Research
Latest scientific findings about intelligence, IQ, and cognition.
Confusing Code Triggers Linguistic Brain Waves, New EEG Study Finds
When programmers read confusing code, their brains produce a wave linked to unexpected language, showing code processing is like real-time conversation.
New Edge-Centric Method Finds Energy-Efficient Brain Synchronization Pathways
A new framework called QUIET combines brain structure and function to find energy-efficient synchronization pathways, with links to fluid intelligence.
Sea Squirt Compound Reverses Aging Signs in Mice Brains
Plasmalogens from sea squirts improved memory, strengthened brain connections, and restored hair color in aged mice, hinting at potential anti-aging benefits.
Exercise May Ease Chemo Brain, New Trial Shows
A clinical trial found that a home-based exercise program improved attention and reduced cognitive symptoms in chemotherapy patients, offering a simple way to combat 'chemo brain'.
Father's Pre-Conception Drinking Damages Offspring Mitochondria
New research shows a father's alcohol use before conception alters sperm's molecular signals, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and accelerated aging in offspring.
New AI Model Predicts Alzheimer's Progression Without Costly Scans
A new AI tool called GNOVA forecasts Alzheimer's cognitive decline using routine data, achieving accuracy comparable to methods requiring brain scans and biomarkers.
Menopause Restructures Brain's Default Networks, Study Confirms
A new study from University of Vermont finds that menopause is a critical neurological phase, altering resting-state brain networks due to estrogen fluctuations.
Bumblebees Show Chimp-Like Problem-Solving Skills
New research shows bumblebees can solve the classic box-and-banana problem, suggesting insect brains may rival larger vertebrates in cognitive flexibility.
Brain Scan Reveals Alzheimer's Changes Years Before Plaques
New research finds structural brain changes up to 7+ years before amyloid plaques are visible on PET scans, potentially enabling earlier detection.
SC-TauPath: AI Maps Tau Spread in Alzheimer's via Brain Connections
A new AI framework, SC-TauPath, maps how tau protein spreads in Alzheimer's by analyzing structural brain connections, validating Braak staging.
Dementia Risk After 90: Genes, Sex, and Race Still Matter
A large study of people over 90 finds dementia risk still varies by sex, race, and genetics, with women and Black participants at higher risk. Some resilient individuals defy risk factors, offering clues to brain health.
Scientists Discover Hippocampal 'Memory Switchboard' That Prevents Forgetting
New research reveals a 'memory switchboard' in the hippocampus that helps the brain reuse cells for new memories without erasing old ones.
Human Brain's Slow-Maturing Immune Cells May Underpin Our Intelligence
Scientists found that human microglia take 4–8 years to mature, unlike weeks in mice, suggesting a human-specific gene that slows their development may boost cognitive abilities.
How Sparse Dictionaries Reveal the Hidden Structure of AI Concepts
New theory explains why AI models form interpretable features, offering insights into how our own brains might organize knowledge.
How Thinking of Mom Boosts Toddler Brain Synchrony
A new study shows that 3-4-year-olds' belief they're interacting with their mother—even when they aren't—enhances brain-to-brain synchrony, highlighting the power of attachment representations.
Evolutionary Algorithms Evolve Better Brain-Inspired Reservoir Networks
Researchers used evolution to design reservoir computing networks, outperforming random designs and showing task difficulty shapes architecture.
Stanford Researchers to Test 'Brain Mismatch' Theory in Cognitive Training for MCI
Stanford Psychiatry receives a grant to investigate whether inducing a 'biopsychological mismatch' during cognitive training in mild cognitive impairment can improve transfer of skills to daily life.
Kids Read Human Eyes but Not Robot Gaze
Children as young as 3 can read intentions from human eyes but not from a robot's gaze, revealing a key difference in how we interpret social signals.
AI and EEG: A New Hope for Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis
A new AI model analyzing just 8 seconds of brain wave data can identify Alzheimer's disease with 89% accuracy, offering a fast and non-invasive diagnostic tool.
Attention as Conditioning: Linear Transformers Mirror Animal Learning
New research shows linear attention models implement classical conditioning rules, predicting how AI memory behaves.
