About
Neuroscientifically Challenged explains how your brain works, in plain language. We publish new articles about the brain and behaviour, alongside a free reference library of more than 80 entries on the brain's structures and a glossary of over 500 terms.
The site is written for curious readers, students and anyone who wants the science without the jargon.
Where we started
Neuroscientist Marc Dingman started Neuroscientifically Challenged as a blog in 2008. He paused it while completing his PhD in neuroscience, then relaunched it on this site in 2014, with a simple aim: to make neuroscience easier to understand. Over the years he built it into a free resource used by students, teachers and curious readers around the world.
Marc wrote the Know Your Brain entries, the glossary and the free online course, and created the 2-Minute Neuroscience video series. His Know Your Brain entries and videos remain on the site under his name.
Marc continues his work in neuroscience education through his YouTube channel and his books, Your Brain, Explained and Bizarre. These are his own projects, and we're glad to link to them.
Who runs the site now
Brown Brothers Media took over Neuroscientifically Challenged in 2026. We are an independent publisher based in Singapore, and we publish a number of websites on science, history and ideas.
We are keeping the reference library Marc built, maintaining it, and adding to it over time. Alongside it, our writers publish new stories about the brain, written for readers who are curious but not specialists.
What we publish
Our stories start with something you have experienced, then explain what your brain is doing. They are grouped into five sections:
- Mind: memory, attention, thinking and consciousness
- Feeling: emotions, relationships and motivation
- Senses & Body: perception, sleep, and how the brain and body talk to each other
- The Brain: how the brain is built and how it works, including new research and the experiments that shaped neuroscience
- Other Brains: what the brains of other animals can do, and what they tell us about our own
Know Your Brain is our reference library. Each entry explains one part of the brain, what it does and how it was discovered. The library also includes the glossary, quizzes and a free online course.
Start Here is a free introduction to the brain in 12 short lessons, built around everyday experiences like seeing, remembering and sleeping. No background is needed.
How we work
Every story is written by a named writer, and you can read about each of them on their author page. Writers check their claims against the original research, and each story ends with a list of the studies and sources it draws on.
When we write about a study, we say what it found and who took part, and we try not to stretch a finding beyond what the research shows. Nothing on this site is medical advice. If you have concerns about your health, please talk to a doctor.
If you spot a mistake, email us at [email protected]. We fix errors as quickly as we can and note significant corrections on the story.