Neuroscience
Insights into the biological foundations of consciousness and the human experience.
Level 1
Virtual avatars rewire body perception and ease trauma through brain plasticity
When people use virtual reality (VR) to embody avatars, such as taller, younger, or more muscular versions of themselves, their…
We create a false self in early life to meet external expectations and cope with childhood experiences – James Hollis
James Hollis explores the psychological and spiritual upheaval of midlife as a necessary and meaningful rite of passage. Drawing from…
Learning a second language early strengthens brain connections and efficiency
Learning a second language is linked to a more efficient brain network. A research team reports that people who speak…
Psychological abuse leaves real trauma effects
Psychological abuse and coercive control are linked to PTSD, depression, and measurable trauma-related brain changes. The evidence is strong, but it does not show identical or permanent damage in every survivor.
Learning multiple new skills can produce test scores comparable to adults 30 years younger
Older adults who learn multiple new skills simultaneously can achieve cognitive performance similar to adults 30 years younger. A UC Riverside study found that 3 months of intensive learning improved memory, attention, and cognitive control, with gains maintained up to one year later.
Level 2
Teen brain shifts toward new voices around age 13
A Stanford fMRI study suggests the teen brain becomes less uniquely tuned to a mother's voice and more responsive to unfamiliar voices around age 13. The finding fits normal social development, but it does not prove that teenagers stop listening to parents.
Why you suddenly spot something everywhere once it matters to you
The “frequency illusion”, also called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon The frequency illusion, also known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, occurs when something…
Benefits of forgetting: why memory sometimes lets go
Benefits of forgetting help the brain stay flexible. Learn how adaptive forgetting updates memories, protects focus, and why not every lapse is a loss.
Use your name, not I, to quiet your mind
When worry loops take over, it becomes harder to see problems clearly. A simple language shift can help. This method…
Sleep deprivation makes you angrier by disrupting brain control
New research confirms sleep deprivation triggers anger by disrupting the brain's ability to regulate emotions via the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
Oxytocin social bonding: vole study shows how love and loss change the brain
A review of oxytocin social bonding in prairie voles shows the hormone helps form pair bonds and that social loss disrupts oxytocin, causing depression.
Level 3
Fixing one gene’s activity reversed anxiety signs in mice
Researchers identified regular-firing neurons in the centrolateral amygdala that drive anxiety behaviors. Normalizing GRIK4 gene dosage in basolateral amygdala pyramidal cells reversed anxiety, depression, and social deficits in mice overexpressing the gene, suggesting a targeted treatment approach for anxiety disorders.
Amygdala circuit tweak clears anxiety signs in mice
A May 2025 iScience mouse study (online 13 May 2025; print issue 20 June 2025) reports that normalizing Grik4 in basolateral amygdala pyramidal cells reversed anxiety-like behavior, depression-like behavior, and social deficits in a transgenic model, while object recognition stayed impaired. In non-transgenic mice that were already highly anxious on screening, the same approach yielded only partial relief of anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze, not a broad reversal across domains. The work is preclinical and does not establish a human treatment.
Neurons employ multiple learning rules simultaneously
Brain learning involves multiple simultaneous synaptic rules, challenging traditional models New research reveals that the brain does not use a…
Childhood trauma linked to smaller hippocampus after romantic breakups
A new study links romantic breakups to smaller hippocampal brain volume in adults with childhood trauma, showing how early adversity heightens stress sensitivity.
Gamified app helps reduce depression by breaking ruminative thought loops
A new gamified app reduces depression by speeding up thought progression and breaking ruminative loops, a clinical trial finds.
The self might be an illusion or a quantum process, say experts
Sam Harris and Roger Penrose debate if the self is real. Harris calls it an illusion, while Penrose looks to quantum physics and split brains.