Brain/Neuroscience
Viewpoint: Did this philosopher disprove evolutionary psychology? ‘No—certainly not’
Subrena Smith, an assistant professor of philosophy at The University of New Hampshire, has made a bold claim in the ...
Challenging evolutionary psychology: Philosopher attacks the field’s underlying scientific foundation
It’s not often that a paper attempts to take down an entire field. Yet, this past January, that’s precisely what ...
Viewpoint: Time to stop thinking of testosterone as a ‘magic male molecule’
Aggression is not correlated with high levels of testosterone ...
Drinking and smoking ‘of any level’ while pregnant may harm baby’s development, study says
If you're stressed or wanting to enjoy virtual happy hour with friends while pregnant, having a glass of wine every ...
‘This is what it feels like to be normal’: Experimental stem cell treatment shows promise against Parkinson’s
[Researchers planned] to carry out an experimental transplant surgery unprecedented in the annals of medicine: replacing the dysfunctional brain cells ...
Zapping the brain with electrical pulses allows blind patients to ‘see’ letters
Scientists sent patterns of electricity coursing across people’s brains, coaxing their brains to see letters that weren’t there. The experiment ...
How do dogs focus on key odors, while tuning out the rest?
“The question that we sought out to study here is, ‘how does [a] dog suppress this uninformative signal [such as] ...
False memories: Why marijuana users may not be the best eye witnesses
When Lilian Kloft stumbled across a 2015 study showing a connection between cannabis use and susceptibility to false memories, she ...
Does smoking pot lower your IQ? New study challenges current thinking
As access to marijuana increases—and while acceptance of the drug grows and perception of its harmfulness diminishes—it is important to ...
‘Psychobiotics’: Can we control the way we think by altering gut bacteria?
The allure is simple: Drug development for neuropsychiatric disorders has lagged for decades, and many existing drugs don’t work for ...
Why were these 1,000-year-old skulls shaped like ‘sci-fi aliens’?
Tight wrapping in childhood produced deliberately deformed skulls ...
‘Skin hunger’: That burning desire for human contact supercharged by the coronavirus pandemic
Once a week, Alice, who lives alone, walks to the end of her garden to meet her best friend Lucy ...
‘A radical idea’: Could a single factor be responsible for all mental illnesses?
What are the roots of mental illness? In the hope of finding an answer, scientists have piled up an enormous ...
Menopause might be a tipping point for Alzheimer’s for millions of women
Estrogen is the master regulator of metabolism in the youthful female brain, orchestrating everything from glucose transport and uptake to ...
Overcoming fear: Understanding DNA ‘flexibility’ could lead to better treatments for phobias and PTSD
Fear is an important survival mechanism and so too is the ability to inhibit fear when it’s no longer needed ...
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s with artificial intelligence and brain scans
In recent years, scientists and clinicians have focused their attention toward machine-learning artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help them diagnose ...
‘Profound consequences’: Autistic people unable to tune out distractions, study suggests
Autistic people have atypical activity in a part of the brain that regulates attention, according to a new study. The ...
Can we boost human memory by tweaking the microbiome?
A new study is among the first to trace the molecular connections between genetics, the gut microbiome and memory in ...
Why girls with ADHD aren’t being diagnosed
Anxiety. Depression. School failure. Self-harm. Unemployment. Unplanned pregnancies. Even an increased risk of early death. The risks and toll of ...
‘Cartoonishly oversimplistic’: Researchers rethinking amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer’s
[Experts are] divided about whether treating amyloid buildup—long thought to be the best target for an Alzheimer's therapy—is still a ...
Is this brain-controlled prosthetic arm—with the sensation of touch—the future of prosthetics?
[T]hree years ago, [electrician Rickard] Normark received a new kind of brain-controlled prosthetic that was surgically attached to the bone, ...
Biological marker for autism in babies could lead to earlier therapy and better development
A small study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine has identified a biological marker in the cerebrospinal fluid ...
Do rising carbon dioxide levels dampen our ability to think and make decisions?
As the 21st century progresses, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations will cause urban and indoor levels of the gas ...
How to use your brain to keep food cravings from turning into eating
Many believe that cravings are caused by low blood sugar, or that the body lacks certain other nutrients. In the ...
Shedding light on ‘bizarre’ 1930s procedure in which doctors injected malaria into human brains
A new paper in a neurosurgery journal sheds light on one of the most bizarre and shocking medical procedures ever ...
Is there a difference in the way men and women perceive and react to emotions?
Social cognition includes the ability to represent other people's intentions and beliefs, and the ability to share and recognise the ...
Why do people trust ‘gut instinct’ even when it’s not the smart choice?
When faced with a decision, people may know which choice gives them the best chance of success, but still take ...
Seeking mainstream acceptance for psychedelic drugs: Will entrepreneurs ruin it for everyone else?
After spending decades as highly illegal and restricted substances, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD, MDMA, DMT, and other psychedelic drugs are ...
