Neural networks

Recent articles

How insights from network theory can boost interdisciplinary efforts

Communication on one interdisciplinary research team improved after the researchers turned an analysis technique used to study the brain on themselves and identified the roles people played in lab meetings.

By Emily Singer
23 February 2026 | 0 min watch
Brain-shaped go-karts race.

The 1,000 neuron challenge

A competition to design small, efficient neural models might provide new insight into real brains—and perhaps unite disparate modeling efforts.

By Tom Stafford
5 January 2026 | 8 min read
A stack of papers topped by many paper shreddings against a red background.

Exclusive: Springer Nature retracts, removes nearly 40 publications that trained neural networks on ‘bonkers’ dataset

The dataset contains images of children’s faces downloaded from websites about autism, which sparked concerns at Springer Nature about consent and reliability.

By Calli McMurray
8 December 2025 | 5 min read
Stack of papers.

What are the most-cited neuroscience papers from the past 30 years?

Highly cited papers reflect the surge in artificial-intelligence research in the field and other technical advances, plus prizewinning work on analgesics, the fusiform face area and ion channels.

By The Transmitter
15 November 2025 | 11 min read
Raphael Yuste leaning on a bench in his lab. A red filter colors the scene.

Releasing the Hydra with Rafael Yuste

Losing HHMI Investigator status prompted Yuste to study neural networks in a new way.

By Brady Huggett, Shaena Montanari
4 April 2025 | 10 min read
Headshots of Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler.

2025 Brain Prize honors pair of cancer neuroscientists

Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler share the $1.4 million award for their discovery of synapses between brain cancer cells and neurons.

By Sydney Wyatt
5 March 2025 | 3 min read
Computer-generated images of the human brain showing functional networks.

Cell ‘fingerprints’ identify distinct cortical networks

These networks align with different assemblages of cells, a finding that could reveal how cellular diversity influences brain function, according to a new study.

By Holly Barker
28 February 2025 | 4 min read
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
Illustration of lines of text being distorted by red orbs.

This paper changed my life: ‘A massively parallel architecture for a self-organizing neural pattern recognition machine,’ by Carpenter and Grossberg

This paper taught me that we can use mathematical modeling to understand how neural networks are organized—and led me to a doctoral program in the department led by its authors.

By Luiz Pessoa
6 January 2025 | 3 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

Explore more from The Transmitter

Tick on a leaf raises its forelegs.

Neuro’s ark: Spying on the secret sensory world of ticks

Carola Städele, a self-proclaimed “tick magnet,” studies the arachnids’ sensory neurobiology—in other words, how these tiny parasites zero in on their next meal.

By Calli McMurray
3 March 2026 | 6 min read
Research image of mice brains.

Autism in old age, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 2 March.

By Jill Adams
3 March 2026 | 1 min read
Sheet of paper with a red pencil struck through it.

Lack of reviewers threatens robustness of neuroscience literature

Simple math suggests that small groups of scientists can significantly bias peer review.

By Jakob Voigts
2 March 2026 | 14 min read

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