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…
Category: Life
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…
GLP podcast: Evolutionary mismatch. Is civilization wrecking our health?
There’s a dangerous mismatch between our biology and the tech-saturated world we inhabit—and it might be killing us. That’s the provocative thesis advanced by a coalition of evolutionary biologists who…
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…
Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa
Like a toy on a string, the timing of cat domestication has been a moving target. Now researchers have pounced on a new timeline suggesting that tame descendants of African…
Viewpoint: The U.S. has entered a dark period in public health, thank you Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
We expect [medical] breakthroughs to occur on a regular basis, and 2025 delivered; successful trials of gene therapies for diseases that have no treatments, for example, filled scientists and the…
Second-Hand Gifts Are Becoming the New Status Symbol
Summary: New research shows that buying second-hand gifts is typically a thoughtful, intentional decision rather than an impulsive one. Consumers are motivated by fair prices, the thrill of finding rare…
Valentina Alaasam | What is the “hidden cost” of abandonment to rock sparrow offspring? – Functional Ecologists
In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, we’re getting real about parenthood! From their recently published paper: “Mate desertion affects offspring survival, development and physiology in a songbird with multiple…
Study Challenges Myths About Self-Centeredness
Summary: A large international study of more than 45,000 people shows that narcissism is a universal personality trait—not one concentrated in any single country. Although nations differed somewhat, the five…
