Forebrain

Recent articles

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

Cell ‘antennae’ link autism, congenital heart disease

Variants in genes tied to both conditions derail the formation of cilia, the tiny hair-like structure found on almost every cell in the body, a new study finds.

By Lauren Schenkman
24 July 2025 | 0 min watch

Rat neurons thrive in a mouse brain world, testing ‘nature versus nurture’

Neurons from the two rodents can wire up together to form functional circuits—all while maintaining some species-specific properties, two new studies show.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 May 2024 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Ground squirrel.

How thirteen-lined ground squirrels illuminate retinal development

In most mammalian retinas, rods outnumber cones. But that ratio is flipped in ground squirrels, a quirk that helps Seth Blackshaw explore how retinal cells develop their identities.

By Sarah Thau
31 July 2026 | 5 min read
Research image of the association cortex.

Cortical territories compete in developmental space race

Sensory and association regions are established through a reciprocal process, according to a new model of cortical development.

By Holly Barker
30 July 2026 | 5 min read