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emotion

This shows the outline of a head and neurons.

·July 23, 2025·4 min read

Emotional Pain Brain Circuit Drives Cocaine Relapse

A new study reveals that a brain circuit driving negative emotions during cocaine withdrawal plays a key role in relapse. Researchers found that this “anti-reward” network becomes hyperactive during abstinence, amplifying distress and pushing users back toward the drug.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 22, 2025·7 min read

Why the Psychopathic Brain Struggles With Emotion and Control

New research reveals how structural brain connectivity shapes psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors. Using advanced connectome modeling, scientists identified two key networks: one tied to impaired emotional processing, the other to poor attentional control.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 21, 2025·3 min read

Right-Sided Brain Pathway Linked to Social Dominance

A new study uncovers how brain anatomy relates to social dominance in primates. Researchers found that the uncinate fasciculus, a tract tied to emotion and memory, strongly correlated with dominance behaviors in squirrel monkeys. This link was especially pronounced in the right hemisphere, aligning with human findings on social aggression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 18, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Decodes Social Emotions and Anxiety

The anterior temporal lobe (ATL) plays a key role in interpreting social hierarchies and facial emotions, offering insight into anxiety and mood disorders. A research project used advanced imaging techniques to overcome past challenges in studying the ATL, revealing its strong activation during social and emotional decisions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 16, 2025·5 min read

When Tears Seem Honest: Context Shapes How We Judge Crying

New research reveals that our perception of others’ tears as sincere or manipulative depends heavily on context. Tears were judged more honest when shed in non-manipulative situations and by those less expected to cry, such as men or individuals perceived as less warm.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 10, 2025·5 min read

Learning Music Boosts Kids’ Wellbeing, Confidence, and Belonging

A new study highlights the powerful role of music learning in improving children’s social, emotional, and educational wellbeing. Beyond listening or casual participation, learning music builds self-confidence, emotional awareness, and a sense of belonging.

Featured Neuroscience Pain Psychology

·July 10, 2025·6 min read

Brain Pathway Reveals How Pain Feels Emotionally

Pain is more than a physical signal — it also carries emotional weight that shapes our response and memory of discomfort. A new study identifies a group of neurons in the thalamus that directly links pain signals to the brain’s emotional center.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·July 7, 2025·4 min read

Side of Parkinson’s Onset Shapes Cognitive and Emotional Decline

Parkinson’s disease often starts on one side of the body, and new research shows this asymmetry influences how non-motor symptoms progress. Patients whose symptoms begin on the right side tend to experience greater cognitive decline and higher dementia risk.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 7, 2025·1 min read

Positive Emotions Boost Memory

A new study shows that positive emotions can enhance memory, even for meaningless information. Researchers recorded brain activity as participants viewed neutral squiggles paired with positive, neutral, or negative emotional images.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 30, 2025·3 min read

Brain Tracks Emotional Transitions Through Music

New research reveals how the brain navigates emotional transitions, using music as a tool to map changing neural patterns. Scientists found that emotional responses in the brain depend heavily on the listener’s prior emotional state.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 23, 2025·3 min read

Emotional Music Boosts Memory, But the Details Depend on You

Music has long been used to aid memory in conditions like Alzheimer’s, but how it works on the brain has remained unclear. A new study finds that the emotional intensity a person feels when listening to music determines which aspects of a memory are strengthened.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 19, 2025·4 min read

Childhood Emotion Struggles Linked to Teen Anxiety and Depression

Children who have trouble managing their emotions at age seven are more likely to experience anxiety and depression during their teenage years, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, tracking emotional development and mental health from childhood to age 17.