Weekly Digest

Weekly ToC Digest (week of 2026-09-07)

The most relevant papers focus on brain aging models, computational methods in neuroimaging, and brain biomarkers. Articles not focused on these areas or without computational elements were deprioritized. Evaluation of RSS items based on relevance to brain aging and neuroimaging topics. This week lacks articles strictly focused on brain-age modeling or neuroimaging-based aging biomarkers. The entries below are selected mainly for their computational and neuroimaging relevance. Prioritized articles involve brain-aging models, neuroimaging biomarkers related to aging, and computational methodologies in brain aging contexts.

Included: 10 (score ≥ 0.35)
Scored: 12 total items

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Integration of proteomic aging clocks in a phase 2a clinical trial supports simultaneous geroprotective assessment

Nature Biotechnology
Score: 0.90
Published: 2026-09-07T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: aging clocks, proteomics, geroprotection

Involves proteomic aging clocks, closely related to brain aging clocks, with direct application in geroprotection.

RSS summary

Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03286-y

Six proteomic clocks are applied in a clinical trial to assess anti-aging effects.

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DRUMS - A Flexible New Deep Learning Tool for Precise Cortical Surface Alignment across Individuals

bioRxiv
Score: 0.85
Published: 2026-09-06T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: MRI, computational, alignment

Presents alignment algorithms for multimodal neuroimaging, which could be applicable in brain aging studies.

RSS summary

Accurate inter-individual alignment of human cerebral cortex is challenging because of the high variability of human cortical folding patterns and the regionally non-uniform and inconsistent spatial relationships across individuals of cortical folds versus the functional networks and cortical areas that we wish to study. To achieve precise alignment across individuals, an algorithm must use multi-modal neuroimaging features related to cortical areas and functional networks, ideally as inputs to …

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OCTOPUS: A versatile open-source tool creating realistic numericalbrain cells

bioRxiv
Score: 0.80
Published: 2026-09-07T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: dMRI, biophysical models, biomarkers

Features biophysical models related to neuroimaging, contributing to neuroimaging-based biomarker development.

RSS summary

Brain cell morphology plays a crucial role in function and pathology. Biophysical models of diffusion MRI (dMRI) quantify cell morphology in vivo, enabling the design of novel biomarkers. These models represent cells by simplified geometries, such as spheres and randomly oriented cylinders, for which analytical signal expressions exist. However, dMRI signals are sensitive to morphological features, such as branching, tapering, undulation, beading, and protrusions, unaccounted for in most models,…

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Brain cognition gaps reveal associations with dopamine and factors related to brain health through artificial intelligence prediction of functional connectome

eLife
Score: 0.70
Published: 2026-09-02T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: AI, functional connectome, brain health

The paper uses AI to analyze functional connectome, relevant for the intersection of AI and neuroimaging, though doesn’t directly focus on brain aging.

RSS summary

A key question in human neuroscience is to understand how individual differences in brain function relate to cognitive differences. However, the optimal condition of brain function to study between-person differences in cognition remains unclear. While many studies have developed objective biomarkers to accurately predict intelligence and general cognition, consensus on domain-specific markers has not yet emerged. Brain age has been proposed as a potential candidate, but recent research suggests…

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Distinct tuning properties of human hippocampal neurons along the longitudinal axis during working memory

bioRxiv
Score: 0.60
Published: 2026-09-07T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: hippocampus, cognition, neuroimaging

Neuronal activity in hippocampus studies can provide insights into cognitive decline associated with aging.

RSS summary

Working memory (WM) is among the most sophisticated and fundamental capabilities of the mammalian brain. While the roles of prefrontal and sensory areas are heavily explored, there is little knowledge on how the hippocampus (HPC) contributes to this process. Here, we studied human HPC neuronal activities during a verbal WM task and reveal that neurons in the posterior HPC (PH) show more robust rate-modulations during WM. On the other hand, anterior HPC (AH) neurons are more prominently modulated…

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Inhibitory circuits restrain adult glioma progression by suppressing calcium-driven oncogenic programs

Neuron
Score: 0.55
Published: 2026-09-07T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: neural circuits, neurodegeneration

Focuses on neural pathways with potential application to brain function and neurodegeneration modeling.

RSS summary

Uesaka et al. show that inhibitory brain circuits can suppress adult glioma growth by limiting tumor calcium signaling and downstream growth programs. The study reframes glioma progression as a balance between growth-promoting and growth-restraining neural inputs, suggesting that strengthening inhibitory tone may help control brain tumors.

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Longitudinal dynamics of gene expression and metabolomics in an aging population cohort

Science
Score: 0.50
Published: 2026-09-03T07:00:00+00:00 Tags: aging, longitudinal

The study focuses on aging using a cohort approach, offering insights that could complement brain aging research, though it lacks direct neuroimaging or brain age modeling links.

RSS summary

Science, Volume 393, Issue 6815, September 2026.

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Frequency and laminar profile of feature-specific visual activity revealed by interleaved EEG–fMRI

eLife
Score: 0.50
Published: 2026-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: EEG, fMRI, visual activity

Although not directly about brain aging, the use of EEG-fMRI could be valuable for transferable neuroimaging modeling methods.

RSS summary

The role of cortical oscillations in brain function has been extensively debated, resulting in a variety of theoretical frameworks. Using interleaved simultaneous electroencephalography–functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the layer-specific relationship between oscillatory activity and visual processing. We could demonstrate that γ band activity positively correlates with feature-specific signals in superficial layers, but we were able to report a deep layer contribution as…

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Ensuring multiomics data reproducibility for artificial intelligence with reference materials as a common calibrator

Nature Biotechnology
Score: 0.50
Published: 2026-09-01T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: reproducibility, calibration, multiomics

Focuses on data reproducibility in multiomics, essential for calibrating models in neuroimaging and brain aging contexts.

RSS summary

Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03267-1

Reference materials should be adopted as a common calibrator for multiomics measurement and co‑profiled with study samples. Multiomics results should be reported as sample‑to‑reference ratios so that they are reproducible and suitable for artificial intelligence tools.

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Steering machine reasoning with brain signals

Nature Machine Intell
Score: 0.40
Published: 2026-09-01T00:00:00+00:00 Tags: brain signals, AI, modeling

Explores brain signals to guide AI learning, which intersects with computational brain-age models.

RSS summary

Nature Machine Intelligence, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s42256-026-01302-z

Representational alignment can reveal similarities between human brain activity and language models. Work now demonstrates that it can also guide learning, improving the reliability of artificial reasoning.

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