Glymphatic system

Recent articles

fMRI scans showing the movement of cerebrospinal fluid.

Noninvasive method lifts curtain on cerebrospinal-fluid dance in human brain

Cerebrospinal fluid shows brain-region-specific dynamics, a new high-resolution MRI approach reveals.

By Claudia López Lloreda
14 November 2025 | 4 min read
Three sleeping mice.

Fleeting sleep interruptions may help brain reset

Brief, seconds-long microarousals during deep sleep “ride on the wave” of locus coeruleus activity in mice and correlate with periods of waste clearing and memory consolidation, new research suggests.

By Shaena Montanari
13 January 2025 | 5 min read
Illustration of a lab with a smoking crater in the middle of the floor.

The Transmitter’s favorite features of 2024

Our chosen stories include tales about research misconduct in the lab, a neuroscientist working at the end of the world, and the passing of neuroanatomy’s “great-grandfather,” Harvey Karten.

By The Transmitter
23 December 2024 | 2 min read
New method reignites controversy over brain clearance during sleep.

New method reignites controversy over brain clearance during sleep

Tracers injected directly into mouse brain tissue instead of the cerebrospinal fluid show that brain clearance slows during sleep and under anesthesia, according to a study published last week—but proponents of the glymphatic system theory take issue with the technique.

By Elissa Welle
22 May 2024 | 8 min read
Maiken Nedergaard, Britta Engelhardt and Christer Betsholtz on a floating rock island with university facilities and abstract shapes.

Maiken Nedergaard’s power of disruption

The award-winning researcher’s discoveries have changed the way we think about the brain; that’s exactly what her critics dislike.

By Emily Sohn
26 February 2024 | 24 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Genetic profiles separate early, late autism diagnoses

Age at diagnosis reflects underlying differences in common genetic variants and developmental trajectories among people with autism.

By Natalia Mesa
27 November 2025 | 5 min read

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

Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards

During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.

By Angie Voyles Askham
26 November 2025 | 5 min read

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