Neuroimaging

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.

A new study suggests that the advanced brain aging often seen in people with anxiety and depression is partly explained by differences in cognitive skills like memory and processing speed, rather than the psychiatric conditions alone.

A new study suggests that getting less sleep alters how regions of the developing brain communicate. By tracking adolescents over time and testing sleep-deprived adults, scientists found evidence that sleep loss directly reshapes brain network connectivity.

Even after being entirely forgotten, the tonal languages we hear during our first months of life permanently alter the physical wiring of our brains, according to new imaging research on international adoptees.

A compound found in green tea might protect the brain from memory loss and structural damage caused by obesity. New research shows the compound reduces inflammation and triggers a cellular recycling process that preserves brain volume.