Memory

Recent articles

Research image showing dopamine level spikes.

Reward-learning algorithm hardwired into dopamine circuit

The finding bolsters the canonical model of reward prediction error, which has come under scrutiny in recent years.

By Natalia Mesa
5 June 2026 | 5 min read
Neural networks illustration.

This paper changed my life: Appreciating John Hopfield’s brilliant neural network

In a 1982 paper, the Nobel laureate created his namesake recurrent neural network—work that taught Maria Geffen to always ground research questions in biology.

By Maria Geffen
15 May 2026 | 5 min read
California sea hare.

New study questions role of persistent gene activity in memory maintenance

An experiment in sea slugs suggests transcriptional changes might fade after 24 hours.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
28 April 2026 | 4 min read
Magnifying glass.

Researchers retract multisensory learning paper after failed replications

Even though one set of experiments did not hold up, the authors stand by the original conclusions of the work and plan to resubmit it as a new paper.

By Calli McMurray
31 March 2026 | 4 min read
Research image of a mouse hippocampus.

Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’

New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.

By Natalia Mesa
10 March 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration with silhouettes of a human, bat and nonhuman primate.

Neuroscience has a species problem

If our field is serious about building general principles of brain function, cross-species dialogue must become a core organizing principle rather than an afterthought.

By Nanthia Suthana
16 February 2026 | 7 min read
Research image of the mouse dentate gyrus.

Microglia implicated in infantile amnesia

The glial cells could explain the link between maternal immune activation and autism-like behaviors in mice.

By Lauren Schneider
12 February 2026 | 5 min read
Nachum Ulanovsky sits against a black background with one bat in his hands and another with its wings spread above his head.

Neuroscience’s leaders, legacies and rising stars of 2025

Here are seven stories from the past year about some of the field’s most engaging figures.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 2 min read

Can neuroscientists decode memories solely from a map of synaptic connections?

Five experts discuss the progress, possibilities and hurdles of decoding a “nontrivial” memory from an organism just by analyzing its brain connectivity patterns.

By Paul Middlebrooks
17 December 2025 | 1 min read
Mouse on a black background.

To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex

During the later stages of learning, the mouse brain progressively activates transcriptional regulators that drive memory consolidation.

By Claudia López Lloreda
26 November 2025 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of cell-surface protein LPHN2.

‘Push-pull’ recipe for neural wiring used in multiple brain regions

A versatile pair of proteins steers neurons toward their targets and helps establish the brain’s sensory maps, new studies suggest.

By Holly Barker
5 June 2026 | 5 min read
Burke Neurological Institute.

Exclusive: Brain and spinal cord institute halts research, citing funding problems

The Burke Neurological Institute, which calls itself “the only research institute in the U.S. dedicated to finding treatments to repair the brain and spinal cord,” ceased research operations on 22 May.

By Lauren Schenkman
4 June 2026 | 5 min read
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 1: Those people

What leads an autism researcher to publish an intentionally inflammatory paper accusing the NIH of discrimination?

By Brady Huggett
4 June 2026 | 24 min listen