Neuroimaging

A groundbreaking collaboration has tested two of the most influential theories of consciousness—global neuronal workspace and integrated information theory. While neither came out on top, the project marks a major shift in how scientists approach one of the mind’s biggest...

A recent brain imaging study finds that sucralose, unlike sugar, increases activity in the hypothalamus and boosts hunger, suggesting that calorie-free sweetness may confuse the brain’s appetite control system.

Research on aging mice suggests that low dietary vitamin K reduces brain vitamin K levels, impairs memory, lowers neurogenesis, and elevates inflammation. The findings highlight the importance of vitamin K for maintaining healthy brain function across the lifespan.

A new study reveals that mice use specialized brain cells to track progress toward goals, even in unfamiliar situations. The findings suggest that animals—and possibly humans—rely on internal maps of behavior, not just physical space.

A new study using brain scans found that psilocybin and escitalopram reduce depression symptoms through different neural mechanisms. While escitalopram dampened emotional brain activity, psilocybin preserved or slightly increased it, suggesting distinct pathways to recovery.

A new study using brain scans from a Japanese cohort shows that individuals with major depressive disorder have brains that appear significantly older than their actual age, linking depression to structural changes, altered neurotransmitters, and gene expression related to aging.

An eight-week intervention using bright light therapy led to measurable reductions in depressive symptoms and changes in neural connectivity in participants with subthreshold depression, according to a randomized controlled neuroimaging study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

New findings show that dopamine signals track not only rewards but also cues linked to unpleasant outcomes. The study helps explain how we learn to avoid harm and offers new insight into disorders characterized by excessive fear and avoidance.

Scientists have shown that gut microbes can reshape brain protein chemistry by altering glycosylation, the process of sugar attachment to proteins. The discovery was made using a cutting-edge method that dramatically improves our ability to study these modifications.

A study using brain scans shows that flashes of insight reorganize neural patterns in the visual cortex and engage memory and emotion regions, helping embed the solution more deeply in long-term memory.

A new study reveals that brain activity, particularly in regions linked to emotion, predicts market preferences more accurately than self-reported choices—especially when samples aren’t demographically representative. Neural signals offered consistent forecasts even when behavioral data failed.

Scientists have discovered that senescent sensory neurons accumulate with age and nerve injury, releasing inflammatory molecules that heighten pain sensitivity. The findings suggest that targeting these dysfunctional cells could reduce chronic pain, particularly in older adults.

Researchers found that interoceptive awareness—the ability to sense internal bodily states—predicts whether people’s moral judgments match group norms. Brain scans revealed that resting-state activity in specific brain regions mediates this relationship.

A mouse study published in Science shows that stimulating a specific set of brain cells activated by a psychedelic drug can reduce anxiety without triggering hallucination-like behavior, pointing to new possibilities for targeted mental health treatments.