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imagination

·December 10, 2025·6 min read

Positive Imagining Changes the Brain in Seconds

Vividly imagining a positive interaction with someone can increase how much you like them — and even alter how your brain stores information about that person. During imagined encounters, participants developed stronger preferences, and brain scans revealed activity patterns similar to those seen when people learn from real rewarding experiences.

Neuroscience

·November 7, 2025·8 min read

Brain Decoder Translates Visual Thoughts Into Text

A new brain decoding method called mind captioning can generate accurate text descriptions of what a person is seeing or recalling—without relying on the brain's language system. Instead, it uses semantic features from vision-related brain activity and deep learning models to translate nonverbal thoughts into structured sentences.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 20, 2025·3 min read

Your Brain Navigates Mental Maps Differently Than Real Ones

When you picture a map in your mind, your brain uses different pathways than when you actually look at one. In a study on spatial attention, participants recalled the map of France and judged which city was closer to Paris.

This shows a brain and a castle in the clouds.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 20, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Learns New Facts About Imaginary Worlds

Learning new information about the world—like details from a fantasy realm—engages brain regions distinct from those used to recall personal experiences. In a new study, participants learned fictional facts about imaginary civilizations and were later tested on what they remembered.

This shows a person listening to music with the outline of other people in the background.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 30, 2025·6 min read

Music Sparks Social Imagination and Eases Loneliness

A large-scale study with 600 participants shows that music can genuinely evoke feelings of companionship by sparking social imagination. When participants listened to folk music, they imagined vivid social scenes such as being with friends, even when lyrics were removed.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 5, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Tells Imagination from Reality, And When It Fails

A new study identifies the brain mechanisms that help us distinguish real experiences from imagined ones. Researchers found that the fusiform gyrus—a region involved in visual processing—plays a key role in telling reality from imagination, especially when we mentally picture something vividly.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 25, 2024·4 min read

Imagination Reduces Disgust More Than Placebo

A recent study compared the effects of a placebo pill and an imaginary pill in reducing visually induced disgust. Both interventions lowered disgust intensity, with the imaginary placebo showing greater efficacy. Participants rated the imaginary pill higher for expected and perceived effectiveness. This research suggests that the imaginary intake of a placebo can be a powerful tool for emotion regulation.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 19, 2024·3 min read

AI Unlocks Secrets of Human Imagination and Memory Formation

A new study employs generative AI to shed light on how the human brain processes memories for learning, imagination, and planning. The study used a computational model resembling the hippocampus and neocortex's neural networks to simulate memory encoding and retrieval.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 1, 2023·4 min read

How Imagination Fuels Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

A new study highlights the significant role of imagination in evoking empathy and driving prosocial behavior. While empathy is multifaceted, this research focuses on two aspects: personal distress and compassionate concern. The study reveals that vividly imagining someone else's problems increases personal distress, motivating individuals to offer help.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 2, 2023·6 min read

Animals Imagine Too

Researchers discovered that, akin to humans, animals have an imagination. Using a unique combination of virtual reality and a brain-machine interface, they probed a rat's innermost thoughts.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos

·June 11, 2023·4 min read

The Mind’s Tapestry: Weaving the Neurological Threads of Imagination

Imagination is a cornerstone of human cognition, yet its neurological roots have remained somewhat elusive. Recent advances in neuroscience have begun to uncover the brain's intricate architecture underlying imagination, showing it to be a multi-faceted process involving various regions and networks.

This shows the outline of a head and a sunset

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 29, 2023·5 min read

Focusing on Mental Imagery Helps Teens Break Free From Negativity

Negative rumination can be improved by using mental imagery for teens, a new study reports. Mental imagery appears to improve negative affect and helps regulate the nervous system, the researchers reported. While researchers were unable to answer why mental imagery was so effective, they hypothesised imagery is more immersive and requires greater effort, creating a greater emotional response and thus a larger distraction.

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imagination

Brain Decoder Translates Visual Thoughts Into Text

Your Brain Navigates Mental Maps Differently Than Real Ones

How the Brain Learns New Facts About Imaginary Worlds

How the Brain Tells Imagination from Reality, And When It Fails

Imagination Reduces Disgust More Than Placebo

AI Unlocks Secrets of Human Imagination and Memory Formation

How Imagination Fuels Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

Animals Imagine Too

The Mind’s Tapestry: Weaving the Neurological Threads of Imagination

Focusing on Mental Imagery Helps Teens Break Free From Negativity

Brain Stimulation Method Can Evaluate Consciousness in Alzheimer’s Disease

Early Intervention Helps Most Autistic Children Acquire Spoken Language

Brain Conductors Find Precise Connection to Target Cells via Protein Handshake

Multilingualism Calculator Reveals True Language Strengths

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