Summary: Scientists have identified two genes hidden within the so-called “dark matter” of the human genome that appear to influence brain size and synaptic signaling. By leveraging the first truly complete human genome assembly and testing effects in zebrafish, the team demonstrates how recently duplicated human genes may have helped shape distinctive features of the … Read more

Summary: A new fMRI study from Kobe University finds that optimistic people share strikingly similar brain activity patterns when imagining future events, while pessimists display far more individual variability. The research shows that optimists process positive and negative scenarios in distinct, consistent ways—often by distancing themselves emotionally from negative outcomes—offering a neural explanation for why … Read more

Summary: A new tractography study links brain anatomy to social dominance in nonhuman primates. Researchers report a strong association between the structural integrity of the uncinate fasciculus—a white matter pathway involved in emotion and memory—and dominance-related behaviors in a colony of squirrel monkeys. The association was most pronounced in the right hemisphere, echoing prior human … Read more

Summary: Some autistic teenagers consciously mask or camouflage their autistic traits to be perceived as non-autistic in social settings. A new study from Drexel University uses EEG to reveal how that masking appears in brain activity: teens who “pass” as non-autistic show faster automatic brain responses to faces and reduced emotional reactivity to subtle facial … Read more

Summary: Prenatal stress in mothers can leave a lasting imprint on their offspring, increasing their vulnerability to depression-like behaviors. New research shows maternal stress disrupts the gut microbiome and alters metabolite production, and these microbial changes are transmitted to the next generation. This inherited microbial imbalance was linked to neurotransmitter disturbances and low-grade inflammation in … Read more

Summary: A large cross-national study analyzed how psychopathy, narcissism, fear of missing out (FoMO), and cognitive ability affect online political participation. Using surveys from more than 8,000 people across eight countries, researchers found that higher psychopathy and FoMO consistently predict greater digital political activity, while narcissism predicts participation only in some cultural contexts. Higher cognitive … Read more

Summary: Researchers have identified ripple-type brain waves as a key mechanism by which the human brain segments continuous experience into discrete episodes and stores those episodes as memories. By recording intracranial brain activity in epilepsy patients while they watched a 50-minute TV episode, the team found that high-frequency ripple events increased at event boundaries in … Read more

Summary: Pain is not only a physical sensation but can also be transmitted socially and emotionally. New research from Tokyo University of Science shows that ultrasonic vocalizations produced by mice in pain can cause increased pain sensitivity, or hyperalgesia, in nearby mice even when those mice have no injury. This “sound stress” triggers brain inflammation, … Read more

Summary: A new preclinical study from Marshall University shows that certain e-cigarette flavorings — notably vanilla and cherry compounds — can provoke reward-seeking behaviors in adolescent mice even when no nicotine is present. The research indicates that some flavor chemicals activate the brain’s dopamine system and interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, raising concerns that nicotine-free … Read more

Summary: A large genetic analysis reveals that cannabis use disorder (CanUD) shares substantial genetic overlap with several psychiatric conditions — including major depression, PTSD, ADHD and schizophrenia — and differs genetically from casual cannabis use. Using global and local genetic correlations, colocalization, Mendelian randomization and genomic structural equation modeling, researchers identified distinct genetic signatures for … Read more