Summary: Why do individuals with alcohol use disorders often prioritize drinking over meaningful social connections? A new study identifies a specific brain region—the anterior insula—as a key driver of this…
Tag: SfN
Stroke Weakens How the Brain Integrates Speech Sounds
Summary: A new study comparing stroke survivors with healthy adults reveals that post-stroke language disorders stem not from slower hearing but from weaker integration of speech sounds. While patients detected…
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…
Nicotine Withdrawal Makes Smokers More Sensitive to Pain
Summary: A new study shows that abstinent smokers experience heightened pain sensitivity linked to altered activity in specific brain regions. Compared to nonsmokers, abstinent smokers required more postoperative pain relief—especially…
Stress-Like Behaviors Traced to a Single ATP Circuit in the Brain
Summary: New research reveals that reduced ATP signaling in the hippocampus plays a causal role in both depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. In stressed male mice, ATP levels and the ATP-releasing…
Psychedelic ‘Ego Death’ Tied to a Collapse in Alpha Brain Waves
Summary: A new study using DMT as a scientific tool reveals how psychedelics alter the brain’s alpha-wave dynamics and weaken our sense of self. The researchers found that DMT pushes…
Brain Circuit Found to Shape Risk and Impulse Differently by Sex
Summary: Researchers exploring risky decision-making in rats found that a specific reward-related neural circuit influences impulsivity and risk-taking in complex ways that depend on timing and biological sex. Manipulating the…
Triggered Hypothermia Protects the Brain After Injury
Summary: Scientists have discovered a way to induce a hibernation-like state that protects the brain after injury—without using external cooling. By activating a specific population of neurons, researchers created a…
