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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OCD Letter Blocks

Patients with OCD have difficulty learning when a stimulus is safe

06 Mar 2017

People who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are poorer at learning about the safety of a stimulus than healthy volunteers, which may...

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Cambridge scientist shares world’s largest neuroscience prize for research on the brain’s reward system

06 Mar 2017

A Cambridge neuroscientist has today won the world’s most valuable prize for brain research, shared with two London neuroscientists. This year, The...

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Opinion: Robots and AI could soon have feelings, hopes and rights … we must prepare for the reckoning

28 Feb 2017

Is artificial intelligence a benign and liberating influence on our lives – or should we fear an impending rise of the machines? And what rights...

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Sheep

New study identifies possible early warning signs of Huntington’s disease

23 Feb 2017

Early warning signs of Huntington’s disease have been uncovered in a sheep carrying the human disease-causing genetic variant, providing new insights...

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relaxing after work_MMVI

Cocaine addiction leads to build-up of iron in brain

21 Feb 2017

Cocaine addiction may affect how the body processes iron, leading to a build-up of the mineral in the brain, according to new research from the...

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Opinion: Why medical technology often doesn’t make it from drawing board to hospital

15 Feb 2017

Medical imaging is a brilliant field filled with brilliant minds, writes Matthew Leming, PhD candidate in Psychiatry for ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation. So why don...

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Opinion: Brain scanners allow scientists to ‘read minds’ – could they now enable a ‘Big Brother’ future?

13 Feb 2017

Brain imaging can reveal a great deal about who we are and what is going inside our heads. But how far can – and should – this research take us...

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0216

Pets are a child’s best friend, not their siblings

26 Jan 2017

Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to new research from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥...

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Drain Brain Spider

Personality traits linked to differences in brain structure

25 Jan 2017

Our personality may be shaped by how our brain works, but in fact the shape of our brain can itself provide surprising clues about how we behave –...

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̽»¨Ö±²¥National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Biosocial science: ̽»¨Ö±²¥murky history of the nature and nurture debate

23 Jan 2017

̽»¨Ö±²¥idea that social behaviours are biologically influenced is controversial, but may provide new views on how our environment influences who we are...

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Lonely teenager

Teenagers who access mental health services see significant improvements, study shows

18 Jan 2017

Young people with mental health problems who have contact with mental health services are significantly less likely to suffer from clinical...

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P1012863

Patients recovering from depression show improvements in memory from the drug modafinil

17 Jan 2017

Modafinil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy – excessive daytime sleepiness – can improve memory in patients recovering from depression, according to...

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