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Hebrew University of Jerusalem

·June 30, 2025·4 min read

People Prefer Human Empathy, Even When AI Says the Same Thing

A new study shows that people rate empathic responses as more supportive and emotionally satisfying when they believe they come from a human—even if the same response is AI-generated. Across nine experiments with over 6,000 participants, responses labeled as human were consistently seen as more genuine, especially when they involved emotional sharing and care.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·June 20, 2025·4 min read

Chronic Pain Linked to Neuron Overactivity in the Brainstem

A new study reveals that neurons in the brainstem respond very differently to acute versus chronic pain, potentially explaining why some pain persists long after injury. In acute pain, neurons in the medullary dorsal horn reduce their activity through a natural “braking” system involving A-type potassium currents, helping limit pain signals.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 12, 2025·4 min read

Negative Surroundings Skew Emotions in People with Depression

People with depressive symptoms are more likely to interpret neutral images as negative when those images are surrounded by unrelated negative visuals. This emotional “spillover” effect shows how peripheral cues—like background imagery or context—can shape our emotional responses more than we realize.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·June 10, 2025·3 min read

How Acetaminophen Silences Pain Before It Reaches the Brain

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) doesn’t just work in the brain—it also shuts off pain at its source in the peripheral nerves. The study found that after taking paracetamol, the body produces a compound called AM404 directly in pain-sensing nerve endings.

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Featured Neuroscience

·May 20, 2025·4 min read

Modeling Human Behavior with Math

A new study shows that mathematical models can shape human decisions more effectively than traditional psychological strategies. Researchers introduced “choice engineering,” a data-driven alternative to “choice architecture,” which relies on heuristics and intuition. In a global academic challenge, models like CATIE—designed to reflect real behavioral trends—outperformed both intuitive strategies and standard machine learning tools.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 27, 2025·4 min read

Why Music Offers an Emotional Lifeline During Crises

A new study reveals that people worldwide turn to song lyrics as emotional anchors during crises, such as the COVID-19 lockdowns. Researchers found that lyrical themes—like loss, belonging, and reflection—played a far greater role in emotional coping than the music’s tempo or harmony.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·April 26, 2025·4 min read

Prenatal Stress Leaves Lasting Molecular Imprints on Babies

A new study reveals that stress during pregnancy can molecularly reprogram newborns' stress response systems, with significant differences between boys and girls. Researchers found that maternal stress altered entire families of tRNA fragments in umbilical cord blood, particularly those regulating acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 25, 2025·5 min read

Facts Can Heal Divides, Not Just Deepen Them

A new study challenges the belief that exposure to facts only deepens political divisions. Researchers found that when Americans were presented with balanced, credible information about gun control, and incentivized to engage with it, they retained the facts and even revised their views.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 3, 2025·4 min read

Listening Builds Trust, But Stories Change Minds

A new study challenges the widely held belief that high-quality, nonjudgmental listening is essential for persuasion. While good listening improves how people feel about a conversation and reduces defensiveness, it doesn’t enhance the impact of persuasive messages.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·March 7, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Processes Speech in Real Time

Researchers have developed a computational framework that maps how the brain processes speech during real-world conversations. Using electrocorticography (ECoG) and AI speech models, the study analyzed over 100 hours of brain activity, revealing how different regions handle sounds, speech patterns, and word meanings. The findings show that the brain processes language in a sequence—moving from thought to speech before speaking and working backward to interpret spoken words.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·December 16, 2024·5 min read

Twin Dynamics: How Developmental Differences Shape Dominance Roles

A new study reveals that developmental differences strongly influence dominance roles in twin relationships, with typically developing twins perceived as dominant over their nontypically developing siblings. This dominance imbalance persists throughout childhood, even if developmental challenges improve.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 12, 2024·5 min read

Chronic Inflammation Linked to Depression

Emerging research suggests that chronic inflammation, rather than neurotransmitter deficiencies alone, may be a major factor behind depression, reshaping traditional views of the condition. This insight links inflammation, both in the body and brain, to depressive symptoms, explaining why some patients don't respond to conventional antidepressants. Studies reveal that stress can trigger immune responses that activate and later damage microglial cells in the brain, worsening depressive symptoms over time.