Perception News

November 16, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Reverse Anxiety by Rebalancing the Brain

Nov. 4, 2025 Researchers have discovered a specific set of neurons in the amygdala that can trigger anxiety and social deficits when overactive. By restoring the excitability balance in this brain region, they successfully reversed these symptoms in mice. The ...

Breakthrough Brain Discovery Reveals a Natural Way to Relieve Pain

Nov. 4, 2025 Using powerful 7-Tesla brain imaging, researchers mapped how the brainstem manages pain differently across the body. They discovered that distinct regions activate for facial versus limb pain, showing the brain’s built-in precision pain control ...

Alzheimer’s Might Be Powered by a Broken Sleep-wake Cycle

Nov. 3, 2025 Disrupted sleep patterns in Alzheimer’s disease may be more than a symptom—they could be a driving force. Researchers at Washington University found that the brain’s circadian rhythms are thrown off in key cell types, changing when hundreds of ...

Your ZIP Code Could Reveal Your Risk of Dementia

Oct. 31, 2025 People living in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods may face higher dementia risks, according to new research from Wake Forest University. Scientists found biological signs of Alzheimer’s and vascular brain disease in those from ...

Scientists Reverse Alzheimer’s in Mice with Groundbreaking Nanotech

Oct. 30, 2025 Researchers used supramolecular nanoparticles to repair the brain’s vascular system and reverse Alzheimer’s in mice. Instead of carrying drugs, the nanoparticles themselves triggered natural clearance of amyloid-β proteins. This restored ...

Gum Disease May Quietly Damage the Brain, Scientists Warn

Oct. 29, 2025 People with gum disease may have higher levels of brain white matter damage, a new study finds. Researchers observed that participants with gum disease had significantly more white matter hyperintensities, even after accounting for other risk ...

Your IQ May Determine How Well You Hear in a Crowd

Oct. 29, 2025 New research reveals that intelligence plays a key role in how well people process speech in noisy environments. The study compared neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals and found that cognitive ability predicted performance across all groups. ...

Scientists Discover a Surprising Way to Quiet the Anxious Mind

Oct. 27, 2025 Generalized anxiety disorder affects millions, often trapping sufferers in cycles of fear and isolation that conventional medications barely relieve. At UCSF, neuroscientist Jennifer Mitchell is testing a pharmaceutical form of LSD called MM120, ...

Scientists Launch $14.2 Million Project to Map the Body’s “Hidden Sixth Sense”

Oct. 25, 2025 Inside your body, an intricate communication network constantly monitors breathing, heart rate, digestion, and immune function — a hidden “sixth sense” called interoception. Now, Nobel laureate ...

A “Toxic Duo” May Be the Hidden Trigger Behind Alzheimer’s Disease

Oct. 22, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a toxic alliance between Aβ and fibrinogen that may explain how Alzheimer’s disease begins. The two proteins together create stubborn clots that damage blood vessels and spark inflammation in the brain. These effects ...

Running Fixes What Junk Food Breaks in the Brain

Oct. 21, 2025 New research reveals that exercise counteracts the mood-damaging effects of a Western-style diet through specific gut and hormonal mechanisms. Running restored metabolites tied to mental well-being and balanced key hormones like insulin and leptin. ...

Brain Fog During Menopause? Here’s What’s Really Going On

Oct. 21, 2025 Menopause brings profound shifts not just in hormones but in the very structure of the brain. Scientists have found that gray matter in regions tied to memory and thinking can shrink, while white matter may show damage linked to blood flow issues. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:21pm EST

What Brain Scans Reveal About Soccer Fans’ Passion and Rage

Nov. 11, 2025 Researchers scanning soccer fans’ brains found that wins trigger bursts of reward activity while losses dampen control signals. The results show how loyalty and rivalry can override logic, turning ...

A 500-Million-Year-Old Brain "radar" Still Shapes How You See

Nov. 8, 2025 New research shows that the superior colliculus, a primitive brain region, can independently interpret visual information. This challenges long-held beliefs that only the cortex handles such complex ...

Scientists Uncover Meditation’s Hidden Side Effects

Nov. 5, 2025 Meditation is widely praised for its mental health benefits, but new research shows that it can also produce unexpected side effects for some people—from anxiety and dissociation to functional ...

A Breakthrough Map Reveals How the Brain Really Works

Nov. 5, 2025 Scientists have shown that brain connectivity patterns can predict mental functions across the entire brain. Each region has a unique “connectivity fingerprint” tied to its role in cognition, ...

MIT Scientists Discover How the Brain Spins Back Into Focus

Nov. 4, 2025 Researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute found that rotating waves of brain activity help restore focus after distractions. In animal tests, these rotations predicted performance: full rotations ...

Scientists Find Mind Trick That Unlocks Lost Memories

Nov. 3, 2025 Researchers found that embodying a digital, childlike version of one’s own face helps unlock vivid childhood memories. This illusion strengthens the connection between bodily self-perception and ...

Humans Evolved Faster Than Any Other Ape

Oct. 29, 2025 UCL scientists found that human skulls evolved much faster than those of other apes, reflecting the powerful forces driving our brain growth and facial flattening. By comparing 3D models of ape ...

Feeling Stressed? Science Finds a Simple Way to Take Back Control

Oct. 20, 2025 Feeling in control may be the key to conquering daily stress. Penn State researchers found that people were 62% more likely to resolve everyday hassles on days when they felt greater control. This ...

