Neuroscience News - AI, Neuroscience, Psychology Research

This shows a person sitting alone, surrounded by floating musical notes.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·August 8, 2025·5 min read

When Music Falls Flat: Why Some Brains Don’t Enjoy Music

Some people feel absolutely nothing when listening to music—and not because of bad taste. A rare condition called specific musical anhedonia involves a disconnect between the brain's auditory and reward systems, making music emotionally flat even though other rewards like food or money still trigger pleasure.

This shows a child listening to music, surrounded by emotional emojis.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 8, 2025·5 min read

Music May Help Kids Understand Emotions, Even Without Empathy

Music plays a powerful role in how we perceive and express emotion—and a new study finds that even very young children can match emotions in music to facial expressions. Researchers studied 144 children aged 3 to 5 and found that emotion recognition improves with age.

This shows a brain surrounded by fruits.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 5, 2025·6 min read

Promise of Reward Changes How We Pay Attention

A new study reveals that our brains treat sensitivity and decision bias as separate processes when rewards are at stake. Using eye-tracking and EEG during a visual task, researchers found that attention-related brain regions ramp up when we focus on potential rewards, but only when it boosts sensitivity—not bias.

This shows a woman with two french bulldogs.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 5, 2025·6 min read

Do Dog Faces Shape Behavior?

Short-nosed dog breeds like Pugs and French Bulldogs are often perceived as calm, affectionate companions—but their behavior is influenced by more than just head shape. A new study of over 5,000 dogs reveals that small body size, lack of training, and pampering by inexperienced owners contribute to many of their less favorable behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 4, 2025·4 min read

How Kids Learn What Emotions Really Mean

A new study reveals that children’s ability to understand emotions develops through a cognitive shift between ages 5 and 10. While younger kids perceive emotional expressions instinctively through visual cues, older children increasingly depend on conceptual knowledge to grasp emotional nuance.

This shows an older man on an exercise bike in a hospital. A nurse is at his side. On the cycle is a monitor with a brain game.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 3, 2025·7 min read

Cycling Boosts Brain Function in Parkinson’s Disease

A new study reveals that long-term adaptive cycling can measurably reshape brain signals in people with Parkinson’s Disease, offering clues into how exercise relieves motor symptoms. Researchers used deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants to track neural activity before and after 12 sessions of dynamic cycling.

This shows the outline of two heads and brains. One brain is foggy, as though representing depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 3, 2025·5 min read

Brain Reward Signals Blunted by Genetic Depression Risk

A new imaging study reveals that young adults with a higher genetic risk for depression show diminished brain activity when processing rewards and punishments. Using data from nearly 900 healthy twins and siblings, researchers found altered activation in brain regions linked to attention and decision-making—well before any symptoms of depression appeared.

This is a visual representation of the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 2, 2025·6 min read

Fat Molecule May Control How You Feel Emotion

Scientists have uncovered how the brain’s 5-HT1A serotonin receptor—vital in mood regulation—functions at the molecular level. This receptor, a common target of antidepressants and psychedelics, prefers certain signaling pathways no matter the drug, but drugs can still vary in how strongly they activate them.

This shows a person with their signal cord highlighted. In the background are people with various mobility devices.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·August 1, 2025·6 min read

Signs of MS Emerge 15 Years Before Diagnosis

A large-scale analysis of health records reveals that subtle signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) may appear more than a decade before diagnosis. People who eventually develop MS began increasing healthcare visits—especially for general symptoms like fatigue, pain, and anxiety—15 years before neurologists identified their first demyelinating event.

This shows a Brain and insulin syringes.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 1, 2025·5 min read

Leptin, Not Just Insulin, May Hold the Key to Diabetes Treatment

A decade after an overlooked discovery, researchers now confirm that the hormone leptin can reverse diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) even without insulin. The brain, misled by low leptin into thinking the body lacks fuel, triggers a metabolic emergency — a core process in DKA.

This shows a person smiling, surrounded by positive looking avatars.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 1, 2025·4 min read

Empathy Can Be Emotionally Conditioned

Empathy isn't just innate — it can be trained by associating another person’s happiness with personal rewards. In this study, participants observed a character experiencing good and bad moments, which were paired with gains or losses in their own rewards.

This shows a map of the US and a couple behind shattered glass.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 1, 2025·4 min read

Murder-Suicide Rates in U.S. Higher Than Previously Estimated

New research reveals that murder-suicide incidents in the U.S. are more frequent than previously documented, with an average of 820 related deaths per year. Most incidents involve current or former intimate partners, and nearly all suicides were carried out with firearms.

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