by cognitive neuroscientists at the INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit (Unicog) shows that the human brain constructs a continuous, highly organized spatial semantic map in the intraparietal sulcus to represent numerical magnitudes. High-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) scans comparing whole numbers and fractions in adults reveal that, although fractions require additional computation … Read more

Summary: A nationwide clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Massachusetts General Hospital found that a free, online mindfulness program substantially reduces the risk of postpartum depression recurrence. The eight-session digital intervention, Mindful Mood Balance for Moms (MMB for Moms), cut the rate of depressive relapse by about 26% through … Read more

Summary: Researchers have found that dabrafenib, an FDA- and EMA-approved BRAF inhibitor already used to treat certain pediatric brain tumors, dramatically reduces both the size and number of vascular malformations associated with Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (CCM). Screening more than 5,000 bioactive compounds, the team identified dabrafenib as a drug that suppresses vessel leakage, restores normal … Read more

Summary: A major study from Baylor College of Medicine, published in Nature, shows that astrocytes—the abundant glial support cells in the central nervous system—are not a single, uniform population. Using newly developed transgenic tools to distinguish astrocytes by the surface receptor CD51, researchers found that CD51-positive (CD51+) astrocytes perform specialized roles: they promote synapse formation … Read more

Summary: Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have unraveled a key molecular mechanism behind Angelman syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss of the maternal UBE3A gene. Published in Nature, the study shows that loss of UBE3A allows the metabolic enzyme asparagine synthetase (ASNS) to accumulate. That buildup falsely signals … Read more

Summary: A multi-institutional team led by Lehigh University has been awarded a four-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to build UniBrain, an integrated artificial intelligence platform that consolidates fragmented neuroimaging workflows. UniBrain combines preprocessing, segmentation, multi-modal integration, and disease prediction into a single deep learning architecture, paired … Read more