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UC Berkeley

This shows a representation of a cave painting.

·December 14, 2024·10 min read

Humans and Neanderthals Interbred 47,000 Years Ago

New research refines the timeline of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals, showing it began about 50,500 years ago and lasted roughly 7,000 years. This gene flow left non-African populations with 1-2% Neanderthal ancestry, contributing beneficial traits like immune resilience and skin pigmentation.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 12, 2024·6 min read

Do Animals Really Understand Fairness?

New research challenges the idea that animals share humans’ sense of fairness, suggesting their reactions to unequal rewards stem from unmet expectations rather than inequity aversion. In the largest meta-analysis to date, researchers reanalyzed data from 23 studies across 18 species and found no strong evidence of jealousy or fairness aversion in animals.

This shows a drawing of kids using computers.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 11, 2024·5 min read

Helping Kids Fact-Check in the Age of Misinformation

New research suggests exposing children to limited misinformation online can improve their skepticism and fact-checking abilities. By encountering controlled false claims, children develop critical thinking skills essential for navigating the digital world. In a study, children exposed to unreliable information became more diligent fact-checkers compared to those in more accurate environments. Researchers argue that equipping kids with online literacy skills is more effective than shielding them from all misinformation.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 14, 2024·6 min read

Amplifying Stereotypes: The Lasting Impact of Gender Bias in Images

Visual content on platforms like Google Images reinforces gender stereotypes more strongly than textual content. This pioneering study indicates that online images not only display a stronger bias towards men but also leave a more lasting psychological impact compared to text, with effects still notable after three days.

Neuroscience

·August 30, 2023·7 min read

Bats Navigate Social Life with Brain’s GPS

Bats use the same neurons for social navigation as they do for spatial navigation. The study involved wireless neural recording and imaging of groups of Egyptian fruit bats flying in a large room.

This shows a woman in headphones surrounded by musical notes.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos

·August 21, 2023·7 min read

Decoding Music from the Mind

Researchers played Pink Floyd's “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1,” to patients, recording the brain's electrical activity. The objective was to reconstruct what the patients were hearing.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 19, 2023·8 min read

Unraveling the Puzzle of Consciousness: Key Brain Region Discovered

Researchers have potentially identified a brain region where images are retained during our conscious perception, a significant step towards understanding consciousness. This breakthrough study focuses on the phenomenon of unilateral neglect, where stroke victims lose conscious awareness of half of their perceived surroundings, despite being able to react emotionally to the full scene.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 8, 2023·7 min read

How Deep Sleep Brain Waves Can Impact Blood Sugar Levels

Deep-sleep brain waves could be a significant factor in regulating blood sugar. The research shows that a combination of sleep spindles and slow waves can predict an increase in insulin sensitivity, subsequently lowering glucose levels.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 4, 2023·8 min read

Sleeping Deeply to Remember Better: Deep Sleep Could Reduce Memory Loss in Alzheimer’s

Deep sleep, also known as non-REM slow-wave sleep, may help reduce memory loss in older adults facing a heightened burden of Alzheimer’s disease. The research indicates that superior amounts of deep sleep can act as a protective factor against memory decline in those with existing high amounts of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, potentially helping to alleviate some of dementia’s most devastating outcomes.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 3, 2023·6 min read

Listen and Learn: AI Systems Process Speech Signals Like Human Brains

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can process signals similar to how the brain interprets speech, potentially helping to explain how AI systems operate. Scientists used electrodes on participants' heads to measure brain waves while they listened to a single syllable and compared that brain activity to an AI system trained to learn English, finding that the shapes were remarkably similar, which could aid in the development of increasingly powerful systems.

This is a cartoon of a man and woman in a disagreement

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 17, 2023·5 min read

Why We Disagree So Often

People tend to significantly overestimate how many other people hold the same conceptual beliefs of objects, events, people, concepts, and words as they do.