Neurons

Recent articles

Astroengram pattern emerging from the center of an image of a classical neuronal pattern.

Are parts of the memory trace found in the ‘astroengram?’

Neurons have long taken top billing in memory, but researchers are making the case for astrocytes.

By David Brzostowicki
10 August 2026 | 9 min read
Research image of mouse brain.

Making waves: Sleep-like brain activity in awake mice lowers sleep need, boosts memory

Alternating on/off firing patterns don’t just characterize deep, slow-wave sleep, they drive some of its restorative benefits, new findings suggest.

By Alissa de Chassey
16 July 2026 | 4 min read
Research image of cursor movement from high gamma activity.

Recording warning: Common brain signal may be misunderstood

High gamma activity in electrophysiologic recordings reflects widespread neural activity, not merely local firing, as previously thought.

By Claudia López Lloreda
30 June 2026 | 5 min read

Cortical area remixes macaques’ knowledge blocks to solve new problems

When monkeys draw complex shapes, their neural activity reflects patterns of activation elicited by drawing simpler, component shapes.

By Lauren Schenkman
19 June 2026 | 0 min watch
Headshots of the 2026 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience winners.

Four protein synthesis pioneers win Kavli Prize in Neuroscience

Their research revealed how neurons synthesize proteins in previously unrecognized places.

By Alissa de Chassey
10 June 2026 | 4 min read
DNA strand.

Exon-skipping approach boosts levels of key Rett syndrome protein

Deleting a small region of the MECP2 gene partially restored function in neurons derived from people with Rett-associated variants.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
20 March 2026 | 5 min read
Research image of senescing cells.

Signs of aging vary across brain cells

Senescence presents differently depending on the cell type, toxic trigger and neighboring cells, two new studies find.

By Claudia López Lloreda
18 March 2026 | 4 min read
Research image of organoids derived from stem cell lines from people with intellectual disability, polymicroglia or microcephaly, alongside a control organoid.

New organoid atlas unveils four neurodevelopmental signatures

The comprehensive resource details data on microcephaly, polymicrogyria, epilepsy and intellectual disability from 352 people.

By Diana Kwon
17 December 2025 | 4 min read
A series of colored rectangles in a cosmos-like black space.

The challenge of defining a neural population

Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

By Mark Humphries
11 August 2025 | 8 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Neuronal genes SATB2 and MEF2C.

Nuclear location helps control gene activity during brain development

A study of developing human brain tissue suggests that genes switch on more strongly when they move from the nucleus’s edge toward structures that contain proteins involved in making and processing RNA.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
20 August 2026 | 4 min read
Cortical organoids.

Five-year-old human brain organoids aged on schedule

The cultured spheres typically mimic only prenatal development, but the five-year-old ones grown in Paola Arlotta’s lab acquired postnatal features.

By Claudia López Lloreda
19 August 2026 | 5 min read