#Neuroscience

A new study has provided compelling evidence that the human brain can actually learn to ignore persistent distractions, promising practical insights for everyone from Bangkok commuters to Thai students easily sidetracked by environmental noise or visual clutter. Led by teams from Leipzig University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the research, published in The Journal of Neuroscience on April 17, 2025, reveals that our visual system adapts to repeated distractions by gradually filtering them out—even at the earliest stages of perception (SciTech Daily, 2025).

A small everyday addition could sharpen the mind from morning light to evening fatigue. New research from the University of Reading suggests that including a handful of walnuts in a breakfast can measurably enhance mental performance across the day. The study, published in Food & Function, followed 32 healthy adults aged 18 to 30 who ate a walnut-rich breakfast on some days and a calorie-matched, nut-free breakfast on others. Over six hours, participants underwent cognitive testing and brain activity measurements, revealing meaningful differences in performance.

Could the humble walnut hold the secret to keeping your mind sharp from breakfast until dusk? Recent findings by researchers at the University of Reading strongly suggest so, with evidence now showing that simply adding a handful of walnuts to your morning meal can measurably improve mental performance throughout the day. The study, published in the scientific journal Food & Function and widely reported by reputable news outlets including The Independent (source: The Independent), tracked 32 healthy young adults, aged 18 to 30, who consumed either a walnut-rich breakfast or a calorie-matched breakfast without nuts on different occasions. Their subsequent six hours were filled with cognitive testing and brain activity measurements—yielding results with significant implications for anyone seeking a mental edge in daily life.

A groundbreaking new study has revealed that extremes in brain synchrony—either too much or too little—may underlie distinct subtypes of autism, offering Thai families, educators, and clinicians fresh hope for more tailored approaches to diagnosis and support. Published on 17 April 2025 in The Transmitter, the research used advanced brain imaging across twenty mouse models genetically engineered to mimic autism, with remarkable implications for understanding the diversity—or heterogeneity—of the autism spectrum in humans (The Transmitter, 2025).

A new international study identifies a brain region that helps decide how generous we are toward friends versus strangers. Researchers from Germany and South Africa found that damage to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) reduces sharing with anyone outside one’s closest circle, while generosity toward close friends remains relatively intact. The study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sheds light on the biological roots of kindness and self-interest and could inform understanding of social disorders.

A wave of new science is reshaping how we understand touch—the earliest and among the most complex senses we rely on daily. Led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, recent work highlights how a diverse network of skin and organ sensors creates our perception of everything from a gentle kiss to a thorn’s prick. The findings also point to how disruptions in touch processing can influence chronic pain and autism, according to a feature by Quanta Magazine.

A team of scientists in London has made a significant leap in understanding how the human brain solves unfamiliar problems—a discovery that could transform approaches to brain injury diagnosis and rehabilitation worldwide, including in Thailand. The findings, published on April 16, 2025, in the prestigious journal Brain, spotlight the right frontal lobe as a critical hub for logical thinking and problem solving, advancing decades of brain research Source: The Independent.

This development is particularly relevant for Thai readers, given the high incidence of stroke and brain injury in the country and the challenges faced by patients and their families during recovery. With the increased aging population and prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Thailand, understanding how cognitive functions can be impaired—or rehabilitated—after brain injury is essential for both health professionals and the general public.

An international team has produced the first detailed three-dimensional map of a mammal’s brain, revealing unprecedented insight into brain structure and function. Focusing on a tiny fragment of a mouse’s visual cortex, the achievement marks a milestone for neuroscience with potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and autism. For Thai readers, the findings underscore how advances in brain science can influence medicine, education, and future AI applications amid Thailand’s aging society.

A new study suggests that extreme brain synchrony—either too high or too low—may define distinct autism subtypes. The finding offers fresh hope for Thai families, educators, and clinicians seeking more personalized approaches to diagnosis and intervention. The research, published on 17 April 2025 in The Transmitter, used advanced brain imaging across twenty mouse models designed to mimic autism and explored how brain regions coordinate activity. The study’s implications extend to understanding the heterogeneity of autism in humans.

A breakthrough study from London researchers reveals how the brain handles unfamiliar challenges, offering new avenues for diagnosis and rehabilitation in Thailand and beyond. Published in Brain, the study highlights the right frontal lobe as a crucial hub for logical thinking and problem solving, building on decades of brain research. According to experts, this insight could improve how clinicians assess and treat cognitive deficits after brain injury.

