brain Archives

Your Brain May Not Make Decisions the Way Scientists Once Thought, New Research Suggests

Chrissy Newton·August 27, 2026

New research from Indiana University suggests that when your brain makes a decision, it may not actually “make” it in the way neuroscientists have traditionally assumed.

Brain’s “Cognitive Legos” May Explain How We Multitask and Switch Between Tasks

Chrissy Newton·August 26, 2026

MIT neuroscientists have discovered flexible “cognitive Legos” in the brain that help us multitask and store information.

Secret Self-Healing Powers of the Brain Revealed in Landmark Study, Upending Past Thinking on Adult Brain’s Regenerative Abilities

Micah Hanks·August 12, 2026

Scientists reveal the adult brain possesses self-healing powers far greater than previously assumed, according to new research.

Scientists Have Discovered an Ancient Brain Circuit That Filters Distractions

Austin Burgess·June 28, 2026

Before the prefrontal cortex evolved, another system in the brain may already have been directing attention.

A Hidden Brain Rhythm May Map the Line Between Conscious and Unconscious States

Austin Burgess·June 8, 2026

Researchers at LMU have found a new type of electrical rhythm in the central thalamus that allows them to closely track certain states of consciousness.

Can AI Be Conscious? Researchers Say Science May Not Yet Know How to Tell

Austin Burgess·June 3, 2026

Common experimental methods in consciousness research don't separate subjective experience from general information processing, new research argues.

This Startup is Reviving Human Brains to Explore New Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disease

Ryan Whalen·May 24, 2026

Bexorg, a Connecticut medical startup, is using disembodied human brains in research targeting neurodegenerative diseases.

A Single Dose of Psilocybin May Produce Lasting Brain Changes, Study Finds

Austin Burgess·May 14, 2026

A new study shows that one psychedelic experience doesn't just alter how a person feels; it may also change the brain itself.

Return of the Boltzmann Brains: Why a Bizarre Hypothesis Suggests the Past May Be Harder to Prove Than We Think

Austin Burgess·May 12, 2026

Physicists are revisiting the bizarre paradox of "Boltzmann brains," and whether memories could be illusions created by chance from "cosmic static."

Lucid Dreaming Could Allow People to Experience Other Genders, or Even Other Life Forms, New Research Suggests

Chrissy Newton·April 15, 2026

A new peer-reviewed study suggests some lucid dreamers may be able to experience "dream-body transformation" into animals, or even another gender.

Vivid Dreams May Actually Make Your Sleep Feel Deeper, New Study Finds

Austin Burgess·March 31, 2026

A new study from the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca finds that vivid, immersive dreams can actually make sleep feel deeper, even when brain activity is higher.

As the Brain Stabilizes Dizzying Eye Movements, These Ghostly Images Appear—Now Scientists Know Why

Ryan Whalen·March 17, 2026

Ghostly afterimages are the result of our brain stabilizing our vision, according to German researchers who investigated the process.

Our Brain’s “Fear Center” May Guide Complex Learning Decisions, New Research Reveals

Ryan Whalen·February 27, 2026

The brain’s primitive “fear center” may be much more than that, according to new research on the amygdala.

Brain Researchers Finally Know Why Cannabis Use Increases Appetite

Austin Burgess·February 25, 2026

Researchers at Washington State University and the University of Calgary recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that cannabis use led to a measurable increase in food intake among human participants, regardless of body weight, sex, or when they last ate.

Scientists Have Long Searched for Evidence of Psychedelic DMT in the Brain—A New Study Challenges This Idea

Austin Burgess·February 24, 2026

For many years, researchers have questioned whether the psychedelic compound N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is produced naturally in the brain and if it might act as a signaling substance similar to serotonin.

Study Challenges Long-Held View That Habits Cause Compulsive Behavior

Austin Burgess·February 23, 2026

In a recent study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) found that inflammation in a key decision-making region of the brain led to more deliberate behavior, rather than more compulsive actions.

How Words Shape Consciousness: New Research Reveals the Deep Link Between Language and Awareness

Chrissy Newton·February 17, 2026

Recent research from the University of Liège is offering new insight into that question, suggesting a deeper relationship between language and awareness than previously understood.

