Psychology News

July 12, 2026

Top Headlines

Second Pregnancy Changes the Brain in Surprising New Ways

July 11, 2026 Researchers found that every pregnancy rewires the brain in its own way, with a second pregnancy bringing a different pattern of changes than the first. The discoveries could lead to better ways to recognize and treat maternal mental health ...

Scientists May Have Finally Found How Alzheimer's Kills Brain Cells

July 5, 2026 Researchers have identified a previously overlooked mechanism of brain cell death that appears to play a major role in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. The finding could lead to new treatments aimed at slowing neuron loss by ...

Drinking to Cope with Stress May Permanently Rewire Your Brain

July 3, 2026 Using alcohol to cope with stress when young may permanently alter the brain, making it harder to adapt to challenges and increasing the risk of returning to drinking later in life. Researchers also found signs of brain damage associated with early ...

A Surprising Brain Discovery Is Forcing Scientists to Rethink Movement Disorders

July 1, 2026 A surprising discovery is overturning a long-held assumption about how the brain’s movement center works. Researchers found that two key cerebellar cell types—thought to be tightly linked—often ...

Scientists Say Creatine May Help Fight Depression

June 30, 2026 Creatine is best known as a muscle-building supplement, but scientists are now investigating whether it could also help treat depression by boosting the brain's energy supply. A new review examined five randomized clinical trials involving 238 ...

Scientists Discover Ancient Brain Cells That Help Block Distractions

June 24, 2026 Scientists have discovered a tiny group of neurons in an ancient brain region that acts like a built-in focus filter, helping the brain ignore distractions and zero in on what matters most. When researchers temporarily switched off these neurons in ...

New Brain Study Reveals Speech Learning Works Differently Than We Thought

June 23, 2026 A new study suggests that learning and remembering speech relies more on how the brain processes sounds and sensations than on the areas that control mouth and face movements. The discovery could reshape speech therapy and help improve future ...

Scientists Discover Neurons Must Break Their DNA to Build the Brain

June 21, 2026 As newborn neurons make their way through the developing brain, they must squeeze through incredibly tight spaces to reach their final destinations. Researchers discovered that this physical journey routinely causes some of the most severe forms of ...

Common Plastic Chemical Linked to Lifelong Anxiety in New Study

June 17, 2026 Exposure to a common plastic chemical before and shortly after birth may have lasting effects on behavior. Researchers found that male rats exposed early in life to DEHP—a plasticizer used in products ranging from medical devices to toys—showed ...

A Daily Probiotic May Help Relieve Depression and Anxiety

June 17, 2026 A small clinical trial suggests that probiotics may offer a surprising mental health boost for older adults with depression. Seniors who took a daily probiotic alongside their regular antidepressant treatment experienced slightly greater ...

Scientists Found an Early Depression Clue Hidden in Children’s Eyes

June 16, 2026 Depression appears to change what children notice in the faces around them, but the effect depends on family history. Kids with a higher inherited risk became more focused on sadness, while lower-risk children lost some of their natural attention to ...

Why Middle Age Is Becoming a Breaking Point in the U.S.

June 13, 2026 A new international study finds that middle-aged Americans are lonelier, more depressed, and experiencing worse memory and health than earlier generations. Researchers say growing financial strain, weaker social supports, and chronic stress may ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:12am EDT

Brain Activity Under Anesthesia Challenges What We Know About Consciousness

June 28, 2026 The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than scientists once believed. Researchers found that patients under general anesthesia could still process language at a sophisticated level, ...

Your Brain Can Keep Improving Into Your 90s, Study Finds

June 13, 2026 A three-year study of nearly 4,000 adults ranging from age 19 to 94 found that brain health can improve at any age, challenging the common belief that mental sharpness must decline as we get older. ...

Learning a Musical Instrument in Your 70s Could Help Protect Memory

June 13, 2026 Learning a musical instrument later in life may help keep the brain younger for longer. In a four-year study, older adults who continued practicing maintained their memory performance and showed less ...

Why Grandparents Matter More Than Ever for Children's Mental Health

June 13, 2026 A child psychologist says grandparents are more important than ever as youth mental health challenges continue to rise. He argues that children need supportive relationships, meaningful ...

A Hidden Gene Finally Explains This Rare Neurological Disorder

June 13, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising new genetic cause of a rare movement disorder after analyzing nearly 3,000 patients with conditions affecting coordination and muscle control. The team ...

Scientists Mapped Every Neural Connection in a Fruit Fly and Found a Surprise

June 10, 2026 A groundbreaking new connectome maps every neural connection in an adult fruit fly’s central nervous system, creating an unprecedented view of how ...

Scientists Reverse Anxiety by Fixing a Tiny Brain Circuit

June 3, 2026 A newly identified group of amygdala neurons appears to play a central role in anxiety and social behavior. Restoring normal activity in this tiny brain circuit reversed anxiety and social deficits ...

Your Brain Starts Making Social Decisions Before You Do

June 2, 2026 Researchers found that social behavior begins in the brain before it becomes visible as movement. In zebrafish, a coordinated pattern of activity spread across the brain several seconds before the ...

Caffeine Reversed Memory Problems Caused by Sleep Deprivation

May 30, 2026 Scientists discovered that sleep deprivation damages a key brain circuit responsible for social memory, making it harder to recognize familiar individuals. In laboratory studies, caffeine restored ...