Thailand faces a high burden from stroke and brain injuries, with an aging population and rising non-communicable diseases adding pressure to healthcare. Understanding cognitive functions after injury helps healthcare professionals guide patients and families through recovery. Data from Thailand’s public health system shows stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability, underscoring the need for comprehensive rehabilitation that includes cognitive assessment.

In a scientific breakthrough once thought impossible, an international team of researchers has created the first detailed three-dimensional map of a mammal’s brain, offering an unprecedented window into the structure and function of the mind. This ambitious feat, achieved by studying a tiny fragment of a mouse’s visual cortex, marks a pivotal advance in neuroscience and holds profound implications for understanding brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and autism (CNN/Yahoo! News).

New scientific findings show our brains shape how we form beliefs, handle evidence, and stay flexible. A recent book by figurehead in political neuroscience, Dr. Leor Zmigrod, explores how biology underpins not just what we think, but how open we are to changing our minds. For Thai readers, these insights connect to everyday debates—from elections to cultural norms—and offer practical ways to foster constructive dialogue.

In Thailand, ideological clashes surface in politics, religion, and social norms. The country’s mix of Buddhist philosophy, hierarchical culture, and rapid social change makes open thinking especially relevant. Research suggests that some brains are more tuned for flexible thinking, while others gravitate toward rigid worldviews. This matters as Thai society navigates polarization, reform, and modernization.

A groundbreaking international study has pinpointed a specific region in the brain responsible for deciding how generous we are with friends versus strangers. Researchers from Germany and South Africa have discovered that damage to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) sharply reduces our willingness to share with anyone outside our closest social circle—while generosity toward close friends stays intact. The findings, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer intriguing new insights into the biological roots of kindness and selfishness, and may have implications for understanding social disorders.

In a scientific renaissance reshaping our understanding of human sensation, new research led by David Ginty at Harvard Medical School is illuminating the breathtaking intricacies of touch—the first sense we develop and the most complex in both scope and impact on our lives. Recent findings, highlighted in a striking feature from Quanta Magazine, reveal how a rich tapestry of specialized cellular sensors underpins our ability to perceive everything from a lover’s gentle kiss to the prick of a thorn, and show that faulty touch processing may hold the key to conditions like chronic pain and autism (Quanta Magazine).

A wave of research is reshaping the way we understand ideology—not just as a social or political phenomenon, but as a deeply rooted function of the human brain. A recent book by political neuroscientist Dr. Leor Zmigrod, “The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking,” has captured global attention by revealing how our biological wiring underpins not only our convictions but also our openness—or resistance—to evidence and change (Nautilus, NY Times). Why does ideology “taste” so good to the mind, and what makes some of us more likely to become deeply entrenched, even to the point of dogma? The answers emerging from neuroscience offer insight for Thais grappling with political polarization and social change.

A global team of researchers has unveiled the most detailed three‑dimensional map of a mammalian brain to date. Using a tiny mouse brain fragment the size of a grain of sand, scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Baylor College of Medicine, and Princeton University mapped 84,000 neurons and more than 500 million synapses in a single cubic millimeter. The digital reconstruction, published in Nature, is described as the most comprehensive mammalian brain map yet and is advancing the search for treatments for brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, and schizophrenia. Research by leading institutions shows the potential impact for future Thai medical science and patient care.

From the glistening waters of the Chao Phraya River to sleek, polished shopping malls in the heart of Bangkok, a preference for lustrous surfaces and water views is more than a matter of aesthetics—it traces back to the very roots of human survival. Recent research, drawing on archaeology, evolutionary psychology, and environmental neuroscience, reveals the powerful influence of shiny and glossy surfaces on our emotions and nervous systems. This not only offers insight into why Thais are drawn to waterfront condos and luxury items but also points to innovative approaches for urban design, health, and education in Thailand.

A new MIT study upends decades of neuroscience by showing the brain’s object-recognition pathway may also play a crucial role in processing spatial information. This could transform approaches to learning, AI, and brain health, including in Thailand.

