Brain imaging

Recent articles

Illustrated portrait of Damien Fair.

Stimulating the brain with Damien Fair

The MacArthur Foundation “genius” discusses his return to his home state of Minnesota and why it’s important to protect the developing brain.

By Brady Huggett
3 February 2025 | 68 min listen
Grid of human brain scans.

Dose, scan, repeat: Tracking the neurological effects of oral contraceptives

We know little about how the brain responds to oral contraceptives, despite their widespread use. I am committed to changing that: I scanned my brain 75 times over the course of a year and plan to make my data openly available.

By Carina Heller
20 January 2025 | 7 min read
Eleanor Maguire.

Remembering Eleanor Maguire, ‘trailblazer’ of human memory

Maguire, mastermind of the famous London taxi-driver study, broadened the field and championed the importance of spatial representations in memory.

By Calli McMurray
10 January 2025 | 8 min read
Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.

In case you missed it: Standout news stories from 2024

These five stories—on the pregnant brain, a failed imaging method and more—top our list of some of the most notable neuroscience research findings this year.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
Research image of fMRI scans on a black background.

Timing tweak turns trashed fMRI scans into treasure

Leveraging start-up “dummy scans,” which are typically discarded in imaging analyses, can shorten an experiment’s length and make data collection more efficient, a new study reveals.

By Angie Voyles Askham
30 October 2024 | 6 min listen

New tissue-clearing techniques let microscopes peer deeper into living brains

Washing mouse brain tissue with a blood protein or complex sugar can illuminate cells 550 micrometers into the cortex without compromising its normal physiology.

By Calli McMurray
18 October 2024 | 0 min watch
Photograph of a child sitting at a laptop and performing an executive function test.

Brain imaging at the fair with Ka Ip

Does environment affect how children from diverse backgrounds perform on tests of executive function? Ip went to the Minnesota State Fair to find out.

By Angie Voyles Askham
24 September 2024 | 9 min read
Research image of brain scans showing the structural integrity of white-matter tracts.

Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth

A detailed look at a “pregnant brain” highlights a need to investigate the neural alterations that occur during a transition experienced by nearly 140 million people worldwide each year.

By Shaena Montanari
16 September 2024 | 9 min listen
Illustration of a hand holding a pen reaching towards a blank sheet of paper.

Neuroimaging researchers pen statement protesting UK Biobank data-access changes

The signatories asked the organization to grant all imaging researchers a data-download exemption until the cloud platform can accommodate their processing needs.

By Calli McMurray
30 July 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a monkey with map-like navigation pinpoints superimposed on its head.

Monkeys build mental maps to navigate new tasks

Cognitive maps, also known as world models, allow animals to imagine novel scenarios based on past experiences.

By Katie Moisse
30 July 2024 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Plaque levels differ in popular Alzheimer’s mouse model depending on which parent’s variants are passed down

5XFAD model mice that inherit two disease-related genes from their fathers have double the plaques seen in those with maternal inheritance, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
4 February 2025 | 0 min watch
The word Doctored spelled out on pills.

‘Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s,’ an excerpt

In his new book, published today, investigative journalist Charles Piller tells the story of the scientific misconduct that shook Alzheimer’s disease research to its core, and the neuroscientist who helped to expose it.

By Charles Piller
4 February 2025 | 9 min read
Research image of mouse olfactory bulbs.

Olfaction; autism-linked genes in monkeys; eye movements

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 3 February.

By Jill Adams
4 February 2025 | 1 min read