Behavior News

May 29, 2026

Top Headlines

Scientists Discover Hidden Gut-brain Circuit That Triggers Protein Cravings

May 28, 2026 When the body runs low on protein, the gut sends powerful signals to the brain that reshape cravings and push animals to seek essential amino acids instead of sugar. Researchers say this newly discovered gut-brain network could transform our ...

May 27, 2026 A drug combo widely explored for anti-aging may actually damage the brain, according to new mouse research showing severe loss of myelin and changes linked to “chemo brain.” Surprisingly, the damaged cells resembled those seen in multiple ...

Scientists Say They’ve Reversed Brain Aging with a Simple Nasal Spray

May 26, 2026 Researchers at Texas A&M have developed a nasal spray that appears to reverse brain aging by calming inflammation and restoring the brain’s energy systems. After just two doses, memory and cognitive function improved for months, raising hopes for ...

Scientists Discover Why Ozempic and Wegovy Weight Loss Eventually Plateaus

May 25, 2026 New NIH research reveals that semaglutide sparks different responses inside appetite-controlling brain cells, offering fresh insight into why GLP-1 weight-loss drugs don’t work the same for everyone. Scientists also found a possible way to extend ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Driver of Aging — Simple Supplement Reversed Brain Decline

May 24, 2026 A newly identified brain protein may play a major role in how the body ages. Researchers discovered that declining levels of Menin in the hypothalamus triggered inflammation, memory problems, bone ...

Scientists Warn That Current Vitamin B12 Guidelines May Be Putting Your Brain at Risk

May 22, 2026 Getting enough vitamin B12 to meet current health guidelines may not actually be enough to protect the aging brain. Researchers at UC San Francisco found that older adults with “normal” but lower ...

Scientists Discover Why Alzheimer’s Risk Hits Women so Much Harder

May 20, 2026 Women may be especially sensitive to the effects of common dementia risk factors, according to a new UC San Diego study of over 17,000 adults. Researchers say tailoring prevention strategies specifically for women could be key to reducing ...

Scientists Reversed Memory Loss by Recharging the Brain’s Tiny Engines

May 16, 2026 Researchers have shown for the first time that malfunctioning mitochondria — the cell’s energy generators — may directly cause cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases. By creating a new tool that temporarily boosts mitochondrial ...

Scientists Find Hidden Brain Nutrient Deficit That May Fuel Anxiety

May 16, 2026 A major analysis of brain scans found that people with anxiety disorders have noticeably lower levels of choline, a nutrient crucial for healthy brain function. The strongest evidence appeared in the prefrontal cortex, the region tied to emotional ...

Is Cannabis Safe After 65? Stanford Experts Reveal 5 Risks Older Adults Should Know

May 15, 2026 Cannabis use among older adults is rising fast, but today’s marijuana is far more potent than many people realize — and experts warn the risks may be underestimated. Stanford Medicine specialists ...

Scientists Discover a Hidden Brain “Cleaning” Effect Triggered by Movement

May 1, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between simple body movement and brain health: every time you tighten your abdominal muscles—even slightly—your brain may gently sway inside your ...

Fish Oil May Be Hurting Your Brain, New Study Finds

Apr. 26, 2026 Fish oil has long been praised as brain-boosting, but new research suggests the story may be more complicated. Scientists found that in people with repeated mild head injuries, a key omega-3 fatty acid in fish oil—EPA—may actually interfere with ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:15am EDT

Scientists Think They’ve Cracked the Mystery of Human Right-Handedness

May 18, 2026 A new study suggests humans became overwhelmingly right-handed because of two major evolutionary shifts: walking on two legs and developing much larger brains. Researchers found that as human ...

Artificial Neurons Successfully Communicate With Living Brain Cells

Apr. 18, 2026 Engineers at Northwestern University have taken a striking leap toward merging machines with the human brain by printing artificial neurons that can actually communicate with real ones. These ...

Doing This Throughout Life May Cut Alzheimer’s Risk by 38%

Apr. 15, 2026 A lifetime of mental stimulation—like reading, writing, and learning new skills—may help protect the brain as we age. People with the highest levels of cognitive enrichment had a much lower risk ...

Your Brain Could Help Solve Autism and Most People Don’t Know It

Apr. 8, 2026 A new survey reveals a striking disconnect in how Americans think about autism research. While nearly everyone agrees that studying the autistic brain is essential, most people are unaware that brain ...

Scientists Say 7 Days of Meditation Can Rewire Your Brain

Apr. 7, 2026 A single week of intensive meditation and mind-body practices led to measurable changes across the brain and body. Researchers observed improved brain efficiency, boosted immune signaling, and ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Brain Switch That Tells You to Stop Eating

Apr. 6, 2026 Your brain’s “stop eating” signal may come from an unexpected source. Researchers found that astrocytes—once thought to just support neurons—actually play a key role in controlling ...

These Overlooked Brain Cells May Control Fear and PTSD

Apr. 4, 2026 Astrocytes, once thought to be mere brain “support cells,” are now revealed to be key players in fear memory. Researchers found they actively help form, recall, and weaken fear responses by ...

A Gene Mutation May Trap the Brain in the Wrong Reality in Schizophrenia Patients

Apr. 3, 2026 A newly identified gene mutation may help explain why schizophrenia patients struggle to update their understanding of reality. The mutation disrupts ...

Stroke Triggers a Hidden Brain Change That Looks Like Rejuvenation

Mar. 29, 2026 After a stroke, the brain may do something surprisingly hopeful—it can “refresh” parts of itself. Researchers analyzing brain scans from over 500 stroke survivors found that while the damaged ...