Alzheimer's Brain Waste Disposal Routes Mapped: A New 'Nearest Exit' Model
Scientists have mapped the brain's waste clearance system, revealing local 'ZIP code' exits and how Alzheimer's blocks them, trapping toxic proteins.
CBD May Slow Alzheimer's by Calming Brain Inflammation
In a new study, inhaled CBD reduced key drivers of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's mice, suggesting it could help slow the disease by calming the brain's immune response.
Teenage Lipid Dysfunction Linked to Slower Brain Processing Speed
New research in 15-17-year-olds links blood markers of lipid dysfunction to slower cognitive processing, suggesting heart health and brain health are connected early in life.
Laughter Rewires Brain Architecture and Lowers Cognitive Load
New research shows that laughter is a complex biological engine that shapes early brain growth, lowers cortisol, and reduces cognitive load, making learning more effective.
Your Body as a Sensor: AI Trains Metamaterials to See Better
Researchers show that a material's geometry can be trained to pre-process sensory data, improving accuracy by up to 5x or slashing sensor counts by 90%.
Cognitive Load and Embodied Cognition: Two Sides of the Same Coin
New theory unifies cognitive load and embodied cognition, showing they are complementary processes operating at different timescales, offering fresh insights for learning and instruction.
Spiking Neurons Learn Timing and Replay Speed Control
New research shows how networks of spiking neurons can learn precise timing and flexibly control replay speed, offering insights into brain rhythms and memory.
Brain Alignment Across Species: What AI and Monkey Brains Reveal
New research shows AI models align better with monkey visual cortex than human fMRI, but higher-order areas still challenge artificial neural networks.
Active Sensing Movements Emerge to Enable Task Control
Researchers propose that active sensing movements, like whisking or eye saccades, are not just for gathering information but are essential for task-level control, supporting a new framework that may improve robotics.
Nonlinear Feedback Creates Hysteresis in Brain Network Spreading
New research shows that nonlinear feedback between neuronal activity and protein spread can cause sudden, irreversible transitions between health and disease states.
Mentalization in LLMs: How AI and Humans Compare in Strategic Thought
A new study reveals that large language models like GPT-5 can mentally simulate others' beliefs and intentions, outperforming humans in strategic games. Cognitive modeling uncovers varied mentalization capacities across AI models.
New RNA Origami Test Accurately Sizes ALS and Huntington's Genes
Researchers use RNA origami and nanopores to accurately size repeat expansions linked to ALS and Huntington's, addressing a major diagnostic gap.
Emoji-Based Test Screens Kids' Social Skills with High Reliability
A new 9-question emoji-based screening tool reliably measures preschool social skills, aiding early intervention.
Spinal Circuit Coordinates Fish Schooling, No Brain Needed
A new study finds a simple spinal circuit lets zebrafish school by matching neighbors' wakes, suggesting collective behavior can arise without high-level cognition.
Why Thinking Doesn't Cost Energy: Physics of Neural Networks
A new paper shows inference in neural networks can be energy-free if slow enough, but learning costs energy per parameter.
Personalized Brain Modeling Predicts Alzheimer's Progression
A new AI model uses MRI and PET scans to create personalized brain maps that predict Alzheimer's cognitive decline better than standard biomarkers.
Depression Linked to Stalled Production of New Brain Cells
A major study found that adult depression disrupts the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, potentially impairing the brain's ability to distinguish new experiences from painful memories, and revealing molecular targets for new treatments.
Shingles Vaccine Linked to 24% Lower Dementia Risk in Large Study
A new study of over 500,000 older adults found that the Shingrix shingles vaccine was linked to a 24% lower risk of dementia over four years, suggesting potential neuroprotective benefits.
How Primate Vision Inspires More Robust AI
New research shows predictive world models mimic primate vision's ability to recognize objects despite appearance changes, pointing to a missing principle for robust dynamic AI.
Dendritic Structure Enables Powerful Local Plasticity for Deep Learning in Neurons
Complex dendrites give single neurons local error signals, enabling real-time deep learning via gradient descent—more powerful than global Hebbian plasticity.
