The most comprehensive genomic analysis of the human brain ever undertaken has revealed new insights into the changes it undergoes through development, how it varies among individuals, and the roots of neuropsychiatric illnesses such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

When infants are playing with objects, their early attempts to pay attention to things are accompanied by bursts of high-frequency activity in their brain. But what happens when parents play together with them? New research shows for the first time that when adults are engaged in joint play together with their infant, their own brains show similar bursts of high-frequency activity.

Many species of mammals have evolved what appear to be paradoxical behaviours towards their young. Like humans, most exhibit nurturing, protective behaviours, and in some circumstances even act as surrogate parents. However, virgin males often engage in infanticide as a strategy to propagate their own genes. How are these conflicting social behaviours controlled?

The reproducibility crisis is holding back science. London-based Labstep, a start-up out of Oxford University, think that their tool can help make science more open and reproducible. That claim has now been given some concrete evidence with the announcement that the research contingent of the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM will be trialling Labstep across their Banjul-based facility.

Here's what to look for.

Researchers have identified a mechanism by which brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can suppress GABAergic transmission in hippocampus. In this article, Dr. Rajamani Selvam explains how he and his team achieved these results, and their potential impact on the treatment of neurological disease.

A video showing the birth of an incredible network of neurons in the nervous system of a Zebrafish has won first prize at the Nikon Small World in Motion Awards, which highlight the best in photography and video captured through the microscope lens. We caught up with researchers behind the video to find out more.

Researchers just ran the first ever pre-registered scientific study on the microdosing of psychedelics and found some very promising results.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia worldwide. Classically, the “amyloid” hypothesis, which ties the disease’s spread to that of amyloid protein, is thought to underlie AD’s pathology. After years of mixed to negative results in clinical trials, new research is underway to investigate what role the brain’s own immune system plays in amyloid-driven disease; an “infl-amyloid” hypothesis.