For years, scientists have said the ventral visual stream is mainly about identifying objects—think recognizing a coffee cup on a Bangkok Skytrain or a rambutan vendor at Chatuchak. This view guided neuroscience education and powered computer-vision advances used in smartphones and smart cars. Now, MIT researchers led by graduate student Yudi Xie demonstrate that training deep learning models to grasp spatial details like location, rotation, and size yields brain activity in the ventral stream that matches, or even exceeds, traditional object-recognition models. The ventral stream may be a versatile toolkit for seeing and interacting with the world, not just a face- or product-recognition system.

A groundbreaking study from MIT is shaking up decades of neuroscience wisdom, revealing the brain’s “object recognition” pathway may also play a significant role in understanding spatial information—an insight that could revolutionize our approach to learning, artificial intelligence, and brain health around the world, including here in Thailand.

For years, scientists have believed the ventral visual stream, a key pathway in the human brain, is dedicated to recognizing objects—like a Starbucks cup on a Bangkok Skytrain or a rambutan vendor at the Chatuchak Market. This idea shaped not just neuroscience textbooks, but also inspired computer vision systems now used in everything from smartphones to smart cars. Yet, new research led by MIT graduate student Yudi Xie suggests the story is far more nuanced. Their findings, presented at the prestigious International Conference on Learning Representations, show that when deep learning models are trained not only to identify objects, but also to understand spatial features like location, rotation, and size, these models mirror neural activity in the ventral stream just as accurately as traditional object recognition models. In other words, the ventral stream might be wired for much more than recognizing faces or products—it could be a multifaceted toolkit for seeing and interacting with the world.

It might be easy to take touch for granted—until something goes wrong. But in recent research led by Harvard neurobiologist David Ginty, and reported by Quanta Magazine on April 16, 2025, scientists are uncovering an astonishingly intricate “landscape” of cellular sensors that give rise to the rich, nuanced sense of touch. Far surpassing the simplicity of earlier textbook diagrams, these findings paint touch as the most complex human sense, rooted in a vast, diverse family of sensory neurons scattered across skin and internal organs (Quanta Magazine).

From Bangkok’s river views to gleaming shopping centers, humans are drawn to shine. New research blending archaeology, psychology, and neuroscience suggests glossy surfaces and water-rich environments shape our emotions and nervous systems. For Thai readers, this has implications for housing decisions, health, education, and urban life.

Our attraction to shine dates back to ancient times. Early humans who could spot water—often reflected as a glistening surface—had advantages in dry landscapes. The broader idea, sometimes called the savanna hypothesis, proposes water awareness influenced human evolution. The brain’s development may also reflect a long history of seeking reliable water sources, a view supported by anthropological and archaeological perspectives. In scholarly discussions, researchers emphasize water-seeking behavior as a driver of neural development and environmental interaction.

Touch is more intricate than we often admit. A new wave of research led by a renowned neurobiologist from Harvard and summarized by Quanta Magazine in April 2025 reveals a vast landscape of cellular sensors that shape our sense of touch. The study describes touch as the most complex human sense, built from a diverse family of sensory neurons scattered across skin and internal organs. In Thai media, this finding invites a deeper look at how touch connects with health, education, culture, and daily life.

In a scientific feat once thought to border on the impossible, a global team of researchers has produced the first-ever hyper-detailed, three-dimensional map of a mammalian brain, marking a significant leap forward in neuroscience. Using just a tiny speck of mouse brain matter—the size of a grain of sand—scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Baylor College of Medicine, and Princeton University meticulously mapped out the intricate web of 84,000 neurons and over 500 million synapses within a cubic millimeter of tissue. This digital reconstruction, now published in the journal Nature, is being hailed as the most comprehensive mammalian brain map ever generated, fueling optimism for breakthroughs in understanding brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, and schizophrenia (CNN).

Researchers from Caltech and Japan’s Toyohashi University of Technology have mapped neural patterns that help groups enter deep, focused “flow states” together. The discovery could transform how Thai workplaces, classrooms, and esports teams are formed to maximize performance. Team flow, a well-established concept in positive psychology, describes a state where people lose track of time and collaborate with intense focus. It is linked to higher productivity, greater job satisfaction, and better mental wellbeing. In a recent Nature Scientific Reports study, scientists used EEG brainwave monitoring to capture the distinctive focus signatures that emerge when pairs play a cooperative rhythm-based video game requiring precise, synchronized action—similar to popular rhythm games.