Forebrain Circuit Dynamically Regulates Speech Gene Foxp2 to Build Voice
Researchers find that early vocal attempts activate a forebrain circuit that boosts Foxp2 expression, helping shape communication circuits.
Aging Brains Show Stable Language Networks Despite Cognitive Decline
New MIT-led research shows that language networks in the brain remain robust with age, while executive function networks decline. Specialized regions may be protected from aging.
How Added Sugar Blocks Full Memory Recovery After a Healthy Diet Switch
A meta-analysis of 27 studies finds that switching from junk food to a healthy diet improves memory, but added sugar may permanently limit recovery.
Neuroplex Tracks Nine Brain Circuits Simultaneously in Moving Mice
A new imaging pipeline, Neuroplex, tracks up to nine distinct neuronal populations in real time in freely moving mice, transforming brain-behavior research.
How Brain Diseases Alter Information Sharing: A New fMRI Approach
A new AI method, IID-GCN, decomposes brain scans into redundancy, uniqueness, and synergy, revealing disease-specific patterns beyond traditional connectivity.
Thinking Longer Leads to Worse Decisions
A new study finds that in complex strategic decisions, faster choices are on average of higher quality, challenging the belief that longer deliberation improves outcomes.
How the Alzheimer's Gene APOE4 Shrinks Brain Cells Before Symptoms
A new study in mice reveals that the Alzheimer's risk gene APOE4 increases a protein called Nell2, shrinking neurons and making memory circuits hyperactive early on—changes that predict later memory decline. Reducing Nell2 reversed the effects, suggesting a potential intervention.
Brain Region Mapping Reveals Early Alzheimer's Molecular Circuits
Korea Brain Research Institute's new map shows how Alzheimer's molecular changes differ by brain region, offering early clues for targeted interventions.
How the Brain Rewires Itself to Keep You Walking When Vision Fails
A new study reveals the brain's dual strategy for maintaining walking stability when vision is impaired: rigidly activating sensorimotor pathways while boosting connectivity between motor and cognitive control areas.
Physical Stress Changes Your Voice: Science Behind the Talk Test
New research reveals how physical exertion alters vocal pitch, timing, and stability, with major implications for speech recognition in high-stress settings.
Brain Immune Cells Use Calcium to Drive Anxiety and Compulsive Behavior
New research reveals Hoxb8 microglia use calcium signaling to control anxiety and grooming behaviors, offering a potential target for treating OCD and anxiety disorders.
Spinal Cord Injury Reframed as a Systems-Level Brain-Body-Environment Loop Disorder
New research redefines spinal cord injury as a systems-level disruption of the brain-body-environment loop, emphasizing closed-loop rehabilitation.
How 'Jumping Genes' Shaped Human Brain Evolution
New research reveals that 'jumping genes' provided over 20,000 regulatory binding sites, driving the evolution of the complex mammalian brain.
NeuralBench: A Unified Benchmark for Brain Activity AI Models
A new framework, NeuralBench, standardizes the evaluation of AI models on brain recordings, revealing that foundation models only slightly beat specialized ones and many tasks remain unsolved.
EEG Phase Dynamics Reveal Brain States via Permutation Entropy
Permutation entropy of EEG phase dynamics distinguishes conscious vs. unconscious states and eyes-open vs. eyes-closed, but not ADHD vs. control.
How Saccade-Like Predictions Build Flexible Brain Maps
New AI research shows that predicting what comes next can build flexible object-location maps, offering fresh insights into how our brains navigate and remember.
Thousand Brains Theory 2.0: How Long-Range Brain Connections Enable Compositional Learning
New research extends the Thousand Brains Theory to explain long-range cortical connections, proposing the thalamus converts perspectives and enabling compositional learning.
Non-Invasive Brain Decoding Reads Sentences from MEG Data
A new model named Brain2Qwerty v2 can decode typed sentences from non-invasive MEG recordings, achieving a word error rate of 39%. This opens possibilities for safe brain-computer interfaces.
Creatine's Brain Benefits: Energy for Cognition
Creatine, a popular gym supplement, may enhance memory and processing speed by boosting brain ATP levels, especially in older adults.
Why Confidence Feels Like Detection: New Study Reveals the Hidden Rationality
A new study shows that our confidence judgments often weight evidence that supports our choice — but this isn't a flaw, it's rational when considering many alternatives.
