Summary: Researchers have identified a brain function that could transform how schizophrenia is treated—by focusing on social inference, the ability to interpret social cues and intentions. The study found that…
Tag: social neuroscience
Social Brain: Neurons That Decide Who Wins and Who Yields
Summary: Researchers have pinpointed specific brain cells that control how animals react to social defeat, offering new insight into the biology of dominance and submission. In male mice, neurons in…
Income Inequality Reshapes Children’s Brains and Mental Health
Summary: A large-scale neuroimaging study of over 10,000 U.S. children reveals that income inequality in society is tied to structural and functional brain changes that predict poorer mental health outcomes.…
When Machines Become Our Moral Loophole
Summary: A large study across 13 experiments with over 8,000 participants shows that people are far more likely to act dishonestly when they can delegate tasks to AI rather than…
Brain Circuits Show Why Friends’ Lies Are Easier to Believe
Summary: Researchers explored how people process deception from friends versus strangers, using brain imaging to study decision-making in gain and loss contexts. Volunteers were more likely to believe lies in…
Aggression Is Contagious: Observing Violence Primes the Brain for Aggression
Summary: A new study shows that observing violence can make individuals more likely to act aggressively later, but the effect depends on familiarity. Male mice who watched familiar peers attack…
Music Sparks Social Imagination and Eases Loneliness
Summary: A large-scale study with 600 participants shows that music can genuinely evoke feelings of companionship by sparking social imagination. When participants listened to folk music, they imagined vivid social…
How the Brain Decodes Social Emotions and Anxiety
Summary: The anterior temporal lobe (ATL) plays a key role in interpreting social hierarchies and facial emotions, offering insight into anxiety and mood disorders. A research project used advanced imaging…
Child Maltreatment Accelerates Aging and Hinders Social Development
Summary: New research shows that childhood maltreatment leaves lasting biological and social scars. In a study of young children, those who experienced abuse showed accelerated cellular aging and reduced social…
Universally Cool: Personality Traits That Cross Cultural Lines
Summary: What makes someone “cool” appears to be remarkably consistent across cultures, according to a global psychology study. Researchers surveyed nearly 6,000 people from 13 countries and found that cool…