Strange Quantum Effects, Tracking Objects in the Atmosphere, and AI Mimicking the Human Brain

Micah Hanks·January 27, 2026

This week, quantum mechanics holds at the macroscopic scale, and scientists develop a novel method using shockwaves from sonic booms to track objects entering Earth's atmosphere.

A “Master Regulator” in the Brain, Unearthing a Major Archaeological Find, and How the Body Brews its Own Alcohol

Micah Hanks·January 20, 2026

This week in stories we're covering at The Debrief, scientists have identified a "master regulator" in the brain, and an ancient Roman factory is unearthed.

A New Brain-Stimulation Tool Could Help Scientists Trace the Origins of Consciousness

Austin Burgess·January 19, 2026

Although researchers can monitor brain activity associated with perception, pain, and awareness, it remains unclear which neural pathways are tied to the origins of consciousness.

Novel Compound Activates Key Psychedelic Receptor Without Behavioral Effects

Austin Burgess·January 16, 2026

Laboratory tests of a novel serotonin-binding compound have revealed an unexpected disconnect between receptor activation and behavior, raising new questions about how psychedelic effects emerge in the brain.

Neuralink Set to Launch ‘High-Volume’ Brain Implant Production as Competitors Weigh In

Chrissy Newton·January 12, 2026

Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has announced plans to expand its brain-computer interface (BCI) chip, The Link, to “high-volume” production this year.

Some Brains ‘Switch Gears’ More Efficiently Than Others—New Research Reveals Why

Austin Burgess·January 8, 2026

The brain’s ability to switch between fast and slow processes depends on communication between regions, new research reveals.

‘Action Crisis’ Unraveled: New Research Tackles the Psychology of Doubting Your Doubts

Austin Burgess·January 2, 2026

Researchers found that prompting people to question their own doubts, a process called meta-cognitive doubt, can actually strengthen commitment to goals that are central to their identity.

Consciousness May Depend on the Physics of the Brain, Not Just Code

Austin Burgess·December 31, 2025

A new theoretical study argues that many standard beliefs about consciousness are rooted in a misleading concept of how the brain functions.

Engineered Rabies Virus Reveals How Psilocybin Reshapes Neural Pathways

Austin Burgess·December 10, 2025

New research reveals how psilocybin reshapes connections across the brain, helping explain how it can ease depression symptoms for weeks or even months.

Your Brain Rewrites Your Memories Each Time You Recall Them, New Study Finds

Austin Burgess·December 9, 2025

A recent neuroscience review questions the long-held belief that memories are unchanging records of past events.

Holographic Ultrasound Breakthrough Enables Scientists to Unlock a New Frontier in Brain Stimulation Research

Ryan Whalen·October 6, 2025

An international team of researchers has developed a novel method of repurposing ultrasound technologies to manipulate neural activity.

Rare Case of ‘Autobiographical Hypermnesia’ Reveals How the Brain Travels Through Time

Austin Burgess·September 2, 2025

Scientists explore 'autobiographical hypermnesia,' a rare ability that allows people to recall of life events in exceptional detail.

She Lost Movement at 16. Neuralink Just Helped Her Write Again—Using Her Mind

Chrissy Newton·August 1, 2025

Audrey Crews, the first female recipient of a Neuralink implant, has written her name for the first time after two decades of paralysis.

Neuralink Tests Show Monkey Can “See” Without Using Its Eyes

Chrissy Newton·June 17, 2025

Neuralink reveals promising results from the company’s latest brain implant, Blindsight, allowing a monkey to perceive visual cues.

Human DNA Spliced into Mice Caused Them to Grow Abnormally Large Brains, Revealing Clues to Evolution of Intelligence

Ryan Whalen·May 16, 2025

Genetic scientists have spliced human DNA into mice, resulting in rodents with increased brain mass, offering new clues to human evolution.

Apple Taps Synchron to Explore Mind-Controlled iPhone Technology

Chrissy Newton·May 14, 2025

Apple is reportedly working with brain-computer interface (BCI) company Synchron to develop technology that allows users to control their iPhones and other Apple devices using their minds.