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amygdala

·May 27, 2025·3 min read

Amygdala Shapes Social Choices in Song-Learning Young Birds

Young zebra finches learn their birdsong by observing and imitating adult "tutor" birds, but they don’t follow just anyone. A new study shows that juvenile finches prefer tutors who sing longer but less often, suggesting social cues guide their choices.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 25, 2025·5 min read

Boredom Is Good for You: Why Embracing It Calms the Brain

Boredom, often seen as a negative state to avoid, may actually serve an important role in emotional regulation and brain health. When we're bored, the brain shifts away from external attention networks and activates introspective systems like the default mode network, encouraging creativity and self-reflection.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 15, 2025·5 min read

The Brain Learns to Fear Through Inference, Not Just Experience

A new study reveals how rats can learn to fear through inference, offering insights into the neural basis of higher-order emotions. By pairing a neutral sound and image, then associating the image with an unpleasant experience, researchers showed that rats later feared the sound alone—demonstrating inferred emotional learning.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 11, 2025·5 min read

Teen Obesity Linked to Brain Changes in Memory and Emotion Centers

A major new study shows that adolescents with abdominal obesity have significantly larger brain regions involved in memory and emotional regulation, raising concerns about how obesity affects brain development. MRI scans revealed that the hippocampus and amygdala were enlarged in teens with obesity, especially those with high waist-to-height ratios.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 4, 2025·12 min read

Why Alcohol Hits Women Harder

Alcohol use among women has surged to match men’s rates, but women face far greater health risks even at lower consumption levels. A growing body of research is uncovering key neurobiological sex differences that influence why and how women drink, with stress being a more prominent motivator for women.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 26, 2025·4 min read

How Oxytocin Tames “Mean Girl” Behavior

A new study finds that in some lemur species, evolving gender equality is linked to changes in the brain’s oxytocin system. Researchers compared seven closely related species, finding that more egalitarian species had higher numbers of oxytocin receptors, particularly in the amygdala.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 7, 2025·6 min read

How One Bad Meal Rewires the Brain to Avoid That Food Forever

A new study reveals how a single food poisoning experience creates long-lasting aversive memories in the brain. Researchers found that mice developed strong aversions to a flavored drink after getting sick, even with a 30-minute delay between consumption and illness.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 4, 2024·6 min read

Newly Discovered Brain Circuit Predicts Response to Stress

Researchers identified a brain circuit involving the amygdala and hippocampus that predicts resilience to stress in mice. Mice with disrupted neural communication in this circuit struggled to seek rewards, but activating the neurons restored resilience and improved decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 23, 2024·5 min read

Our “Reptilian” Brain Areas’ Role in Emotion and Social Skills

A new study uncovers constant communication between the human brain's social cognitive network, responsible for understanding others' thoughts, and the amygdala, known for processing fear and emotions. High-resolution brain scans revealed that this connection helps the brain integrate emotional importance into social interactions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 2, 2024·6 min read

Amygdala Cells Linked to Anxiety

Researchers have identified specific cell types in the amygdala linked to anxiety, revealing potential new targets for treatment. By analyzing gene expression in human and macaque brains, scientists discovered clusters of cells with unique roles, including “gatekeeper” cells that help control emotional responses.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 25, 2024·6 min read

Depression Alters Brain Circuits, Heightening Negative Perception

Scientists have identified how depression alters the brain’s response to positive and negative stimuli, particularly in the amygdala, a key emotional processing center. The study found that depression reduces neural activity linked to positive perceptions while increasing it for negative perceptions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 24, 2024·7 min read

New Brain Stimulation Target Could Treat PTSD

A new study suggests that neurostimulation targeting specific brain circuits may help treat PTSD in veterans. Researchers found that veterans with damage to brain areas connected to the amygdala, the brain's fear center, were less likely to develop PTSD.