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behavioral neuroscience

·November 9, 2023·7 min read

Best Practices Boost Replicability in Social Behavior Studies

A new study yielded a study demonstrating high replicability of findings in the social-behavioral sciences when best practices are applied. The six-year project involved the discovery and replication of 16 novel findings using methods like pre-registration and large sample sizes.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 27, 2023·4 min read

Choosing Needs Over Wants: How Dopamine Decides

Researchers unveiled the brain's ability to prioritize needs over wants using the dopamine reward system. This study, observing a male zebra finch's shift from quenching thirst to courting when faced with a female, sheds light on the flexible nature of the dopamine system.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 7, 2023·5 min read

Is the Blood-Brain Barrier a Key to Behavior?

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) in carpenter ants isn't just a protective boundary, but actively shapes ant behavior. The BBB produces an enzyme called Juvenile hormone esterase (Jhe) that degrades the Juvenile Hormone (JH3), which promotes foraging behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·September 5, 2023·4 min read

Unlocking The Secrets of Social Behaviors

New findings challenge our understanding of fruit fly social behaviors. While traditionally thought to rely primarily on chemical receptors for social interactions, the fruit fly's visual system plays a pivotal role too.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 1, 2023·5 min read

Revolutionizing Animal Behavior Studies with Cutting-Edge Tech

Researchers unveiled SMART-BARN, a state-of-the-art facility to study the group behavior of animals. Housed in an 18th-century barn and a gymnasium-sized Imaging Hangar, the tool uses high-throughput techniques like optical and acoustic tracking to monitor animals in 3D.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 29, 2023·5 min read

Good Sleep Habits Can Buffer Kids From Stress-Linked Impulsivity

A study reveals that adequate sleep can help children combat impulsive behaviors often induced by stressful environments. Researchers analyzed data from over 11,000 children aged 9-10, finding that those who had less than nine hours of sleep or took over 30 minutes to fall asleep exhibited more impulsive behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 1, 2023·3 min read

Behavioral Parallels: The Shared Routes of Aggression and Psychopathy

Aggressive and psychopathic individuals have difficulty shedding hostile behaviors once they've adopted them, according to new research. A mathematical model applied to a task assessing hostile responses confirmed this hypothesis.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 28, 2023·5 min read

Tickling Out the Secrets of Rat Playfulness

In a pioneering study, scientists have successfully simulated playful environments in labs, encouraging playfulness in rats and analyzing the resulting brain activity. Their findings, highlight the crucial role of a structure called the periaqueductal gray (PAG) in rats' brains in play and laughter.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 26, 2023·4 min read

Child’s Age and Pet Ownership Improve Recognition of Dog Emotions

The ability to correctly identify dog emotions from their facial expressions appears to be influenced by a person's age and prior experience with dogs. This research found that adults and 6-year-olds were more accurate in recognizing aggressive expressions in dogs than 4-year-olds, regardless of whether they had pet dogs.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 13, 2023·8 min read

Warping Time: How the Brain’s Inner Clockwork Dictates Behavior

In groundbreaking research, researchers revealed how neural activity influences our perception of time. The study artificially altered neural activity in rats, distorting their sense of time duration.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 12, 2023·4 min read

Our Immune System May Help Guide Behavior

A recent study found the immune system plays a pivotal role in altering our behaviors, especially in response to allergic triggers. Researchers found that the brain, when informed by the immune system about potential dangers, prompts the body to avoid those threats.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 15, 2023·6 min read

Decoding Serotonin: A Comprehensive Study on Its Impact on Brain and Behavior

Researchers conducted a detailed study on serotonin, a key molecule in influencing mood and behavior, tracing its impact from the molecular level to the brain's overall functioning. Using the simple animal model of C. elegans, the team was able to map serotonin's effects across the entire brain, giving a comprehensive view of its behavioral influence.