Topic

Treatments & Therapies

How brain drugs work, psychiatric medication, deep brain stimulation, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, psychedelic research and gene therapy.

7 articles

Treatments & Therapies Advanced Gene and Cell Therapies for the Brain Antisense drugs and AAV gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, ALS and rare disorders; stem-cell-derived dopamine neurons for Parkinson's; and the challenges of getting genetic medicines into the nervous system. September 15, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Intermediate Deep Brain Stimulation A 'pacemaker for the brain': implanted electrodes delivering continuous pulses to deep structures to treat Parkinson's disease, tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and OCD — how it was discovered, how it might work, and the new adaptive systems. August 16, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Beginner Neurosurgery: From Trepanation to Robots Holes drilled in prehistoric skulls, Harvey Cushing's revolution, the dark chapter of lobotomy, awake brain surgery, Gamma Knife radiosurgery and focused ultrasound — a history of operating on the nervous system. July 28, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Intermediate Psychedelic Research From Albert Hofmann's bicycle ride in 1943 through prohibition to today's clinical trials: how psilocybin, LSD and MDMA act on the brain, what the evidence for treating depression and PTSD shows, and the risks. March 28, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Intermediate Antidepressants and Psychiatric Medication The main classes of psychiatric medication — antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, anxiolytics and stimulants — how they work, how well they work, side effects, and practical facts patients should know. January 30, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Intermediate How Brain Drugs Work Agonists, antagonists, reuptake inhibitors and enzyme blockers: the basic ways medicines and recreational drugs change brain signalling — plus the blood-brain barrier problem and the surprising role of serendipity. January 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Treatments & Therapies Beginner Neurorehabilitation Recovering after stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury: how rehabilitation harnesses plasticity, constraint-induced therapy, mirror therapy, speech therapy, robotics, vagus nerve stimulation and spinal stimulation that helped paralysed people walk. November 27, 2025 · 3 min read

About this project

NeuroScience Decoded is an independent, plain-language encyclopedia of the brain and nervous system. It covers what neuroscience is, five thousand years of its history and the people who made it, how neurons and synapses work, brain chemistry and anatomy, development, the senses, movement, memory, emotion, sleep and consciousness, neurological and mental health conditions, the tools scientists use, the overlap with artificial intelligence, treatments, and the ethics and future of the field.

Every entry is written to be understood by a curious reader with no science background. Each one is tagged Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced, opens with an In plain English summary, offers everyday analogies and try-it-yourself examples, ends with key takeaways, and links to the concepts worth reading first.