Visual Cortex Feedback Shapes Thalamus Responses in Speech Reading
Inhibiting visual-motion area V5/MT reduces LGN response modulation during visual speech, revealing causal corticothalamic feedback.
Brain Waves as a Computational Engine for Perception and Memory
Traveling brain waves may be a core computational engine behind perception and memory, helping the brain construct an internal model of the world.
Organic Synaptic Transistors Mimic Brain's Efficiency for Sustainable AI
Researchers develop organic synaptic transistors that process and store data simultaneously, mimicking the brain's 20-watt efficiency, potentially reducing AI energy use.
Brain-Inspired Learning: A Faster, More Stable Path to AI
A new brain-inspired algorithm, FRE-RNN, makes Equilibrium Propagation practical for AI, cutting training time by orders of magnitude and matching backpropagation performance.
Predicting Brain States: How Laya's JEPA Approach Improves EEG Analysis
New EEG foundation model Laya uses latent prediction instead of reconstruction, improving task-relevant representation and noise resilience.
How a Simple Brain Wiring Change May Explain Human Speech Evolution
New research shows that complex vocalizations can arise from a simple tripling of specific neural connections, offering a surprising parallel to how human speech may have evolved.
Prediction Horizon Shapes How Predictive Models Learn
New research shows that the prediction horizon in predictive learning changes what models internalize, enabling them to capture hidden structure.
DNA and Success: Twin Study Reveals Genetic Influence on Life Outcomes
A new twin study suggests genes play a larger role than upbringing in predicting success, with IQ largely genetically driven.
How Continual Learning Shapes Brain Activity: New Findings on Representational Drift
Experience replay preserves memories while allowing structured drift in neural codes, linking stability-plasticity to lifelong learning.
Blocking a Little-Known Protein Could Slow Alzheimer's, Mouse Study Suggests
A new compound targeting the GRK2 protein reduced damaging clumps in mice brains, improved heart health, and slowed aging signs, offering a fresh approach to dementia.
Estrogen in the Brain Shapes Memory's Resilience to Trauma, Mouse Study Finds
New mouse research reveals that estrogen in the hippocampus affects how well the brain handles traumatic stress, influencing memory problems and PTSD risk.
Anxiety's Three Faces: Brain Networks Behind Feelings, Behavior, and Body
New research shows that the feeling, behavior, and physical signs of anxiety arise from different brain networks, even in people without clinical anxiety.
Coffee's Hidden Power: Gut Microbes and Brain Benefits Beyond Caffeine
New research shows both caffeinated and decaf coffee alter gut bacteria linked to better mood, with decaf improving learning and memory, and caffeine boosting focus.
How the Brain Repairs Sound Offset Detection After Noise Damage
Within 24 hours of noise-induced hearing damage, the brainstem reorganizes to restore 'sound offset' signals—critical for speech gaps—even if overall hearing sensitivity is lowered.
Why Your Brain Dreams Even When You're Awake
New research reveals a 'neural fingerprint' for dream-like thoughts that can occur while fully awake, blurring the line between sleep and wakefulness.
New fMRI method reveals brain networks during story listening
Researchers used independent component analysis to separate signal from noise in fMRI, uncovering consistent language and auditory networks across subjects during story comprehension.
Brain's Smell Map Decoded: New Research Reveals Hidden Order
Harvard researchers discover the nose's smell receptors are organized in precise stripes, overturning decades of belief that smell was chaotic.
Cortex-Inspired AI Model Learns New Tasks Without Forgetting
A new AI method, inspired by the brain's cortex, prevents catastrophic forgetting by using self-organizing masks to isolate task-specific networks, improving continual learning.
Estrogen-Only Hormone Therapy Linked to Lower Alzheimer's Risk in Women
A study of 21,000+ women found that estrogen-only hormone therapy in later life was associated with 39% lower odds of dementia and fewer Alzheimer's brain changes.
Brain's Waste-Clearing System Has Fast and Slow Lanes
AI reveals fluid moves 50x faster around the brain than through deep tissue, offering new clues for detecting Alzheimer's and concussions.