Scientists Discover Why Your Appetite Suddenly Disappears When You’re Sick

Mar. 28, 2026 Scientists have uncovered how your body actually tells your brain to stop eating when you’re sick. In a new study, researchers found that ...

Scientists Link Childhood Stress to Lifelong Digestive Issues

Mar. 17, 2026 Early life stress may set the stage for long-term digestive problems by disrupting the gut-brain connection. Studies in both mice and thousands of children found links to symptoms like pain, ...

Brain Scans Reveal How Ketamine Quickly Lifts Severe Depression

Mar. 8, 2026 A new brain-imaging study has revealed how ketamine produces its fast antidepressant effects in people with treatment-resistant depression. Researchers tracked changes in a critical brain receptor ...

A New “magic Mushroom” Drug Could Treat Depression Without Psychedelic Hallucinations

Mar. 8, 2026 Scientists are exploring a new way to harness the medical promise of psychedelic compounds without the mind-bending side effects. Researchers created modified versions of psilocin — the active form ...

Scientists Discover a Brain Signal That May Trigger Autism’s Domino Effect

Mar. 7, 2026 Researchers have uncovered a surprising molecular chain reaction in the brain that may play a role in some forms of autism. The study suggests that nitric oxide, a tiny signaling molecule normally ...

Scientists Discover the Brain Protein That Drives Cocaine Relapse

Mar. 6, 2026 Cocaine addiction isn’t simply a failure of willpower — it’s the result of lasting biological changes in the brain. Researchers at Michigan State University discovered that repeated cocaine use ...

Psychedelics May Work by Shutting Down Reality and Unlocking Memory

Feb. 15, 2026 Psychedelics can quiet the brain’s visual input system, pushing it to replace missing details with vivid fragments from memory. Scientists found that slow, rhythmic brain waves help shift ...

Beyond Amyloid Plaques: AI Reveals Hidden Chemical Changes Across the Alzheimer’s Brain

Mar. 1, 2026 Scientists at Rice University have produced the first full, dye-free molecular atlas of an Alzheimer’s brain. By combining laser-based imaging with machine learning, they uncovered chemical changes ...

Scientists Used Brain Stimulation to Make People More Generous

Feb. 13, 2026 A new study suggests that generosity may be more than a moral lesson—it could be shaped by how different parts of the brain work together. By gently stimulating two brain regions and syncing their ...

Why Some Kids Struggle With Math Even When They Try Hard

Feb. 15, 2026 A new Stanford study suggests math struggles may be about more than numbers. Children who had difficulty with math were less likely to adjust their thinking after making mistakes during number ...

Just 5 Weeks of Brain Training May Protect Against Dementia for 20 Years

Feb. 11, 2026 A simple brain-training program that sharpens how quickly older adults process visual information may have a surprisingly powerful long-term payoff. In a major 20-year study of adults 65 and older, ...

Alzheimer’s Scrambles Memories While the Brain Rests

Feb. 1, 2026 When the brain rests, it usually replays recent experiences to strengthen memory. Scientists found that in Alzheimer’s-like mice, this replay still occurs — but the signals are jumbled and poorly ...

This Brain Discovery Is Forcing Scientists to Rethink How Memory Works

Feb. 3, 2026 A new brain imaging study reveals that remembering facts and recalling life events activate nearly identical brain networks. Researchers expected clear differences but instead found strong overlap ...

AI That Talks to Itself Learns Faster and Smarter

Jan. 28, 2026 AI may learn better when it’s allowed to talk to itself. Researchers showed that internal “mumbling,” combined with short-term memory, helps AI adapt to new tasks, switch goals, and handle ...

Intelligence Emerges When the Whole Brain Works as One

Mar. 3, 2026 For decades, scientists have mapped attention, memory, language, and reasoning to separate brain networks — yet one big mystery remained: why does the mind feel like a single, unified system? ...

MRI Scans Show Exercise Can Make the Brain Look Younger

Jan. 22, 2026 New research suggests that consistent aerobic exercise can help keep your brain biologically younger. Adults who exercised regularly for a year showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than ...

MIT's New Brain Tool Could Finally Explain Consciousness

Feb. 4, 2026 Scientists still don’t know how the brain turns physical activity into thoughts, feelings, and awareness—but a powerful new tool may help crack the mystery. Researchers at MIT are exploring ...

Scientists Found the Brain Rhythm That Makes Your Body Feel Like Yours

Jan. 14, 2026 A new study reveals that alpha brain waves help the brain decide what belongs to your body. Faster rhythms allow the brain to match sight and touch more precisely, strengthening the feeling that a ...

Scientists Find ‘master Regulator’ That Could Reverse Brain Aging

Jan. 16, 2026 Researchers have identified OTULIN, an immune-regulating enzyme, as a key trigger of tau buildup in the brain. When OTULIN was disabled, tau vanished from neurons and brain cells remained healthy. ...

A Massive Gene Hunt Reveals How Brain Cells Are Made

Jan. 11, 2026 A large genetic screen has revealed how stem cells transform into brain cells, exposing hundreds of genes that make this process possible. Among the discoveries is PEDS1, a gene now linked to a ...

The Secret to Human Intelligence? It Might Be in Our Gut

Jan. 5, 2026 New research shows gut bacteria can directly influence how the brain develops and functions. When scientists transferred microbes from different primates into mice, the animals’ brains began to ...