When the reward is less than expected, people with OCD exhibit lower-than-normal learning rates. Conversely, those with gambling addictions exhibit boosted and blunted patterns of learning when the rewards are higher and lower than expected.
According to researchers, great apes spin themselves in order to make themselves dizzy. The dizzying behavior could shed new light on humans' drive to seek altered states of mind, and actively manipulate their mood and perception of reality.
Bumblebees are able to learn to solve puzzles by watching more experienced bees complete a task. This new behavioral preference then spreads throughout the entire colony. The bees that learned from others became more adept and began to prefer the learned solution over alternatives.
A mother's social interaction with her child, especially if her behavior is cold or awkward, correlated with a small increase in methylation of the child's NR3C1 gene. The NR3C1 is involved in the regulation of the HPA-axis which plays a critical role in stress response and the production of cortisol.
When their brains are stimulated with leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, hungry mice prioritize mating and interacting with mice of the opposite gender over eating.
By implanting electrodes and monitoring data, researchers have successfully captured the brain activity of freely moving octopuses. The recorded brain activity could solve numerous questions about octopus behaviors including movement, cognition, and learning abilities.
People with kleptomania, or the overwhelming impulse to commit theft or shoplift, exhibit distinct patterns of gaze and brain activity when exposed to environmental cues associated with their compulsion.
Female serial killers are considered fairly anomalous. Research into females who commit serial killings has been pretty limited, until now. Researchers have identified certain characteristics of female serial killers, finding they tend to be white, married at least once, of at least average intelligence, and are more likely to be employed in healthcare professions.
A newly discovered neural circuit in the thalamus prevented reward-seeking behaviors when activated in a preclinical model. When blocked, this circuit increases high-risk reward-seeking behaviors. The findings could lead to new therapies for addiction and other disorders associated with high-risk reward-seeking behaviors.
People with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) exhibit behaviors that are considered socially unacceptable. While there is no current cure for FTD, researchers are finding methods to help inhibit some of the negative behaviors associated with FTD. A new study reports impulsivity and negative behaviors are greatly reduced in those with bvFTD when the patient is focused on a task.
People who experience trauma and abuse during childhood are more likely to engage in civic environmental activities and green behaviors later in life, a new study reports.
Toddlers are twice as likely to help a dog reach a toy, even when the animal showed no interest in the object. The findings suggest toddlers' prosocial and goal-reading abilities extend beyond other humans and to animals.
