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Psychology

This shows two heads, one shows symbols of diminished rewards, the other an abundance of rewards.

·February 14, 2026·7 min read

How the Brain Distinguishes Instant Treats from Long-Term Triumphs

Is your brain chasing a reward or checking off a goal? Scientists have found a specific electrical signal that could explain why depression dulls pleasure and how to fix it.

This shows a diagram of a brain with the areas identified as part of the compulsion network highlighted.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 14, 2026·6 min read

Brain Signal Linked to OCD Compulsions Identified

A newly identified high-frequency brain signal in the frontal cortex appears to drive compulsive behaviors in OCD. In three severe cases, briefly disrupting this activity through targeted deep brain stimulation rapidly reduced symptoms, offering hope for more precise and responsive treatments.

This shows a couple in love with an overlay of neurons connecting them.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 14, 2026·5 min read

What Falling in Love Does to Your Brain

Falling in love activates the brain’s reward system much like food or addictive substances. Dopamine surges create euphoria and obsessive focus, while stress hormones intensify the experience. Meanwhile, brain regions tied to critical judgment quiet down, allowing emotional bonding to take precedence over skepticism. As relationships mature, bonding hormones reshape that initial spark into lasting attachment.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 13, 2026·8 min read

Antidepressants May Safeguard Against Preterm Birth Risks

Does treating depression with antidepressants during pregnancy harm the baby? A massive new study reveals that while SSRIs increase gestational diabetes risk, they also protect against preterm birth.

This shows a person looking at a cloud covered, digital head, symbolizing a human connection with AI chatbots.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 13, 2026·7 min read

When AI Becomes a Co-Author of Your Delusions

Generative AI doesn’t just hallucinate at us, it can shape how we hallucinate with it. By affirming and elaborating on users’ beliefs, conversational systems may help false narratives take root and grow.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 12, 2026·7 min read

Cognitive Illusion: Why AI Still Can’t Think Like a Human

Forget the hype about AI "solving" human cognition, new research suggests that the most advanced models may just be master test-takers rather than true thinkers. By uncovering a "glitch" in how AI processes instructions, scientists have revealed that the path to a truly general cognitive model is blocked by a lack of genuine language understanding.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·December 30, 2025·8 min read

Early Screen Time Linked to Long-Term Brain Changes, Teen Anxiety

New research following children for more than a decade links high screen exposure before age two to accelerated brain maturation, slower decision-making, and increased anxiety by adolescence. Infants with more screen time showed premature specialization in brain networks involved in visual processing and cognitive control, which later reduced flexibility during thinking tasks.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 29, 2025·7 min read

Doubting Your Doubts Can Boost Motivation

When people facing uncertainty about an important identity goal are nudged to question the validity of their own doubts, their commitment to that goal actually increases. The research demonstrates that inducing meta-cognitive doubt—doubt about one’s doubts—can flip ambivalence into renewed motivation.

This shows a person surrounded by lights.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·December 22, 2025·5 min read

Cues Can Hijack Decision Making in Some People

Some individuals rely heavily on visual and sound cues when making decisions, and this sensitivity can lead to persistent maladaptive choices. When cue–outcome associations shift, these individuals struggle to update their beliefs, continuing to follow outdated signals even when doing so becomes risky.

This shows faces expressing different emotions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 22, 2025·9 min read

Smiling Faces Trigger Mimicry, and Make Us Trust Them More

People instinctively mimic others’ facial expressions, but new research shows we do this far more with joyful faces than with sadness or anger—and that the intensity of mimicry predicts how much we trust someone. Across three experiments using EMG and behavioral tasks, participants copied smiles more readily and rated smiling individuals as more attractive, confident, and trustworthy.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 19, 2025·7 min read

Guilt and Shame Shape Behavior Through Separate Brain Pathways

uilt and shame arise from different cognitive triggers and rely on distinct neural systems to guide compensatory behavior. Using a controlled game that manipulated both harm and responsibility, researchers showed that guilt is more strongly driven by the severity of harm caused, while shame is more strongly shaped by how responsible someone feels for that harm. Guilt also more reliably translated into financial compensation, whereas shame required greater cognitive control to influence behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 19, 2025·4 min read

Emotional Stress Triggers Instant Arousal From Deep Sleep

A new study uncovers a precise brain pathway that rapidly converts emotional stress into sudden wakefulness during NREM sleep. Researchers found that GABAergic neurons in the BNST activate glutamatergic neurons in the DpMe, causing immediate arousal.