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.
By considering brain areas associated with imagination, researchers are able to look back over millions of years to find out how imagination first evolved in humans.
Fructose produced by the brain can lead to inflammation and ultimately Alzheimer's disease, a new study reports.
A new brain mapping study reveals a neural network in cuttlefish that involves chemosensory function and body pattern control which the cuttlefish utilize for foraging and camouflage.
People who score higher for empathy traits are better able to understand and decode the emotional sounds of animals.
The fossil of a 525-million-year-old tiny sea creature with a preserved nervous system may solve a century-long debate about how the brains of arthropods evolved.
Octopuses have a massively expanded repertoire of miRNA in their neural tissue, reflecting a similar development to that which occurred in vertebrates. Findings suggest miRNA plays a significant role in the development of complex brains.
Coupling two approaches of game theory sheds light on how moral norms and selfless behaviors evolved.
Neural stem cells of cephalopods act in a similar way to those of vertebrates during nervous system development.
A new map of the octopus visual system classifies different types of neurons in a part of the brain dedicated to vision, shedding new light on the evolution of the brain and visual systems in a more broad sense.
In a highly competitive environment, Trinidadian killifish grow larger brains. This neuro-evolution allows for greater fitness and survival rates.
A new modeling study reports modern humans may have co-existed with Neanderthals in France and Northern Spain between 1,400 and 2,900 years before the Neanderthals became extinct.