These 80-Year-Olds Have the Memory of 50-Year-Olds. Scientists Finally Know Why

Oct. 19, 2025 SuperAgers defy normal aging by keeping sharp memories and healthy brains well into their 80s. Northwestern scientists discovered that these ...

Stanford Scientists Grow Thousands of Mini Human Brains Using Common Food Additive

Oct. 18, 2025 Stanford scientists have solved a long-standing challenge in growing brain organoids by using a simple food additive to keep them from sticking ...

From Poison to Power: How Lead Exposure Helped Shape Human Intelligence

Oct. 16, 2025 Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even ...

Your Brain’s Power Supply May Hold the Key to Mental Illness

Oct. 14, 2025 Groundbreaking Harvard research is exposing hidden energy failures inside brain cells that may drive major psychiatric conditions. By studying reprogrammed neurons, scientists are revealing how ...

Scientists Discover Brain Circuit That Can Switch Off Chronic Pain

Oct. 10, 2025 Scientists have pinpointed Y1 receptor neurons in the brain that can override chronic pain signals when survival instincts like hunger or fear take precedence. Acting like a neural switchboard, these ...

Why Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t the Real Villain Behind Overeating

Oct. 5, 2025 Researchers from Leeds found that overeating is driven more by what people believe about food than by its actual ingredients or level of processing. Foods perceived as fatty, sweet, or highly ...

Why the Brain’s GPS Fails With Age, and How Some Minds Defy It

Oct. 5, 2025 Stanford scientists found that aging disrupts the brain’s internal navigation system in mice, mirroring spatial memory decline in humans. Older mice struggled to recall familiar locations, while a ...

A Single Dose of Psilocybin May Rewire the Brain for Lasting Relief

Oct. 2, 2025 Penn researchers found that psilocybin can calm brain circuits tied to pain and mood, easing both physical suffering and emotional distress in animal studies. The compound works in the anterior ...

A Century-Old Piano Mystery Has Just Been Solved

Oct. 2, 2025 Scientists confirmed that pianists can alter timbre through touch, using advanced sensors to capture micro-movements that shape sound perception. The discovery bridges art and science, promising ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

Oct. 13, 2025 Finasteride, a common hair-loss drug, has long been tied to depression and suicide, but regulators ignored the warnings. Prof. Mayer Brezis’s review exposes global data showing psychiatric harm and ...

How Gaslighting Tricks the Brain Into Questioning Reality

Oct. 2, 2025 Gaslighting, often seen as a form of manipulation, has now been reframed by researchers at McGill University and the University of Toronto as a learning process rooted in how our brains handle ...

How the Brain Decides Which Moments You’ll Never Forget

Sep. 27, 2025 Boston University researchers found that ordinary moments can gain staying power if they’re connected to significant emotional events. Using studies with hundreds of participants, they showed that ...

Brain Fat, Not Just Plaques, May Be the Hidden Driver of Alzheimer’s

Sep. 24, 2025 For decades, scientists believed Alzheimer’s was driven mainly by sticky protein plaques and tangles in the brain. Now Purdue researchers have revealed a hidden culprit: fat. They found that brain ...

Scientists Reverse Stroke Damage With Stem Cells

Sep. 16, 2025 Scientists in Zurich have shown that stem cell transplants can reverse stroke damage by regenerating neurons, restoring motor functions, and even repairing blood vessels. The breakthrough not only ...

Brain Rhythms Reveal a Secret Switch Between Old Memories and New Adventures

Sep. 16, 2025 Scientists have uncovered how the brain reroutes its communication pathways depending on whether it’s processing something new or recalling the familiar. By fine-tuning the balance between ...

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro Makes Food Taste Sweeter and Saltier, and That May Quiet Cravings

Sep. 16, 2025 Some people taking Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro notice that food suddenly tastes sweeter or saltier, and this subtle shift in flavor perception appears tied to reduced appetite and stronger feelings ...

Supercharged Vitamin K Could Help the Brain Heal Itself

Oct. 14, 2025 Researchers have synthesized enhanced vitamin K analogues that outperform natural vitamin K in promoting neuron growth. The new compounds, which combine vitamin K with retinoic acid, activate the ...

Could Plastic in Your Food Be Fueling Azheimer’s?

Sep. 18, 2025 Plastic particles from everyday items like Styrofoam cups and take-out containers are finding their way into the brain, where they may trigger Alzheimer’s-like symptoms. New research shows that ...

Sleepless Nights May Raise Dementia Risk by 40%, Mayo Clinic Reveals

Sep. 14, 2025 Chronic insomnia may do more than leave you groggy, it could speed up brain aging. A large Mayo Clinic study found that people with long-term sleep troubles were 40% more likely to develop dementia ...

Autism May Be the Price of Human Intelligence

Sep. 28, 2025 Researchers discovered that autism’s prevalence may be linked to human brain evolution. Specific neurons in the outer brain evolved rapidly, and autism-linked genes changed under natural selection. ...

Scientists Suggest the Brain May Work Best With 7 Senses, Not Just 5

Oct. 8, 2025 Scientists at Skoltech developed a new mathematical model of memory that explores how information is encoded and stored. Their analysis suggests that memory works best in a seven-dimensional ...