Behavioral neuroscience

Recent articles

Illustration of a person standing in a crumbling room with papers and strings on the wall, a fallen chair, and a lamp.

What to do when traditional mechanistic approaches no longer work

Many complex behaviors have stubbornly resisted mechanistic explanations. Deciphering them will require new approaches—and perhaps a new concept of “understanding.”

By Bence Ölveczky
19 October 2026 | 8 min read

Neuromechanical models deepen our understanding of animal motor control

Thanks to recent progress in physics-based simulators and robotics, it has never been easier for neuroscientists to use neuromechanical modeling to test hypotheses about animal movement.

By Auke Ijspeert
9 September 2026 | 0 min watch

Revealing how crabs make their escape

Houdini-like Neohelice granulata offers a rare opportunity to record intracellularly from awake, behaving animals.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Scientists with giant animals: Frog, butterfly, electric fish and a bird.

La biodiversidad de Latinoamérica impulsa avances en comportamiento social y cognición

Horneros, peces eléctricos, ranitas y otra fauna regional ayudan a los neurocientíficos a plantear nuevas preguntas de investigación en el campo.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 2 min read

Descobrindo como as borboletas escolhem seus parceiros

As borboletas do gênero Heliconius permitem investigar os circuitos neurais e os genes envolvidos na preferência pela cor dos parceiros.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Rufous horneros bird.

Identificando o que torna o canto de uma ave único

As oscinas e as suboscinas, duas linhagens de aves evolutivamente próximas, aprendem e não aprendem a cantar, respectivamente, ajudando os cientistas a desvendar os correlatos neuronais da aprendizagem e da variabilidade vocal.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 4 min read

Revelando como os caranguejos conseguem escapar

Os Neohelice granulata, verdadeiros Houdinis, oferecem uma rara oportunidade de realizar registros intracelulares em animais acordados e em movimento.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Rufous horneros bird.

Qué hace único al canto de un ave

Los oscinos y los suboscinos son dos linajes de aves evolutivamente cercanos, pero solo uno de ellos aprende a cantar. Esa diferencia les permite a los científicos rastrear las bases neuronales del aprendizaje vocal.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 4 min read
Tree frog climbing.

Cómo los neuropéptidos afectan el canto de la ranita de zarzal

Según una investigación uruguaya, los neuropéptidos modulan el “canto de amor” de la ranita de zarzal.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 3 min read

Descubriendo cómo las mariposas escogen su pareja

Mariposas Heliconius ofrecen una ventana a los circuitos neuronales y genes involucrados en la preferencia por el color de la pareja.

By Natalia Mesa
28 August 2026 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

New phase of BRAIN Initiative spawns basal ganglia ‘parts list’

With a standardized cell naming system and infrastructure for data collection and analysis, the basal ganglia project sets the stage for a whole-brain primate atlas.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 November 2026 | 1 min watch
Research image showing genes containing microexons in mice.

Machine-learning model spots autism-linked variants that scramble splicing

The model provides a way to investigate genetic variation in regions of the genome whose functions have been difficult to interpret.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
12 November 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of two overlapping speech bubbles patterned with blue and pink horizontal lines on a background of pink and brown horizontal lines.

Future of AI brain models sparks debate

Neuroscientists are divided about whether foundation models that predict brain responses will help the field understand how brains work.

By Natalia Mesa
11 November 2026 | 10 min read