Brain

Gert-Jan Oskam was paralyzed in a biking accident in 2011. After rehab with an implant, he's been able to walk more than 330 feet at a time and climb stairs.

Paralyzed Man Walks Again With Brain and Spinal Cord Implants

The experimental technology translates the patient's thoughts into voluntary movements

By recording activity of specific neurons in the brain, researchers aim to pick up signals of intended speech.

The Brain-Computer Interfaces That Could Give Locked-In Patients a Voice

Implanted devices record the brain waves associated with speech and then use computer algorithms to translate the intended messages

Brazilian reef octopuses, like other types of cephalopods, defend themselves against predators by inking and extending their mantles. 

Octopuses May Have Vivid Nightmares, Video Suggests

Costello, a male Brazilian reef octopus, had "bizarre" defensive outbursts while sleeping in a lab

This X-ray of a study participant shows recording electrodes placed in the brain in red, as well as two controllers implanted in the shoulders.

Scientists Decode Brain Waves Linked to Chronic Pain

A new way to objectively measure chronic pain could lead to new treatments for the common condition that can be debilitating

An MRI of the brain of a person with Alzheimer's not connected to the new study.

A Man's Rare Genetic Mutation May Have Prevented Alzheimer's for Decades

Scientists hope the findings could lead to treatments for the memory-destroying disease

Many new digital psychiatry solutions have attracted funding in recent years, and experts have questions about how helpful or harmful they will be.

The Future of Mental Health

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Thousands of new tools with unproven results are entering the fold to help Americans in need

By reading brain waves, researchers found support for the idea that dying people may see their life flashing before their eyes or have out-of-body experiences.

Surging Brain Activity in Dying People May Be a Sign of Near-Death Experiences

Researchers found that two of four comatose patients had brain waves that resembled consciousness after they were taken off life support

A spinning 3D view of one person's cerebral cortex. Pink indicates above average activity and blue shows below average activity.

Researchers Use A.I. to Decode Words From Brain Scans

A new tool translates "something deeper than language," generating text that captures the gist of podcasts or silent films viewed by participants

New mental health treatments employ psychedelics and virtual reality.

The Future of Mental Health

The Future of Mental Health

A renewed focus on our brain's ability to cope with trauma sparks a special series of stories about the latest advancements in treatments of mental illness

In a recent study, researchers examined 40 videos of great apes spinning on ropes and calculated their average rotational velocity.

Great Apes Love to Spin Around—Here's Why

A recent study suggests that apes, like humans, seek out altered mental states

Sleeping northern elephant seals on the beach at Año Nuevo State Park, California.

Elephant Seals Take Extreme Power Naps in the Open Ocean

While foraging on deep dives, the marine mammals sleep for about two hours per day in short, ten-minute bursts

A medical illustration of the right half of a human brain from 1876.

Scientists Update Map of How Our Brains Control Movement

The traditional diagram showed brain regions linked to specific body parts, but we might also have areas connected to whole-body control

Gut bacteria, more than genetics, impact mice's motivation to exercise, a recent study suggests.

Could Gut Bacteria Impact Your Motivation to Exercise?

In a study of mice, researchers show their microbiomes play a role in how much they run and how quickly they grow fatigued

This functional connectivity map, a kind of “fingerprint” of the brain, displays how different regions interact with each other in 12-year-olds. The map was constructed from resting-state MRIs, where participants were lying down and not completing a task. Larger red circles denote brain “nodes” with more connections.

The Future of Mental Health

Can a ‘Fingerprint’ of Your Brain Help Predict Disorders?

Using new medical imaging techniques, researchers are working to identify early signs of developmental disorders and mental illness

A fruit fly sits on a grape. Adult fruit flies are typically only a few millimeters long.

See the First Complete Map of an Insect's Brain

Over 12 years, scientists charted more than 3,000 neurons and the nearly 550,000 connections between them in a larval fruit fly

The strategy an animal uses to track a scent depends upon a number of factors, including the animal’s body shape and the amount of turbulence in the odor plume.

Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out How Animals Follow a Scent to Its Source

Uncovering the varied strategies that animals employ could help engineers develop robots that accomplish similar tasks

The top row shows the actual images participants looked at, while the bottom row shows an A.I. recreation of each image based on the participant's brain scans.

This A.I. Used Brain Scans to Recreate Images People Saw

The technology, which was tested with four people, is still in its infancy but could one day help people communicate or decode dreams, researchers say

A just-hatched chick stands next to its egg.

Why Newborn Chicks Love Objects That Defy Gravity

A clever new study shows the cute critters will often scuttle toward a video of a rising ball

Two brothers’ remains were found buried together under the floorboards of their home. One had a hole in his skull consistent with surgery.

This Man Underwent Brain Surgery 3,500 Years Ago

Researchers discovered a punctured skull below the floor of a home in what is now Israel

An impala runs away from a cheetah.

How the Brain Calculates a Quick Escape

Scientists are beginning to unravel the complex circuitry behind the split-second decision to beat a hasty retreat

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