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·November 19, 2024·6 min read

Brain Models Reveal How We Process Life’s Small Surprises

Researchers trained computer models to predict everyday events, revealing that responding to uncertainty, rather than just prediction errors, improved understanding. This challenges the idea that surprises alone drive event comprehension and suggests the brain may use dual mechanisms.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 19, 2024·8 min read

Public Trust in Scientists Grows with Intellectual Humility

Research shows that scientists who exhibit intellectual humility—admitting their knowledge may be incomplete—earn greater public trust. Across five studies, participants rated intellectually humble scientists as more trustworthy and were more likely to believe their findings on polarizing topics like climate change and vaccinations.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 19, 2024·5 min read

Early-Onset Diabetes Linked to Increased Dementia Risk

New research reveals that individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at a younger age face a higher risk of developing dementia, particularly those with obesity. The study found that for each year earlier type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, dementia risk increases by 1.9%.

This shows an AI representation of a cell.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·November 19, 2024·6 min read

Single Cells Exhibit Learning Behaviors

A new study suggests that individual cells may exhibit learning-like behaviors, previously thought exclusive to organisms with nervous systems. Researchers used computational modeling to show how biochemical circuits within cells adapt to repeated stimuli, mimicking habituation—a simple form of learning.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 19, 2024·4 min read

Birth Spurs a Surge in Brain Connectivity

Brain imaging of fetuses and infants reveals a rapid increase in functional brain connectivity at birth, aiding adaptation to the external world. Researchers observed distinct growth patterns, with subcortical, sensorimotor, and superior frontal regions undergoing major reorganizations.

This shows an illustration of a robot, a tree and people.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 19, 2024·4 min read

How AI Could Shape Human Evolution in Subtle Yet Profound Ways

Artificial intelligence is becoming a pivotal force in human lives, prompting questions about its evolutionary effects. A new study explores how AI may influence human evolution through everyday interactions, likening human-AI dynamics to ecological relationships such as predation or competition. Potential evolutionary shifts include changes in brain size, attention spans, personality traits, and social behaviors, particularly through AI's impact on relationships and decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 19, 2024·5 min read

How Hunter-Gatherer Kids Learn Lifelong Skills by Age Six

Hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin learn critical skills like hunting, gathering, and childcare by age six or seven, thanks to a unique social learning environment. Unlike Western societies, where learning is primarily parent- or teacher-centered, these children gain knowledge from parents, peers, extended family, and unrelated adults within their small, egalitarian communities.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 19, 2024·6 min read

Breath and Emotion Connected by Newly Identified Brain Circuit

Researchers have identified a specific brain circuit that allows voluntary control of breathing, linking it to emotional and behavioral states. This circuit, spanning the anterior cingulate cortex, pons, and medulla, slows breathing during calm states and accelerates it under anxiety. Experiments in mice showed activating this circuit reduced anxiety, while shutting it off increased stress.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 19, 2024·5 min read

How to Make and Break Habits Using Neuroscience

Researchers have developed a framework for understanding and changing habits by leveraging the brain's automatic and goal-directed systems. Habits form when automatic responses overpower conscious control, leading to both everyday action slips and compulsive behaviors.

This shows a woman eating in a small cell.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 18, 2024·4 min read

Confined Spaces Change How We Smell and Experience Food

Researchers found that confined environments, like the International Space Station, alter the way people perceive food aromas, with emotions significantly coloring their responses. Using virtual reality to simulate space conditions, participants reported stronger smells for most aromas, except lemongrass, compared to a microgravity posture.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·November 18, 2024·4 min read

Repurposed Multiple Sclerosis Drug May Improve Memory

Fampridine, used for improving walking in multiple sclerosis, may also enhance working memory in individuals with schizophrenia or depression. A study found that the drug significantly improved working memory in participants with initially poor performance, but had no effect on those with strong baseline memory.

This shows the monkeys trying to solve a problem.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 18, 2024·4 min read

Social Tolerance Fuels Learning in Wild Capuchin Monkeys

Wild bearded capuchins use social learning to solve problems, influenced by social tolerance and group dynamics. Researchers observed the monkeys interacting with a puzzle-box and found that grooming partners and tolerant individuals were more likely to learn from each other.