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Neuroscience

This untitled painting by Willem De Kooning was created in the 1950s, decades before the artist was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

New Research

Scientists Spot Cognitive Decline in Famous Artists’ Brushstrokes

Could paintings hold clues to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases?

Dyslexia affects up to 17 percent of American schoolchildren. Researchers now believe it may be caused by difficulty in the brain rewiring itself.

New Research

Dyslexia May Be the Brain Struggling to Adapt

The learning disorder may be less a problem with language processing, and more a problem with the brain rewiring itself

Flickering images can induce seizures in people with epilepsy.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Do Flashing Images Cause Seizures?

For people with epilepsy, a flashing screen can be more than a passing annoyance

New Research

You May Not Have Rhythm, But Your Eyeballs Sure Do

Tracking eye movement gives researchers a peek into how the brain reacts to music

"I will never forget that you did this to me."

New Research

Dogs May Possess a Type of Memory Once Considered ‘Uniquely Human’

New research suggests that man’s best friend remembers more than we thought

Trending Today

Head Transplant Patient Will Use Virtual Reality to Smooth Transition to New Body

The controversial surgical procedure is currently scheduled for next year

A tickled rat.

New Research

What Tickling Giggly Rats Can Tell Us About the Brain

Their laughter manifests in a surprising region of the cerebral cortex

A U.S. Air Force pilot performs a pre-flight check. Perhaps one day, connecting electrodes to the scalp could be part of that routine.

New Research

U.S. Military Tests Brain Stimulation to Sharpen Mental Skills

Could electrodes one day replace pill bottles in the theatre of war?

Grégoire Courtine, an author on the new study, holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain, a microelectrode array and a pulse generator. The brain-spine interface consists of elements like these.

New Research

A New Wireless Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Monkeys Walk. Humans Could Be Next.

One small step for monkeys, one potential leap for humans

New Research

Why Certain Songs Get Stuck in Our Heads

A survey of 3,000 people reveals that the most common earworms share a fast tempo, unusual intervals and simple rhythm

Why do some people seem able to lie without feeling bad?

New Research

How White Lies Snowball Into Full-On Deception

Using brain scans, researchers find evidence that bad feelings associated with lying lessen over time

Heavy drinking can cause brain changes that make you want to drink more.

How a Genetically Engineered Virus Could Help the Brain Fight Alcohol Cravings

Heavy drinking can change the brain to make cravings worse. Can gene therapy change it back?

A new study investigates booze in bars.

Loud Sounds Can Make Your Drink Seem Stronger

The scientific reason that clubbing and cocktails go hand in hand—but shouldn’t always

"Hey guys this sugar is great, but where can we find some morphine?"

Addict Ants Show That Insects Can Get Hooked on Drugs, Too

How researchers got a non-mammal hooked on drugs for the first time

The device can scan the brain while a person walks.

This Helmet Shows What’s Going On Inside a Person’s Brain

Researchers say it could help detect Alzheimer’s and even explain why some people have exceptional talents

A "neural dust" sensor

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Tiny “Neural Dust” Sensors Could One Day Control Prostheses or Treat Disease

These devices could last inside the human body indefinitely, monitoring and controlling nerve and muscle impulses

Could This Painless Brain Stimulation Help Treat Depression and Alzheimer’s?

UNC researchers have shown that transcranial alternating current stimulation can help improve memory

Not always your friend.

A Neuroscientist Tells You What’s Wrong With Your Brain

Dean Burnett’s new book, Idiot Brain, explains why your mind evolved to thwart you

New Research

New Brain Map Doubles Number of Known Regions

Neurologists have found 97 new areas in the brain and expect to add even more

Participants in "The Leading Strand" project share their prototypes with each other.

Art Meets Science

Here’s What Happens When Neuroscientists and Designers Team Up to Explain Scientific Research

A new interdisciplinary project results in a moving sculpture, an animated piece, a song that evolves and more

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