Machine learning

Recent articles

Digitally distorted building blocks.

The BabyLM Challenge: In search of more efficient learning algorithms, researchers look to infants

A competition that trains language models on relatively small datasets of words, closer in size to what a child hears up to age 13, seeks solutions to some of the major challenges of today’s large language models.

By Alona Fyshe
19 May 2025 | 9 min listen
Research image of connectivity in the fly brain.

Connectomics 2.0: Simulating the brain

With a complete fly connectome in hand, researchers are taking the next step to model how brain circuits fuel function.

By Laura Dattaro
2 May 2025 | 11 min read

Dean Buonomano explores the concept of time in neuroscience and physics

He outlines why he thinks integrated information theory is unscientific and discusses how timing is a fundamental computation in brains.

By Paul Middlebrooks
23 April 2025 | 111 min listen
Tic-tac-toe board with pills representing x’s and o’s.

Basic pain research ‘is not working’: Q&A with Steven Prescott and Stéphanie Ratté

Prescott and Ratté critique the clinical relevance of preclinical studies in the field and highlight areas for improvement.

By Sydney Wyatt
18 April 2025 | 7 min read
Detailed image of neurons in the mouse visual cortex.

Inhibitory cells work in concert to orchestrate neuronal activity in mouse brain

A cubic millimeter of brain tissue, meticulously sectioned, stained and scrutinized over the past seven years, reveals in stunning detail the role of inhibitory interneurons in brain structure and function.

By Katie Moisse
9 April 2025 | 6 min listen
Computer-generated illustration of a brain with a faint outline of another brain superimposed slightly above it.

Does the solution to building safe artificial intelligence lie in the brain?

Now is the time to decipher what makes the brain both flexible and dependable—and to apply those lessons to AI—before an unaligned agentic system wreaks havoc.

By Patrick Mineault
17 February 2025 | 6 min read

‘Digital humans’ in a virtual world

By combining large language models with modular cognitive control architecture, Robert Yang and his collaborators have built agents that are capable of grounded reasoning at a linguistic level. Striking collective behaviors have emerged.

By Kevin Mitchell
10 February 2025 | 51 min watch
Computer-generated illustration of an hourglass encased in a larger piece of cracked glass.

The brain holds no exclusive rights on how to create intelligence

Many of the recent developments underlying the explosive success of artificial intelligence have diverged from using neuroscience as a source of inspiration—and the trend is likely to continue.

By Dean Buonomano
27 January 2025 | 7 min read
High-resolution image of interconnected brain cells highlighted in magenta and blue.

What are recurrent networks doing in the brain?

The cortex is filled with excitatory local synapses, but we know little about their role in brain function. New experimental tools, along with ideas from artificial intelligence, are poised to change that.

By Mark Histed
16 December 2024 | 5 min read

Grace Hwang and Joe Monaco discuss the future of NeuroAI

Hwang and Monaco organized a recent workshop to hear from leaders in the field about how best to integrate NeuroAI research into the BRAIN Initiative.

By Paul Middlebrooks
4 December 2024 | 97 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Abstract illustration of a human brain.

‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That,’ an excerpt

In her new book, published today, neuroscientist Nicole Rust takes us on her personal quest to spell out the brain research community's "Grand Plan."

By Nicole Rust
10 June 2025 | 9 min read
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Convergent effects of autism-linked genes in zebrafish; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 June.

By Jill Adams
10 June 2025 | 2 min read
Research image containing repeated structures, suggesting potential image manipulation.

More than two dozen papers by neural tube researcher come under scrutiny

One of the studies, published in 2021 in Science Advances, received an editorial expression of concern on 21 May, after the journal learned that an institutional review of alleged image problems is underway.

By Claudia López Lloreda
9 June 2025 | 6 min read