The smell of a cooperative rat is enough to trigger altruistic responses in other rodents. Read More
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. Read More
In times of uncertainty, noradrenaline helps us learn and adapt our behaviors, researchers report. Read More
Learning to avoid certain tastes depends on the long term reduction in activity the connections between threat and taste sensors in the brain. Read More
Complex social problems require a mix of empathy and perspective-changing to resolve. Read More
Information flow between the ventromedial premotor cortex and medial prefrontal cortex makes it possible for monkeys to correctly identify social cues. Read More
Researchers explore the "sociocultural mental health phenomena" of Hikikomori, a disorder in which people socially isolate for extended periods of time. Read More
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. Read More
People find potential romantic partners more attractive when they have, what researchers called, a "sexy mindset." They also tend to overestimate their chances of romantic success when aroused. The findings suggest the sexual system prepares the ground for forming relationships by biasing interpersonal perceptions. Read More
Researchers have identified a novel neural circuit that detects male pheromone cues pertaining to inter-male aggression. Read More
Belief in conspiracy theories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic predicts personal resistance to coronavirus vaccination and preventative behaviors, such as mask-wearing. Read More
When a mouse senses a threat, neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus become activated and remain active for ten seconds after the threat is removed. Fear responses could be induced by artificially stimulating these neurons. Artificially silencing the neurons reduced fear behavior. Read More
