Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Head direction cells act like internal compasses to help the birds navigate during long flights.
Illustration of a baboon standing on all fours, facing right, with a reddish-brown coat and a pink patch on its hindquarters—an awe-inspiring member of the animal kingdom.
Awe is a powerful force, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.
John Templeton Foundation
“At that time, it was just a wild idea, [...] that instead of just a loss of consciousness, anesthetics may do something to the brain that actually turns pain off.”
zuranolone
Zuranolone might help people feel better sooner than if they were relying on standard treatment alone.
Close up of an ant on the ground.
Two aspects of memory – fast updating and long lasting – are typically considered incompatible, yet the insects combined them.
Happiness study
3mins
Why studying happiness is good for your “psychological immune system,” explained by Harvard “happiness professor” Tal Ben-Sharar.
The human brain is only the latest chapter in the ancient story of thinking on Earth.
MIT neuroscientists have identified a population of neurons in the human brain that respond to singing but not other types of music.
Kids' underdeveloped brains seem to help them acquire new languages with little effort.
post-stroke dementia
Researchers look to an FDA-approved drug ingredient that can "scoop-up" and store cholesterol and possibly stave off post-stroke dementia.
Near death experiences
The first recorded brain activity of a person during their death suggests a biological trigger for near-death experiences.
miracle berry
Bite into a miracle berry and you'll perceive intense sweetness — but only after you eat something acidic, too.
choking under pressure
Choking under pressure seems to have deep evolutionary roots.
painkillers
Painkillers have nasty side effects, such as organ damage or addiction. Researchers have discovered a new drug that may cause none of these.
microdosing psilocybin
Ingesting tiny doses of hallucinogens might not have the outsized benefits that some people claim it does.
A frog swimming.
Scientists looked for ways to trigger the “build whatever normally was here” signal for cells at the site of a wound.
How much we enjoy a conversation can all be a matter of timing — specifically, how long it takes us to respond to what was just said.
7mins
It’s not a glitch in the matrix. It’s not the Mandela effect. There’s actually a scientific reason you remember things wrong.
strength
Get stronger in only three seconds per day? New research shows that it is possible.
Whenever you're surprised, there's a good chance that your brain is busy tweaking your memories.
wordle
Wordle activates both the language and logic parts of our brain and give us a nice boost of dopamine, whether we win or lose.
Why does creative flow feel so good?
Flow occurs when a task’s challenge is balanced with one’s skill.
ultrasound ocd
OCD and addiction may result in part from improper “reward” pathways in the brain. Ultrasound can disrupt those pathways.
place cells
Your brain is remarkably good at mapping out physical spaces — even if it's an imaginary space like Hogwarts. But how does the brain do it?
A person stands in front of a large face, peering into an oversized monocle held by a giant hand, as if searching for traces of free will within the magnified gaze.
5mins
Philosophers have been making the claim that free will is an illusion for hundreds of years. Dr. Uri Maoz shares what modern neuroscience has to say about it.
John Templeton Foundation
personality tests
The first personality tests revolved around assessing people’s reactions to ambiguous and often unsettling images. Today, the gold standard is a barrage of questions.
Stendhal syndrome
People who visit Florence seem strangely susceptible to Stendhal syndrome, which is blamed on an overwhelming sense of awe.
From boosting empathy to improving therapy, virtual reality is poised to change our ideas of the self.