Summary: 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…
Category: Neuroscience
Doubting Your Doubts Can Boost Motivation
Summary: 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…
Engineered Protein Reveals Hidden Incoming Signals Between Neurons
Summary: Researchers have engineered a next-generation glutamate sensor, iGluSnFR4, capable of detecting the faintest incoming synaptic signals between neurons—signals that, until now, have been nearly impossible to record in living…
Working Nights May Increase Cancer Risk
Summary: Chronic circadian disruption — such as night-shift work, irregular schedules, or frequent jet lag — accelerates the development and spread of aggressive breast cancer. Researchers found that disrupted internal…
Consciousness May Require a New Kind of Computation
Summary: A new theoretical framework argues that the long-standing split between computational functionalism and biological naturalism misses how real brains actually compute. The authors propose “biological computationalism,” the idea that…
Cues Can Hijack Decision Making in Some People
Summary: 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…
Guilt and Shame Shape Behavior Through Separate Brain Pathways
Summary: Guilt 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…
Emotional Stress Triggers Instant Arousal From Deep Sleep
Summary: 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…
Depression Quietly Damages the Heart Through Stress Circuits
Summary: Depression and anxiety may heighten cardiovascular disease risk through chronic stress pathways in the brain and body. In a large analysis of more than 85,000 adults, those with depression…
