AI & Emergent Tech

A team of researchers used a massive dance video dataset and advanced AI models to map how the human brain interprets dance, revealing striking differences between experts and nonexperts. By pairing fMRI recordings with AI-derived cross-modal features, they found that higher-order brain regions outperform simple motion or sound cues when processing choreography.​ 

A large international survey of 858 electroconvulsive therapy recipients found that women are twice as likely as men to receive ECT and experience more adverse effects. Women reported higher rates of memory loss, greater feelings of coercion, and more harmful emotional outcomes, often describing the treatment as retraumatizing.​ 

Engineers have created VoxeLite, the first wearable haptic device capable of matching the sensitivity of the human fingertip. Built as a paper-thin, flexible bandage for the finger, it uses high-density electroadhesive “pixels of touch” to recreate fine textures and directional cues with lifelike accuracy.​ 

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial shows that cannabis with active THC reduces immediate alcohol cravings and lowers drinking levels in heavy-drinking young adults. After smoking THC, participants not only drank less, they waited longer before taking the first sip and reported lower urges to drink.​ 

A new study in mice shows that briefly anesthetizing the retina of the weaker eye can restore its neural influence in the adult visual cortex. The treatment activates a specific burst-firing mode in thalamic neurons, a developmental mechanism that reopens plasticity even after the usual critical period has closed.​ 

A new meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials shows that lithium supplementation does not significantly slow cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. While preclinical evidence suggests lithium supports resilience against amyloid and tau pathology, these benefits failed to translate to clinical outcomes using traditional lithium salts.​ 

New research shows that spontaneous eye blinks naturally sync to the beat of music, revealing a hidden form of auditory-motor synchronization that occurs even without conscious movement. In more than 100 participants listening to steady-tempo classical music, both blinks and brainwaves aligned with the rhythm, even when songs were played backward or replaced with tone-based

New research reveals that the loss of a single ion channel, TRPM1, is enough to produce persistent rhythmic oscillations in the retina, a feature observed in both congenital stationary night blindness and retinitis pigmentosa. By comparing Trpm1 and mGluR6 knockout mice, researchers identified a disrupted circuit between rod bipolar cells and AII amacrine cells that

A new clinical trial shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) improved symptoms in half of adults with treatment-resistant depression, with one-third reaching remission. Researchers found that theta-frequency brain activity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) predicted how well each patient responded.​ 

A massive international genetic study has uncovered rare, high-effect variants in three specific genes—MAP1A, ANO8 and ANK2—that dramatically increase the likelihood of developing ADHD. These variants, though extremely uncommon, strongly affect genes expressed in dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons, influencing brain development from fetal life onward.​