Human Organoids Reveal How to Reverse “irreversible” Nerve Damage

May 28, 2026 Cambridge researchers created miniature brain-and-spinal-cord systems in the lab that can send signals and even trigger tiny muscle contractions. They discovered that human neurons gradually lose ...

Scientists Thought Brain Inflammation Was Driving Long COVID but the Scans Told a Different Story

May 28, 2026 A new brain imaging study has found no evidence of widespread brain inflammation in patients suffering from prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Instead, the most severe long COVID symptoms ...

New Depression Treatment Targets the Immune System Instead of the Brain

May 28, 2026 A surprising new approach to depression treatment is showing early promise — not by targeting brain chemicals, but by calming the immune system. In a small clinical trial, researchers found that an ...

Scientists Discover Why Alzheimer’s Risk Hits Women So Much Harder

May 20, 2026 Women may be especially sensitive to the effects of common dementia risk factors, according to a new UC San Diego study of over 17,000 adults. Researchers say tailoring prevention strategies ...

This Simple Blood Test Might Detect Depression Before Symptoms Appear

May 4, 2026 A new study suggests depression may soon be detectable through a simple blood test—by tracking how certain immune cells age. Researchers found that accelerated aging in monocytes, a type of white ...

Scientists Reveal Creatine’s Hidden Power Beyond Muscle Gains

May 4, 2026 Creatine might be famous in the gym, but its real story is far more interesting. Naturally produced in the body, it helps power cells by rapidly regenerating ATP—the fuel that keeps muscles, the ...

A Hidden Map in Your Nose Could Explain How Smell Works

Apr. 30, 2026 Scientists have finally cracked one of the biggest mysteries in the senses: how smell is organized. By mapping millions of neurons in mice, researchers discovered that smell receptors in the nose ...

The Creepy Feeling in Old Buildings Might Have a Surprising Cause

May 3, 2026 A hidden force may be quietly shaping how you feel—and you’d never even know it. Infrasound, an ultra-low-frequency vibration below the range of human hearing, is everywhere from traffic to old ...

Scientists Found the Brain Doesn’t Start Blank, It Starts Full

May 3, 2026 The brain’s memory center may begin life more like a crowded web than an empty canvas. Researchers discovered that early neural networks in the hippocampus are dense and seemingly random, then ...

Scientists Just Discovered What Coffee Is Really Doing to Your Gut and Brain

May 3, 2026 Coffee doesn’t just energize—it actively reshapes the gut and mind. Researchers found that both caffeinated and decaf coffee altered gut bacteria in ways linked to better mood and lower stress. ...

The Brain’s “feel Good” Chemical May Be Secretly Fueling Tinnitus

May 15, 2026 Scientists have uncovered evidence that serotonin — the same brain chemical boosted by many antidepressants — may actually worsen tinnitus. Using advanced light-based brain stimulation in mice, ...

Artificial Neurons Successfully Communicate With Living Brain Cells

Apr. 18, 2026 Engineers at Northwestern University have taken a striking leap toward merging machines with the human brain by printing artificial neurons that can actually communicate with real ones. These ...

Scientists Say They’ve Reversed Brain Aging With a Simple Nasal Spray

May 26, 2026 Researchers at Texas A&M have developed a nasal spray that appears to reverse brain aging by calming inflammation and restoring the brain’s energy systems. After just two doses, memory and ...

Fish Oil May Be Hurting Your Brain, New Study Finds

Apr. 26, 2026 Fish oil has long been praised as brain-boosting, but new research suggests the story may be more complicated. Scientists found that in people with repeated mild head injuries, a key omega-3 fatty ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Brain Switch That Tells You to Stop Eating

Apr. 6, 2026 Your brain’s “stop eating” signal may come from an unexpected source. Researchers found that astrocytes—once thought to just support neurons—actually play a key role in controlling ...

Stroke Triggers a Hidden Brain Change That Looks Like Rejuvenation

Mar. 29, 2026 After a stroke, the brain may do something surprisingly hopeful—it can “refresh” parts of itself. Researchers analyzing brain scans from over 500 stroke survivors found that while the damaged ...

Fathers Face Rising Depression Risk a Year After Baby Arrives

Mar. 24, 2026 New fathers appear to have fewer mental health diagnoses during pregnancy and the early months after birth. But that early stability does not last. About a year later, depression and stress-related ...

Weight Loss Drug Ozempic Linked to Lower Depression and Anxiety Risk

May 4, 2026 GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide—best known for treating diabetes and driving weight loss under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy—may also deliver a surprising mental health boost. In a massive ...

A Gene Mutation May Trap the Brain in the Wrong Reality in Schizophrenia Patients

Apr. 3, 2026 A newly identified gene mutation may help explain why schizophrenia patients struggle to update their understanding of reality. The mutation disrupts a brain circuit involved in flexible ...

Weight Loss Drug Ozempic Cuts Depression, Anxiety, and Addiction Risk

Mar. 22, 2026 GLP-1 medications like semaglutide (Ozempic) may offer unexpected mental health benefits alongside weight loss. A large study found major drops in depression, anxiety, and psychiatric-related ...

May 27, 2026 A drug combo widely explored for anti-aging may actually damage the brain, according to new mouse research showing severe loss of myelin and changes linked to “chemo brain.” Surprisingly, the ...