Summary: A new study demonstrated that dogs possess specialized neural networks for processing human facial expressions. The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning to analyze canine…
Category: Psychology
Why Psychedelics Make Everything Feel Deeply Connected
Summary: Researchers introduce “apical hypercontextualisation”—a bottom-up neurobiological mechanism explaining how psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT, mescaline) transform perception and cognition. Moving beyond macro-scale whole-brain neuroimaging, the framework focuses on the cellular…
Early Stress Heightens Adult Anxiety
Summary: Researchers uncovered a fundamental epigenetic mechanism explaining how early-life adversity permanently alters the brain’s stress response networks. The study identified that childhood trauma increases levels of the enzyme SETD7…
How Overconfidence and Loss Aversion Co-Evolved
Summary: Researchers propose an evolutionary resolution to why human overconfidence persists despite causing costly decision-making errors. The study argues that overconfidence functions analogously to a peacock’s tail: a costly evolutionary…
Depression Triggers Volume Loss in Memory Brain Areas
Summary: Researchers identified a specific structural brain change associated with depression in older adults. Examining high-resolution MRI scans from 2,009 cognitively unimpaired adults aged 50 to 90, the team discovered…
Nonordinary Experiences Lead to Long-Term Personal Growth
Summary: Researchers investigated how individuals perceive and process nonordinary experiences (NOEs), such as out-of-body experiences, extrasensory perception, and sensing an unseen presence. Utilizing a newly validated 47-item Inventory of Nonordinary…
Brain PET Scans Link Late-Onset Psychosis to Tau and Amyloid
Summary: A new study demonstrates that first-episode hallucinations and delusions appearing after age 40 are frequently driven by underlying neurodegenerative pathology. Using molecular positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, the team…
How Posture Boosts Risk-Taking and Positive Mood
Summary: A new study demonstrates that a person’s physical posture subtly influences their emotional state and economic decision-making without their conscious awareness. Key Facts Implicit Posture Control: Unlike previous “power…
Why Gaining Free Time Unexpectedly Makes People Late
Summary: A new study reveals that when individuals gain free time unexpectedly, their brains perceive that time as subjectively longer than expected, leading to behavioral delays and poor time management.…
Psychedelics and Ketamine Rewire Brain Immune Signals in Depression
Summary: A study uncovered a novel neuroimmune mechanism explaining how rapid-acting antidepressants, including ketamine and psychedelics, alleviate treatment-resistant depression. Despite acting on different initial neural receptors, these distinct fast-acting therapeutics…
