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attention

·July 25, 2019·3 min read

The science behind giving up

Pnoc neurons in the paranigral ventral tegmental area become active when mice seek rewards. Stimulating these neurons with optogenetics promotes avoidance behaviors. Researchers say ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron NOPR expression is necessary to limit reward-seeking behavior.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·July 22, 2019·4 min read

When you spot 1 driving hazard, you may be missing another

Subsequent search miss causes a reduction in the ability to detect an additional hazard when they spot another. The findings could help modify driver training to help reduce accidents and to develop in-vehicle technologies that focus on accident reduction.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 15, 2019·4 min read

Improved mood and focus reported by microdosers

Microdosing, a growing trend where people take small doses for psychedelic drugs, is associated with improved mood, focus, and creativity. For some, microdosing may provide a possible alternative to SSRI antidepressants. However, researchers warn of some potential problems with microdosing, including negative side effects, psychological stigma, and exposure to elicit, black market products.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 5, 2019·5 min read

Ignoring cues for alcohol and fast food is hard – but is it out of our control?

Stress and tiredness make it harder for you to ignore environmental cues that signal something rewarding.

This shows a cartoon of a woman trying to read with lots of distractions in the background

Featured Neuroscience

·June 12, 2019·5 min read

How we tune out distractions

A pathway linking the basal ganglia to the thalamus enhances sensory discrimination and is used to suppress 'background noise'. The pathway, which is controlled by the prefrontal cortex, selectively suppresses sensory input as it flows to the thalamus.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 7, 2019·5 min read

Early-life challenges affect how children focus and face the day

Experiencing early life adversities leads to disruptions in multiple systems of self-control and cortisol levels, which continues through childhood.

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Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 5, 2019·5 min read

How the Internet may be changing the brain

Ubiquitous access to the internet may be altering the structure of our brains, as well as influencing our attentional capabilities, memory and social behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 3, 2019·6 min read

Algorithm that Tailors Digital Meditation Program Improves Attention and Memory

MediTrain, a new app-based program that uses a closed-loop algorithm to tailor the length of meditation sessions to a person's ability, can improve memory and attention in younger people.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 22, 2019·4 min read

Infants later diagnosed with autism seldom initiate joint attention

An eye-tracking study of 10-month-old infants reveals children later diagnosed on the autism spectrum seldom initiate joint attention. Findings suggest children with ASD already have reduced social motivation as infants.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 21, 2019·4 min read

Study identifies our ‘inner pickpocket’

People are able to form the correct mental model of puzzles from either visual or haptic experiences alone and are able to predict haptic properties from visual ones. Findings suggest humans segment scenes into objects without explicit boundary cues by using purely statistical information.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 21, 2019·3 min read

Research rules out mental flexibility, attention as advantages for some bilingual children

While learning a second language has positive benefits for children, there is little evidence that bilingual children have more advanced executive function or improved attention over those who are monolingual.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 21, 2019·4 min read

Optical illusions reveal regular waves of brain activity enable visual feature integration

Optical illusions are helping researchers better understand attention and visual perception. Findings suggest attention operates periodically on the perceptual binding of visual information.