Top 10 Best Neuroscience Breakthroughs

Research by Michael Merzenich and others from the 1960s onward proved that the adult brain can reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, demolishing the dogma that brain structure is fixed after childhood.

Karl Deisseroth and Edward Boyden's 2005 technique of using light-sensitive proteins to control specific neurons with millisecond precision transformed neuroscience, enabling researchers to dissect neural circuits with unprecedented specificity.

From BrainGate's 2006 demonstrations of paralyzed patients controlling cursors with thought alone to Neuralink's 2024 human implant, BCIs are bridging the gap between neural activity and external devices.

Otto Loewi's 1921 frog heart experiment proved that neurons communicate via chemical messengers, not just electrical signals. This led to the identification of dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and others that underpin modern psychopharmacology.

Developed in the early 1990s by Seiji Ogawa and others, fMRI detects blood oxygen changes associated with neural activity, allowing researchers to observe the living brain at work without surgery or radiation.

Giacomo Rizzolatti's 1990s discovery of neurons in macaque brains that fire both when performing and observing an action sparked intense debate about the neural basis of empathy, imitation, and language acquisition.

Joseph Altman's 1960s findings and subsequent confirmation by Fred Gage in the 1990s showed that new neurons are born in the adult hippocampus throughout life, challenging a century-old belief that the brain cannot regenerate.

Alim Louis Benabid's 1987 discovery that high-frequency electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus could alleviate Parkinson's tremors has since been extended to treat depression, OCD, and epilepsy.

Maiken Nedergaard's 2012 identification of a brain waste-clearance system that is most active during sleep provided a biological explanation for why sleep deprivation impairs cognition and may contribute to Alzheimer's disease.

Research by Michael Merzenich and others from the 1960s onward proved that the adult brain can reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, demolishing the dogma that brain structure is fixed after childhood.

Karl Deisseroth and Edward Boyden's 2005 technique of using light-sensitive proteins to control specific neurons with millisecond precision transformed neuroscience, enabling researchers to dissect neural circuits with unprecedented specificity.

From BrainGate's 2006 demonstrations of paralyzed patients controlling cursors with thought alone to Neuralink's 2024 human implant, BCIs are bridging the gap between neural activity and external devices.

Otto Loewi's 1921 frog heart experiment proved that neurons communicate via chemical messengers, not just electrical signals. This led to the identification of dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and others that underpin modern psychopharmacology.

Developed in the early 1990s by Seiji Ogawa and others, fMRI detects blood oxygen changes associated with neural activity, allowing researchers to observe the living brain at work without surgery or radiation.

Giacomo Rizzolatti's 1990s discovery of neurons in macaque brains that fire both when performing and observing an action sparked intense debate about the neural basis of empathy, imitation, and language acquisition.

Joseph Altman's 1960s findings and subsequent confirmation by Fred Gage in the 1990s showed that new neurons are born in the adult hippocampus throughout life, challenging a century-old belief that the brain cannot regenerate.

Alim Louis Benabid's 1987 discovery that high-frequency electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus could alleviate Parkinson's tremors has since been extended to treat depression, OCD, and epilepsy.

Maiken Nedergaard's 2012 identification of a brain waste-clearance system that is most active during sleep provided a biological explanation for why sleep deprivation impairs cognition and may contribute to Alzheimer's disease.