Neuroimaging study reveals those with psychopathy have a 10% larger striatum than non-psychopaths. Researchers say the increased size of the striatum, a brain area associated with cognitive and social functions, may account for a higher likelihood of impulsive behaviors and increased need for stimulation often associated with psychopathy. Additionally, researchers suggest there may be an element of heredity in the neural anatomy, adding support to the neurodevelopmental perspective of psychopathy.
When parents are physically together, they have higher similar responses in prefrontal cortex activity to the sound of their infant crying than when they were physically separated.
Transplanting gut microbiota from older mice to younger germ-free mice increased hippocampal neurogenesis and intestinal growth.
Mothers who reported higher levels of parental stress had less synchrony in brain activity with their young children than moms who were more stress-free. The findings shed new light on how parental stress can impact the mother-child relationship on a day-to-day basis.
A new study reveals impulsive behaviors may be triggered when dopamine passes from the amygdala to the BNST.