When asked questions about sensitive behaviors, such as alcohol consumption or over-eating, people tend to respond in ways they consider socially correct, while downplaying their personal negative behaviors.
Using aversive stimuli and punishments to train dogs leads to increased stress and anxiety in the animals.
A new study reports on a link between repetitive behaviors associated with autism and gastrointestinal problems. Researchers also found a connection between the severity of ASD symptoms and an increased risk of children experiencing more severe constipation, stomach pains, and other GI problems. However, no association was found between GI problems and social or communication difficulties associated with ASD.
People with strong moral and political convictions who saw images of protestors congruent to their own views showed activation in the brain's reward system. The study suggests violent acts in political protests can arise as a desire to act morally, rather than from bad intentions.
In times of uncertainty, noradrenaline helps us learn and adapt our behaviors, researchers report.
A new machine-learning algorithm has uncovered new neural mechanisms and enhanced the decoding of behaviors directly from brain signaling data.
Study reveals how gene control mechanisms determine the identity of neurons in the embryonic brainstem. A failure in differentiation in developing brainstem neurons can lead to behavioral abnormalities, including ADHD.
Witnessing bad behaviors triggers similar neural responses to those triggered by noxious smells. The study also pinpoints a biomarker in the brain for disgust.
Study found genes implicated in cattle temperament contribute to neural developmental functions and are differentially expressed in the human brain. Some ASD related genes are associated with cattle temperament.
Children born to mothers who experienced immune disorders during pregnancy, including allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and autoinflammatory syndromes, are more likely to exhibit behavioral and emotional problems. The child's sex may interact with maternal immune conditions to influence the outcome of ASD symptoms. While maternal immune disorders were associated with emotional and behavioral problems in children on the autism spectrum, there was no association with reduced cognitive function.
Researchers have identified a genetic switch in neurons that can toggle between sex-specific states when necessary.
Prenatal depression can have a significant influence on a child's brain development and behavior. Greater symptoms of prenatal depression were associated with weaker white matter connections between areas of the brain involved in emotional processing. The weakened white matter connectivity was linked to increased aggression and hyperactivity in male children. The change could lead to dysregulated emotional states in children and explain why children whose mothers experienced PND are more prone to developing depression later in life.
