🧠 Category

neuroscience

963 papers

Neuroscience explores the intricate machinery of the brain and nervous system, seeking to understand how we think, feel, and move. From the microscopic dance of individual neurons to the complex networks that shape our memories and behaviors, this field peels back the layers of our biological selves to reveal the origins of consciousness and disease.

At Gist.Science, we bring these discoveries directly from bioRxiv, the leading preprint server for biological sciences, to a broader audience. We process every new neuroscience preprint as it is uploaded, transforming dense academic manuscripts into clear, plain-language explanations alongside detailed technical summaries. This ensures that both curious readers and specialists can stay current with the latest breakthroughs before they are formally published.

Below are the latest neuroscience papers we have processed from bioRxiv, offering fresh insights into the workings of the mind.

Dissociating volatility and stochasticity reveals transdiagnostic computational signatures of psychopathology

This study identifies distinct transdiagnostic computational signatures of psychopathology by demonstrating that individuals with internalizing disorders tend to misinterpret environmental noise as volatility (over-updating), while those with externalizing disorders tend to misinterpret volatility as noise (under-updating), revealing that learning deficits in psychopathology are selective failures in distinguishing uncertainty types rather than generalized impairments.

Fang, X., Piray, P.2026-05-24🧠 neuroscience

Mitochondrial Optic Atrophy (OPA)1 expression regulates the injury response to neonatal hypoxia-ischaemia.

This study demonstrates that maintaining Optic Atrophy 1 (OPA1) expression protects the neonatal brain from hypoxic-ischaemic injury by preventing mitochondrial fragmentation, preserving mitochondrial DNA, and enhancing cell survival, thereby identifying OPA1 as a promising therapeutic target for neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.

Curel, C., Jones, A., Crawford, A. H., Goikolea Vives, A., Chabrier, G., Gil, G., Oregioni, A., Southworth, R., Eykyn, T. R., Stolp, H. B., Nobeli, I., Thornton, C.2026-05-23🧠 neuroscience

Molecular Characterization of the Progressive Landscape of Depression

This study utilizes postmortem sgACC RNA-seq data to distinguish between state-specific and progressive molecular changes in Major Depressive Disorder, revealing that progressive alterations are primarily linked to superficial-layer intra-telencephalic neurons and extracellular-matrix disruptions, while identifying anhedonia as a persistent trait-like feature and shared molecular mechanisms between disease progression and therapeutic targets.

Sharma, V., Payna, E., Garcia, S. G., Fang, L., Boyinepally, K., Sumitomo, A., Tomoda, T., Lewis, D., Mccullumsmith, R., Sibille, E., Shukla, R.2026-05-23🧠 neuroscience

How Awakenings Shape Dream Recall: A Multilevel Study

This multilevel study of two adult cohorts reveals that dream recall is shaped by distinct awakening profiles, where habitual long REM and short NREM awakenings predict trait-level recall frequency, while state-level variations in REM awakening duration differentially influence the likelihood of recalling having dreamed versus remembering specific dream content.

Ataei, S., Jafarzade Esfahani, M., Axmacher, N., Dresler, M., Schoch, S. F.2026-05-22🧠 neuroscience

4-Phenylbutyrate Rescue in GABRA1 Variants Associated with Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies: from Cell and Mouse Models to Human

This study demonstrates that 4-phenylbutyrate (PBA) rescues GABAAR expression, trafficking, and function in both cellular and mouse models of GABRA1-associated developmental epileptic encephalopathies by enhancing proteostasis, suggesting its potential as a broad therapeutic strategy for genetic neurologic disorders sharing similar protein-folding pathologies.

Song, Z., Kang, J., Zavalin, K., Shen, W., DeLeeuw, M. B., Hunn, G. X., Eda, R. S., Ma, L., Carson, R.2026-05-22🧠 neuroscience

Transmembrane Domain Dominance Drives Emergent Signaling and Allosteric Inversion in mGlu1/5 Heterodimers

Using a BRET-based assay, this study reveals that transmembrane domain dominance in mGlu1/5 heterodimers drives signaling primarily through the mGlu1 protomer, leading to emergent allosteric effects and offering a new framework for designing selective drugs targeting specific dimer combinations.

Steinfeld, J. B., Lei, X., Laramee, M., Lin, X., Rodriguez, A. L., Spearing, P. K., Asher, W. B., Niswender, C. M., Javitch, J. A.2026-05-22🧠 neuroscience

Temporal cortex astrocytic Gi-GPCR signaling regulates learned threat responses

This study demonstrates that chemogenetic activation of Gi-coupled G-protein-coupled receptors in temporal cortex astrocytes specifically enhances fear memory retrieval by attenuating cue-evoked calcium transients, thereby modulating sensory cue processing to drive defensive behaviors.

Heimbach, S. N., Collazos Matute, A., Steininger, V., Rajadhyaksha, R., Klein, L., Ferguson, L., Sabir, Y. A., Huang, M., Cruz-Martin, A., Melzer, S.2026-05-22🧠 neuroscience

Brain-tuning near criticality in newborns by prenatal experience with language

This study demonstrates that prenatal exposure to a native language tunes newborns' brain dynamics toward a critical state, enhancing network flexibility and temporal correlations specifically in response to familiar linguistic patterns while remaining largely insensitive to rhythmically dissimilar languages.

Encinas, J., Mariani, B., Guevara, R., Ortiz-Barajas, M., Gervain, J., Suweis, S., Lombardi, F.2026-05-22🧠 neuroscience