Topic description and stories

Neuroscience has transformed our understanding of the brain and promises treatments for devastating disorders that affect millions.

Charts map rapid growth and slow decline of brains

06 April 2022

An international team of researchers has created a series of brain charts spanning our entire lifespan – from a 15 week old fetus to 100 year old adult – that show how our brains expand rapidly in early life and slowly shrink as we age. 

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Women in STEM: Stepheni Uh

24 Oct 2019

Stepheni Uh is a PhD candidate in the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Here, she tells us about her research...

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Problematic smartphone use linked to poorer grades, alcohol misuse and more sexual partners

04 Jul 2019

A survey of more than 3,400 university students in the USA has found that one in five respondents reported problematic smartphone use. Female...

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Android

Scientists identify possible source of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ in the brain

01 Jul 2019

Scientists have identified mechanisms in the human brain that could help explain the phenomenon of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ – the unsettling feeling we...

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Virtual reality can spot navigation problems in early Alzheimer’s disease

24 May 2019

Virtual reality (VR) can identify early Alzheimer’s disease more accurately than ‘gold standard’ cognitive tests currently in use, suggests new...

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Study identifies our ‘inner pickpocket’

21 May 2019

Researchers have identified how the human brain is able to determine the properties of a particular object using purely statistical information: a...

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Drug target in neurons

New approach to drug discovery could lead to personalised treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders

08 May 2019

Researchers have developed a method that could drastically accelerate the search for new drugs to treat mental health disorders such as schizophrenia...

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White mouse in purple gloved hands

Blood pressure drug shows promise for treating Parkinson’s and dementia in animal studies

18 Apr 2019

A prescription drug to treat high blood pressure has shown promise against conditions such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and forms of dementia in...

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Location of neurons predicting partner’s choices superimposed on a stained section through one animal’s amygdala. Colours indicate different nuclei.

‘Mindreading’ neurons simulate decisions of social partners

12 Apr 2019

Scientists have identified special types of brain cells that may allow us to simulate the decision-making processes of others, thereby reconstructing...

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Kunming: Bamboo Temple

Levels of autism in China similar to the West, joint Chinese-UK study shows

21 Mar 2019

The first large-scale study of autism in China has revealed that around one in a hundred people in China has an autism spectrum condition – the same...

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Man

Inflammation links heart disease and depression, study finds

19 Mar 2019

People with heart disease are more likely to suffer from depression, and the opposite is also true. Now, scientists at the University of Cambridge...

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Report examines origins and nature of ‘maths anxiety’

14 Mar 2019

A report out today examines the factors that influence ‘maths anxiety’ among primary and secondary school students, showing that teachers and parents...

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Young at heart

13 Mar 2019

Improvements in public health, education and medicine mean that our lives are much longer than at any point in human history. Thanks to studies of...

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