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perception

·April 10, 2025·5 min read

Lip Size Shapes Beauty Perception, Preferences Differ by Gender

New research reveals that lip size significantly influences how people perceive facial attractiveness, and these perceptions vary based on gender and exposure. Female participants preferred plumper lips on female faces, while males preferred natural lip size, suggesting gendered beauty standards.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 7, 2025·4 min read

Babies Can Sense Their Own Heartbeat as Early as 3 Months Old

A new study reveals that infants as young as three months can perceive their own heartbeat, and their awareness of breathing develops during the second year of life. This early body awareness is closely linked to emotional development, identity, and interactions with caregivers.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 3, 2025·6 min read

Key Brain Gateway to Conscious Perception Identified

A new study using intracranial recordings in humans reveals that the thalamus, particularly its higher-order regions, plays a central role in triggering conscious perception. By monitoring brain activity during a visual task, researchers found that the intralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei activated before the prefrontal cortex, suggesting the thalamus initiates conscious awareness.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 16, 2025·4 min read

How Our Brains Perceive Body Weight Differs From Objects

Research reveals that how we perceive the size and weight of body parts, such as hands, differs from our perception of objects. For objects, smaller items feel heavier than larger ones with the same weight—a phenomenon known as the size-weight illusion.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·December 6, 2024·4 min read

How the Brain Sorts Noise from Signal to Maintain Stable Perception

New research reveals how the brain separates internally generated noise from sensory signals, ensuring stable perception. The study shows that in lower visual areas, spontaneous brain activity and stimulus-evoked responses are similar, but in higher cortical areas, they become increasingly independent, a process known as orthogonalization.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 7, 2024·5 min read

Child Signals: Vocal Cues Shape Adult Perceptions

Human children depend on caregivers for extended periods, employing complex vocal and cognitive cues to elicit adult attention and care. Recent research shows that adults prioritize vocal cues when assessing children's emotions and perceived helplessness, while cognitive cues weigh more in evaluating intelligence.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 17, 2024·4 min read

Gut Bacteria Influence Fairness Perception

A new study finds that manipulating gut bacteria through probiotic and prebiotic supplements can increase altruistic punishment behavior in humans. Participants receiving supplements were more likely to reject unfair offers in a money-sharing game, suggesting a link between gut microbiota composition and social decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 13, 2024·4 min read

Exercise Warps Time Perception

People perceive time as moving slower when they are exercising compared to resting or post-exercise. The research involved participants undergoing a time perception task during different cycling conditions, including solo and competitive scenarios.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 10, 2024·7 min read

Brain Flexibility: Neurons Multitask to Shape Perception and Action

A new study explains how the brain balances flexibility with focus through "mixed selectivity" in neurons. This mechanism allows neurons to participate in multiple computational tasks simultaneously, thus enhancing cognitive flexibility.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 8, 2024·4 min read

How Artists’ Reputations Affect Art Perception

Researchers conducted a neurocognitive study revealing that negative information about an artist alters how their artwork is perceived and evaluated, regardless of the artist's fame. Participants assessed artworks before and after being exposed to negative or neutral biographical details about the artists, with results showing that negative knowledge influenced not only the emotional response but also the perceived quality of the artworks.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 29, 2024·6 min read

Age Influences Perception of Self-Presentation

Age significantly impacts how self-presentation, or manipulating others' evaluations of oneself, is perceived, particularly in the context of the protagonist's usual performance. Their study, involving elementary school children and adults, revealed that perceptions of honesty, modesty, and character are nuanced by the protagonist's typical behavior, suggesting that false statements are viewed more negatively as children grow older.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·March 12, 2024·6 min read

Hallucinations Enhance Social Number Misjudgment

Hallucinations, particularly presence hallucinations often experienced by individuals with Parkinson's disease, can lead to an increased overestimation of social numbers, such as the number of people in a room. This phenomenon does not extend to inanimate objects like boxes, underscoring the social nature of this overcounting.