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social neuroscience

·April 13, 2025·4 min read

Shared Meals Strongly Linked to Greater Happiness, Study Finds

New research in the World Happiness Report reveals that people who regularly share meals with others tend to be happier and more emotionally satisfied, regardless of age, culture, or background.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 27, 2025·3 min read

Stronger Bonds Before Birth Shape Healthier Mother-Child Futures

A new study reveals that young mothers who feel emotionally connected to their unborn babies are more likely to form healthy, positive relationships with their children later. Researchers tracked 160 racially diverse, low-income mothers from pregnancy to their child’s toddler years, showing that prenatal bonding plays a key role in early childhood development.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 12, 2025·5 min read

Brains Use Social Shortcuts to Master Complex Group Dynamics

New research reveals that our brains simplify complex social interactions by using basic mental "building blocks" or shortcuts. Researchers scanned the brains of people playing a simple team game and observed how participants kept track of interactions with both teammates and opponents.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 11, 2025·5 min read

Eating Seafood Linked to Kinder, More Socially Skilled Young Children

Children who regularly eat seafood at age 7 exhibit more positive social behaviors—such as sharing, helping, and interacting kindly—by ages 7 and 9, compared to those who rarely consume seafood. This finding, from a large study tracking nearly 6,000 children, underscores seafood’s role in supporting behavioral and social development during childhood.

This shows people connected in a network.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 29, 2025·5 min read

How Large Social Circles Foster Trust

A new study challenges the belief that larger groups reduce cooperation, showing instead that flexible social connections enhance teamwork. Researchers found that in a prisoner’s dilemma game, participants in bigger groups cooperated more frequently, despite memory limitations.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 17, 2025·6 min read

Do Accents Influence Guilt Perceptions?

Accents influence perceptions of guilt, with those judged as "lower status" being considered more likely to commit crimes. Researchers analyzed responses from 180 participants who rated voices from 10 UK accents on social traits and likelihood of certain behaviors, including crimes.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 16, 2025·5 min read

Decoding Favoritism: How Parents Shape Sibling Bonds

New research sheds light on how parents subtly favor children based on birth order, personality, and gender, shaping family dynamics. Younger siblings often receive more favorable treatment, while older siblings are granted greater autonomy.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 9, 2025·5 min read

Neural Mechanisms Behind Stress-Driven Social Changes Found

Male and female mice usually prefer female companions but switch to preferring males under survival stress, a new study reveals. This behavioral shift is driven by distinct brain circuits involving dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area.

This shows the outline of a head surrounded by people.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 6, 2025·5 min read

Social Connections Key to Borderline Personality Disorder Therapy

Loneliness plays a central role in borderline personality disorder (BPD) and often persists even when clinical symptoms subside. Current treatments, such as dialectical behavior therapy, fail to fully address social integration, which is crucial for long-term recovery.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 6, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Blends Senses to Understand Social Cues

New research reveals how smell and hearing interact in the brain during maternal behaviors like pup retrieval in mice. Signals from the basal amygdala (BA) merge with auditory inputs in the auditory cortex (AC), influencing responses to social sounds.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 27, 2024·4 min read

Oxytocin Influences Social Behavior and Emotional Response

New research reveals how oxytocin profoundly influences social behavior and emotional responses in the brain. Animal models have shown how this hormone impacts social fear and how chronic stress or early life experiences shape behavioral patterns.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·December 9, 2024·6 min read

Why Autistic Children View Faces Differently

Children with autism exhibit distinct eye movement patterns when viewing faces, particularly in the initial stages of visual processing. A new study found that autistic children are more likely to use an exploratory eye movement pattern, focusing on broader areas rather than immediately fixating on facial features. This behavior may be linked to reduced visual sensitivity to social cues and is associated with autism-related challenges in social communication.