Immune cells from blood enter aging brain, Stanford study finds
Stanford researchers discovered that immune cells from the blood enter the aging brain and become microglia, overturning long-held assumptions about the brain's isolation from the body's immune system.
Brain Activity Drives Alzheimer's Spread: New Model
A new model shows that neuronal activity influences how Alzheimer's pathology spreads through the brain, predicting progression and suggesting activity-modulating therapies.
Can Brain Stimulation Boost Working Memory? New Meta-Analysis Weighs In
A new meta-analysis finds that combining transcranial direct current stimulation with cognitive training may enhance working memory in healthy adults, but effects are modest and task-specific.
Metacognition Is a Skill You Can Train: New Theory
A new computational theory proposes that metacognitive abilities—like self-monitoring and control—are learned skills, developed through practice-driven automation.
Comparing Memory in Brains and LLMs: A New Research Opportunity
Researchers compare memory in brains and large language models to propose that LLMs offer stronger experimental access, potentially sharpening biological hypotheses about memory.
EyeBrain: Pupil Diameter & Fixation Duration Reveal Brain Hemisphere Activity
New research shows pupil diameter and fixation duration can classify left vs. right brain activity with 89.4% accuracy, offering a non-invasive window into cognitive states.
How Integrative Models Unify Brain, Body, and Behavior
New research argues for integrative neurocybernetic models that unify brain, body, and behavior, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of cognition.
How Sleep and Age Shape Your Brain's Awake Signals
New research shows that your brain waves while awake reflect your sleep debt, and children and adults respond to sleep differently, revealing a puberty shift.
New Neuroplasticity Mechanism: How a Single Experience Can Rewire Your Brain
Researchers discovered a new form of neuroplasticity called BTSP that can rewire brain circuits after one experience, explaining fast learning.
Why Positive Reinforcement Can Trap Ideas in a 'Death Spiral'
New research shows that Hebbian learning — 'neurons that fire together, wire together' — can actually trap ideas in feedback loops, while weakening connections allows for wider spread.
Alzheimer's Defense: Unexpected Microglia Subtype Protects Brain, New Atlas Shows
Mapping over 830,000 brain immune cells reveals a protective microglia subtype that expands in Alzheimer’s, clearing harmful material via TREM2, offering new drug targets.
Reading Cognition as Decisions Unfold in Words: Factorized Inverse Decision Model
Researchers introduce a factorized inverse decision model (FIDM) to analyze verbal task dynamics, improving cognitive screening and classification beyond action-based methods.
How LLMs Reorganize Brain-Like Representations During In-Context Learning
New research shows large language models reshape their internal geometry to better separate categories during in-context learning, revealing why some tasks are easier to learn from examples.
FedDOSE: A New Federated Learning Framework for Brain Imaging Analysis
Researchers developed FedDOSE, a federated learning framework that improves diagnosis of autism and ADHD by analyzing dynamic brain connectivity while preserving privacy across multiple sites.
Human Reading vs. AI: Where Eye Tracking Shows the Divide
A new study compares human eye-tracking to 400+ LLMs, revealing where AI fails to explain human rereading and text integration.
Large Language Models Mimic Human Brain During Creative Thinking
New research reveals that large language models align with brain activity during creative tasks, with larger models and those optimized for creativity showing stronger alignment.
Brain's Immune System Overhaul Begins at 50, New Study Shows
Around age 50, the brain's memory center swaps its resident immune cells for more inflammatory ones, a shift that may explain how aging primes the brain for Alzheimer's and dementia.
Your Brain's 'Executive' Can Block Creative Problem-Solving
New research reveals that the medial prefrontal cortex, often seen as the brain's manager, can actually hinder creative thinking by sticking to old habits. Silencing it helps mice learn faster.
Early Stress Leaves Physical Scar on Brain's Dopamine Neurons
Childhood trauma raises the enzyme SETD7 in dopamine neurons, uncoiling DNA and making adults more vulnerable to stress and anxiety.
Teen Cannabis Use Linked to Slower Cognitive Development
New research from UC San Diego shows teens who use cannabis may develop memory, attention, and processing speed more slowly than peers, with THC as the likely culprit.