Neuroscientifically Challenged

Neuroscience made simpler.

The brain, explained — reference entries and stories, written and reviewed by people who study it.

In focus

John O'Keefe found cells in a rat's hippocampus in 1971 that fired whenever it was at one place in a room while others fired at other places, and concluded they formed a map of the room

We carry something like a GPS in the brain, and some people seem to have more of it working for them. It started with 8 cells in a rat's hippocampus…

Justin Brown · October 28, 2026

The Brain

Women who say they were never quite the same after having children aren’t exaggerating. Research suggests pregnancy reshapes parts of the brain involved in reading other people, and the changes are still visible two years later

Brendan Brown · October 28, 2026

The Brain

People who still want to hear their mother’s voice after a hard day aren’t being childish. In a study of young girls, a mother’s voice on the phone calmed stress almost as well as a hug, and a text from her didn’t come close

Brendan Brown · October 28, 2026

The Brain

In the 1920s, a Moscow reporter named Solomon Shereshevsky was sent to a psychologist because he never took notes, and after 30 years of tests nobody could find the limit of his memory

Justin Brown · October 28, 2026

The Brain

The grandmother who babysits one day a week may be doing as much for her own brain as for her children. Research suggests one day a week keeps the mind sharpest, but minding grandchildren five days a week tips it the other way

Brendan Brown · October 27, 2026

Start here

Your brain in 12 lessons

Twelve short lessons that start where you do — with what you see, feel, remember and forget — and show you the brain behind it. No background needed.

12 short lessons

Start with lesson 1 →

No background needed.

Know Your Brain

Explore all entries →

Explore the structures of the brain, one entry at a time.

Glial Cells For much of the history of neuroscience, glial cells were treated like…

Sodium-Potassium Pump The sodium-potassium pump (also known as the Na+/K+ pump or Na+/K+-ATPase) is…

Hypothalamus Group of nuclei that lies just below the thalamus.

Latest Stories

View all stories →

The Brain

Older people who pause to find the right word usually aren’t losing their sharpness. Research suggests they know far more words than they did at 25, and a brain holding a lifetime of knowledge has much more to search through

Brendan Brown · October 27, 2026

Mind

People who write a to-do list before bed aren’t just being organised — in a Baylor sleep lab, young adults who spent five minutes listing upcoming tasks fell asleep in about 16 minutes on average, compared with 25 for those who listed what they’d already done

In a Baylor sleep lab, five minutes spent listing upcoming tasks was followed by faster sleep than listing finished ones. But both groups wrote,…

Neuroscientifically Challenged Editorial Team · October 26, 2026

The Brain

The people still sharp at 85 usually aren’t the ones doing crosswords every morning. They’re the ones who still have someone to call, and research on “SuperAgers” suggests warm friendships may matter more to an ageing brain than any puzzle

Brendan Brown · October 26, 2026

The Brain

People who feel closer to their dog than to most humans aren’t cold or antisocial. Research suggests that when a dog and its owner look into each other’s eyes, both brains release the same bonding hormone that ties a mother to her baby

Brendan Brown · October 26, 2026

Senses & Body

Dying of a broken heart isn’t just a saying, because in the first three months after losing a husband or wife, widows and widowers had a 66% higher risk of dying themselves, a Harvard study of more than 12,000 older adults found

Brendan Brown · October 25, 2026

Mind

Walking into a room and forgetting why you came isn’t a sign your memory is failing, because Notre Dame researchers found that simply passing through a doorway makes people forget more, as the brain closes the file on one scene and opens a new one for the next

Brendan Brown · October 25, 2026