Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain In lonely people, the boundary between real friends and favorite fictional characters gets blurred in the part of the brain that is active when thinking about…
Tag: neuroscience
Mood Dips During Pill Pause
Summary: Research reveals that women’s mood can decline during the 7-day pill-free interval of contraceptive cycles. The study evaluated the mental health of long-term pill users and found heightened anxiety…
Rising Temperatures Show Climate’s Hidden Impact on Substance Use
Summary: A new study reveals a direct correlation between elevated temperatures and increased hospital visits due to alcohol and substance disorders. Not only does this shed light on unforeseen implications…
ChatGPT’s Choices: Overload or Overjoyed? Decoding Decision Dynamics
Summary: Researchers delved into how ChatGPT influences user decision-making, focusing on the ‘choice overload’ phenomenon. This condition emerges when an individual is overwhelmed by numerous options, often leading to decision…
fMRI scans may improve diagnosis of sports-related concussion
Aron Barbey is backdropped by an fMRI machine at the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, which he now directs after recently joining the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Credit: Craig Chandler…
How new software is changing our understanding of human brain development
A team including researchers at the University of Washington compared MRIs from 300 babies using new software to compare their brains’ white matter and discovered that myelin, a part of…
Jamais Vu: When the Familiar Turns Eerily New
Summary: Repetition in the brain gives rise to two peculiar phenomena: déjà vu and its lesser-known counterpart, jamais vu. The latter makes familiar experiences feel eerily new and unsettling. Recent…
The role of the locus coeruleus, a ‘blue spot’ linked to sleep
Credit: Human Brain Project Researchers at the University of Liège (BE) Institute are using ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI to provide a better understanding of how sleep is regulated. We’ve…
Upside Down World: Unique View Offers Clues to Face Recognition
Summary: Claudio’s unique head orientation—rotated nearly 180 degrees—allowed researchers to explore the evolutionary and experiential factors in face recognition. While most people struggle to recognize inverted faces, Claudio’s distinct vantage…
