Nature Neuroscience

Scientists map competing brain circuits behind risk-versus-reward decisions

Researchers recording brain activity directly from six people found two adjacent regions in the orbitofrontal cortex that compete during risky decisions, described in a Nature Neuroscience study published September 15. One region activates when a person leans toward pursuing a reward, while the other activates when they lean toward avoiding risk, with signals rapidly alternating between the two before a final choice is made.

nature.com · 2026-09-17

Single brain implant decodes both speech and gestures at once, study shows

Researchers at UC San Francisco tested a surgically implanted 253-electrode array that reads brain activity to simultaneously produce on-screen text and animate a personalized avatar's movements. The system, tested with two participants with severe paralysis, is described as the first brain-computer interface to handle verbal and non-verbal communication together within seconds of intent.

nature.com · 2026-09-14