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Artificial Intelligence

·May 28, 2025·4 min read

LLMs Mimic Human Cognitive Dissonance

A new study reveals that GPT-4o, a leading large language model, displays behavior resembling cognitive dissonance—a core human psychological trait. When asked to write essays either supporting or opposing Vladimir Putin, GPT-4o’s subsequent “opinions” shifted to align with its written stance, especially when it “believed” the choice was its own.

This shows a robot with a brain and heart.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 22, 2025·4 min read

AI Shows Higher Emotional IQ than Humans

A new study tested whether artificial intelligence can demonstrate emotional intelligence by evaluating six generative AIs, including ChatGPT, on standard emotional intelligence (EI) assessments. The AIs achieved an average score of 82%, significantly higher than the 56% scored by human participants.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·May 21, 2025·5 min read

AI-Guided Gene Vectors Precisely Target Brain and Spinal Cells

Scientists have engineered dozens of adeno-associated virus (AAV) systems that ferry genes to specific neuron and glial subtypes in the brain and spinal cord with unprecedented accuracy. Powered by AI-selected DNA “light switches,” the vectors can switch on therapeutic or research genes only in targeted cells—eliminating the need for transgenic animals and enabling fine-grained circuit mapping, activation, or silencing.

This shows a digital brain in a classroom.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 20, 2025·5 min read

Kindergarten for AI: Basic Skills Boost Complex Learning in RNNs

Summary: AI systems, like humans and animals, learn better when they first master simple tasks. Researchers showed that recurrent neural...

$This shows a woman and math symbols.$

Featured Neuroscience

·May 20, 2025·4 min read

Modeling Human Behavior with Math

A new study shows that mathematical models can shape human decisions more effectively than traditional psychological strategies. Researchers introduced “choice engineering,” a data-driven alternative to “choice architecture,” which relies on heuristics and intuition. In a global academic challenge, models like CATIE—designed to reflect real behavioral trends—outperformed both intuitive strategies and standard machine learning tools.

This shows a brain made of computer chips.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 19, 2025·7 min read

Rewiring Memory: A New Model That Learns Like a Human Brain

A new memory model called Input-Driven Plasticity (IDP) offers a more human-like explanation for how external stimuli help us retrieve memories, building on the foundations of the classic Hopfield network. Unlike traditional models, which assume memory recall happens from a fixed starting point, the IDP framework describes how stimuli reshape the brain’s “energy landscape” in real time to guide memory retrieval.

This shows a person reading and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 19, 2025·5 min read

Reading Fiction Boosts Empathy and Fights Loneliness

While AI companions are marketed as a fix for loneliness, research shows that reading offers far more meaningful benefits. Reading fiction can foster social connection, reduce stress, enhance empathy, and even reshape brain activity linked to social cognition.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 17, 2025·5 min read

AI Chatbots Mirror a Human Brain Disorder

Researchers have found a surprising similarity between the way large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT process information and how the brains of people with Wernicke’s aphasia function. In both cases, fluent but often incoherent output is produced, suggesting rigid internal processing patterns that can distort meaning.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 15, 2025·5 min read

AI’s Spontaneously Develop Social Norms Like Humans

Large language model (LLM) AI agents, when interacting in groups, can form shared social conventions without centralized coordination. Researchers adapted a classic “naming game” framework to test whether populations of AI agents could develop consensus through repeated, limited interactions.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 15, 2025·6 min read

AI Handwriting Analysis May Catch Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Early

A new AI-driven tool developed by researchers could revolutionize how educators and clinicians screen for dyslexia and dysgraphia in children. By analyzing handwriting samples from K–5 students, the system detects behavioral cues, spelling errors, motor difficulties, and cognitive issues with remarkable precision.

Featured Neuroethics Neuroscience

·May 14, 2025·4 min read

Does AI Have Free Will? New Study Says We’re Getting Close

A new study argues that some generative AI agents meet all three philosophical criteria for free will: agency, choice, and control. Drawing from theories by Dennett and List, researchers examined AI agents like Minecraft’s Voyager and fictional autonomous drones, concluding that they exhibit functional free will.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 13, 2025·5 min read

Soft Robots Learn to Grasp with Human-Like Flexibility

A new study reveals how a soft, compliant robotic hand—built with silicone skin, springs, and bendable joints, can self-organize grasps without needing precise environmental data or complex programming. The ADAPT hand succeeded in grasping 24 different objects with a 93% success rate using only four programmed motions, adapting naturally through mechanical flexibility.