Neuroimaging

Teens with depression show unique brain patterns when facing social rejection. A recent brain imaging study reveals that their amygdala fails to adapt to repeated social threats, keeping them on high alert during difficult peer interactions.

A recent study indicates how early-life trauma leaves a lasting mark on the brain. By altering how DNA is packaged in dopamine neurons, early adversity primes the brain for future anxiety. Blocking this process in mice prevented stress hypersensitivity.

A recent brain imaging study reveals that people who rapidly remove the reward chemical dopamine after a sugar spike may have a harder time controlling their cravings for sweet foods.

A recent study suggests that collective emotional stress during the COVID-19 lockdown was associated with changes in the brain. Researchers found that negative public mood on social media correlated with reduced metabolism in emotional regulation centers.

Using data from a massive long-term study, researchers found that 9-year-olds with ADHD have altered white matter microarchitecture. These early differences in nerve organization and cellular density offer new clues into the neurodevelopmental roots of the disorder.

A large study of brain scans from over 4,000 people has identified four distinct ages when the brain's structural network shifts its developmental trajectory. These turning points separate human life into five unique epochs of topological change.

A new analysis of brain imaging data suggests that migraines can be categorized into two biological groups based on brain structure and network connectivity, offering a potential new framework for understanding the condition.

Brain scans reveal that COVID-19 may leave a lasting physical imprint on the brain. A recent study found altered tissue structure and chemical imbalances in both long COVID patients and those who fully recovered from the virus.

A recent study found that during REM sleep, the brain receives a surge of blood and nutrients, yet energy levels inside neurons actually drop. This “energy paradox” suggests the sleeping brain dynamically reorganizes its metabolic resources.

As animals learn to self-administer cocaine, specific brain networks rapidly expand and then shrink. Using advanced imaging, researchers discovered that the cells controlling this addictive habit constantly swap in and out, revealing a highly flexible neurological process.

When humans learn new rules, our brains use the exact same evidence-gathering process to make decisions as they do when processing basic physical sensations. A recent study shows that decision-making brain waves adapt to track arbitrary, newly learned categories.

A small longitudinal study reveals that as people’s political loyalties evolve, their brain activity patterns shift in tandem. These neural changes are driven more by shifting group identity than by alterations in abstract ideological beliefs.

New fMRI research shows that dog brains do more than just separate good moods from bad. Canines display distinct neural patterns for human smiles and can neurologically differentiate between specific negative emotions like fear and anger.

A new computational model explains why dopamine levels gradually rise as animals approach a reward. By combining fast mental maps with slow habit formation, the dual-process theory resolves a long-standing puzzle about how the brain updates its expectations.

A new neuroimaging study reveals that the amygdala—the brain's emotion center—grows significantly from the fetal stage to early childhood. This growth is steeper in boys, and early left amygdala size is linked to later communication skills.