Brain imaging

Recent articles

Kevin Dunbar.

In memoriam: Kevin Dunbar, who traced the neural basis of human reasoning

Using imaging technologies, he transformed our understanding of how creativity and scientific discovery arise in the brain.

By Alissa de Chassey
24 July 2026 | 6 min read
Brain scans showing sex-based activation differences.

Brain’s sex differences are subtle and contradictory, large MRI study finds

Sex-based behavioral differences do not match with variations in brain activation or structure in a study of almost 1,000 people.

By Lauren Schenkman
8 July 2026 | 5 min read
Thermal image of Danionella fish.

Exclusive: Janelia sunsets rodent work, launches transparent fish project

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is banking on whole-brain imaging in the Danionella fish to advance neuroscience, but some scientists forced to close their labs say that even with a three-year runway and transitional support, they feel betrayed by the pivot.

By Calli McMurray
22 June 2026 | 6 min read
Map of socioeconomic opportunity in the United States next to visualizations of functional connectivity and structure in sensory and motor cortices.

IQ’s link to brain structure, function in children may be a mirage

A child’s socioeconomic status, screen time and amount of sleep all show stronger associations with measures of brain structure and function, according to an imaging study of nearly 12,000 9- to 10-year-olds.

By Natalia Mesa
11 June 2026 | 5 min read
Conference attendees.

Reporter’s notebook: Highlights from INSAR 2026

At the 25th annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research, scientists, clinicians and self-advocates gathered to discuss topics such as autism genetics and the gap between clinical trials and real-world benefits.

By Diana Kwon
30 April 2026 | 6 min read
Research image of lesion network mapping.

‘Overdue’ debate unfurls over neuroimaging method

After a January paper questioned the validity of an approach called lesion network mapping, its users are pressure testing their results.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 April 2026 | 8 min read
A computer cursor hovers over distorted data.

Neuroscientists challenge NIH’s proposed human-data access policy

The changes would restrict the sharing of human neuroimaging, transcriptomic and genetic data.

By Claudia López Lloreda
17 March 2026 | 5 min read

Large-scale neuroimaging datasets often lack information specific to women’s health, constraining AI’s analysis potential

Addressing this gap will require collecting widespread data on pregnancy, menopause and other life events women experience—and could bring us closer to the “holy grail” of linking brain and behavior.

By Amy Kuceyeski
16 March 2026 | 0 min watch

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
A stack of paper topped by bits of shredded paper.

NIH scraps policy that classified basic research in people as clinical trials

The policy aimed to increase the transparency of research in humans but created “a bureaucratic nightmare” for basic neuroscientists.

By Calli McMurray
3 February 2026 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Dendrite.

Dendrites compute independently of cell body

Depending on their distance from the cell body, dendrites play different roles in learning and memory.

By Natalia Mesa
29 July 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of Middle Eastern neuroscientists talking at a bar, eating baklava.

An Iranian, an Israeli, and a Palestinian neuroscientist walked into a bar…

That chance occurrence at an SfN social led us to organize the Middle Eastern Systems Neuroscience Symposium, and forge a plan to build a community that transcends political barriers through scientific connection.

By Arash Fassihi, Gily Ginosar, Noga Larry, Abdulraheem Nashef
28 July 2026 | 7 min read
Research image of inhibitory neurons and parvalbumin-expressing neurons.

Federal advisory panel extends comment period, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 27 July.

By Jill Adams
28 July 2026 | 1 min read