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Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2024·4 min read

Marmoset Monkeys Use Unique Calls to Name Each Other

Researchers have discovered that marmoset monkeys use specific vocal calls, known as "phee-calls," to identify and communicate with each other, a behavior previously observed only in humans, dolphins, and elephants. This ability to label others vocally suggests that marmosets possess advanced cognitive skills in social communication. The study also found that marmoset families share similar vocal labels, akin to names and dialects in humans. This discovery provides new insights into the evolution of social communication and language.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 29, 2024·4 min read

Rethinking Conflict: Emotional Context’s Role in Decision Making

A new study challenges Kurt Lewin's theory on conflict resolution, showing that the difficulty in resolving conflicts depends on the emotional context. Their experiments reveal that avoidance-avoidance conflicts are harder to resolve in positive contexts but are similar to approach-approach conflicts in negative contexts.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 8, 2024·4 min read

Redefining Consciousness Through Memory Fusion

Researchers introduced a groundbreaking perspective on consciousness and memory in their latest paper. They propose a novel integration of the Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) hypothesis with the Tripartite Mechanism of Memory, suggesting that consciousness is heavily influenced by emotional memories stored within neural networks.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·May 7, 2024·3 min read

mRNA Dynamics in Embryonic Cell Identity

A new study explores mRNA regulation in embryonic development, shedding light on how pluripotent cells specialize. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and metabolic labeling on zebrafish embryos, the research team could distinguish newly synthesized mRNA from maternal contributions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 17, 2024·4 min read

Flexible Responses Boost Healthy Food Attitudes

A flexible response to food cues significantly improves attitudes towards high-calorie foods among women with controlled eating habits. The research involved 78 women, employing tests like the Implicit Association Test and the Food Stop-Signal Task to assess their subconscious attitudes and impulse control towards food.

Neuroscience

·March 12, 2024·6 min read

Mushroom Extract Outperforms Synthetic Psilocybin in Psychiatric Therapy

A new study reveals that psilocybin-containing mushroom extract exhibits a more potent and enduring effect on synaptic plasticity compared to its synthetic counterpart. This research highlights the potential of natural psychedelic compounds to revolutionize the treatment of psychiatric disorders. With alarming statistics indicating a significant portion of patients unresponsive to existing medications, this study opens new avenues for innovative, nature-based psychiatric treatments.