Research on why people act as they do. Covers self-processing across primates, substance use, weight-loss behavior, and nicotine seeking.
Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy, a Northwestern University neurobiologist, has been awarded a $750,000 Beckman Young Investigator grant to discover how chemical neuromodulatory systems work together to support complex behaviors. The award supports her research on using optical microscopy techniques and classical neuroscience technologies.
A new study reveals that middle-aged drivers use their cellphones regularly while driving, even with children present, and feel pressured to answer work calls. The researchers found that interventions targeting companies can train employees to reduce distracted driving.
A new study found that employees with a racially diverse group of friends outside of work tend to have a more racially diverse network of friends on the job and exhibit more helpful behavior towards their co-workers. This broader network was linked to increased trust in supervisors who also had a diverse friend network.
Researchers discovered apes can perform voluntary behaviors that require control over vocalization and breathing, such as blowing raspberries or mimicking phone conversations. This finding suggests the evolutionary groundwork for human speech was present in our last common ancestor with gorillas around 10 million years ago.
Researchers developed a tool enabling art directors to control computer programs using verbal descriptors like 'silky' and 'wrinkly'. The system improved the process of creating garments with desired properties, reducing laborious tweaking of technical parameters.
Scientists capture subtle eyelid motions and create plausible folding and stretching in areas not directly captured during data collection. The method improves photorealistic actors for films by accurately determining the location of wrinkles and predicting their change based on eye region history.
Research finds that men who become dads before age 25 have poorer health and die earlier than those who delay fatherhood. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, used a nationally representative sample of over 30,500 men to track their mortality rates from age 45 until death or age 54.
Researchers found that early life stress can alter gut microbiota, leading to anxiety and depression-like behavior. Transplanting stressed mice with altered bacteria into germ-free mice showed the bacteria's impact on host behavior, highlighting the complex interaction between gut microbiota and its host.
Researchers found that mosquitoes primarily use smell to detect CO2 plumes from 10-50 meters away, then switch to visual cues as they get closer. Visual and thermal sensory information are combined to create a spatial map of the host's location, allowing mosquitoes to pinpoint their target.
Indoor tanning rates declined significantly among US adults from 2010 to 2013, with notable decreases in younger age groups and certain health conditions. The decrease is attributed to increased awareness of indoor tanning's harms, including its link to cancer risk.
The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior announced its 2015 Best Article and Great Educational Material (GEM) awards, recognizing authors who developed effective interventions to improve fruit and vegetable consumption among children. The winning article and GEM focused on healthy baby food safety curriculum.
A study by the University of Leicester reveals that a thermosensory gene called TrpA1 is linked to changes in behavior in flies during warmer climates. The research suggests that this gene plays a crucial role in regulating the biological clock, which is essential for controlling circadian rhythms.
A new UCLA study uses brain scans to identify patients with OCD who are more likely to relapse after cognitive-behavioral therapy. The research found that brain connectivity before treatment can predict worsening symptoms after treatment.
Researchers found that three- and five-year-old children are just as likely to respond to the needs of another individual as they are to their own. This suggests a core component of a sense of justice based on empathy, which is central to human prosociality and punishment.
Researchers will study how individual variation and behavioral plasticity impact group performance, with both human subjects and bees completing collaborative tasks.
The University of California, Davis has awarded a total of $2 million to five interdisciplinary teams to explore high-impact discoveries in brain science. The funding will enable researchers to conduct preliminary experiments and develop compelling data to support applications for Brain Initiative awards.
Research finds that BPA exposure reduces maternal and paternal care in mice, with females adjusting their behavior based on male partner's exposure. The study suggests potential human implications for social, emotional, and cognitive development.
A study by Kansas State University researchers found that genes can influence leadership in the workplace, with both positive and negative effects. People with a certain allele of the dopamine transporter gene were more likely to engage in mild rule-breaking behavior, which is positively associated with leadership. However, those with ...
A new Caltech study reports that fruit flies display emotion primitives analogous to fear, including valence, persistence, scalability, trans-situationality, and context generalization. The researchers used a fear-inducing stimulus to track the flies' responses, finding that they exhibited these primitive states in their behavior.
A multinational study found that children with a consistent bedtime routine had better sleep outcomes, including earlier bedtimes and increased sleep duration. The positive impact of bedtime routines on sleep increases with consistency and age, making it a simple yet effective step for families to improve their child's sleep.
A recent study published by the British Psychological Society found that children in families where fathers feel unsupported by their partners exhibit more troublesome behavior. In contrast, mothers' perceptions of support from their partners do not seem to impact their child's behavior.
Researchers have discovered that green tea extract and exercise can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mice, potentially reversing its effects. The study found that mice with Alzheimer's symptoms exhibited improved cognitive function and retention after receiving the compound EGCG and exercising.
Scientists have discovered that uncertainty in causal relationships is the main factor in determining one-shot learning. The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex evaluates such uncertainty and activates one-shot learning when needed. This finding could lead to new approaches for helping people learn more efficiently.
Research reveals that children aged 14 and younger are treated in US emergency rooms for playground-related injuries over 200,000 times annually. When caregivers are distracted by electronic devices, including cell phones, their children are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors on the playground.
A UBC study reveals that individuals with an hourly wage mindset are less likely to undertake eco-friendly behaviors that require only a few seconds or minutes of extra effort. Researchers recommend equating environmental behavior with self-interest and adjusting billing practices to promote sustainability.
Researchers found that men donate four times more to an attractive female fundraiser in response to another male's contribution, suggesting a subconscious competitive helping behavior. To improve fundraising success, seed campaigns with larger donations early and make fundraisers smile.
Researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum propose a new model for emotion recognition, suggesting that humans can directly recognize emotions through pattern recognition. Even with sparse clues, humans can identify typical emotion patterns, including physiological reactions and facial expressions.
Researchers found that activity in the medial prefrontal cortex monitors what's happening outside current focus of attention and shifts to a better strategy. The study used MRI scans to track volunteers' brains while they played a game with hidden patterns, revealing specific signals corresponding to color changes.
A new study finds that high-fat diets produce changes in gut microbiome, leading to altered behavior and cognitive function. Mice with high-fat diet-induced gut microbiota showed increased anxiety, impaired memory, and signs of brain inflammation.
A small imaging study suggests prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may harm children's brains, leading to slower processing speeds and behavioral issues like ADHD symptoms. The study found reduced white matter surface on the left side of the brain associated with these outcomes.
Dr. Carlos Busso's groundbreaking research on audiovisual emotion recognition has been recognized with a 10-Year Technical Impact Award. The study demonstrated the benefits of using both speech and facial recognition modalities to improve emotion classification, with applications in medical, entertainment, and security fields.
A study by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers has found a biological clue that may help explain why some drinkers develop a dependence on alcohol. The discovery could lead to the development of more effective drugs to combat alcoholism.
Middle-aged adults who show sustained concern for others are more likely to construe their lives as stories of personal redemption. Redemption narratives sustain hope that sacrifices today may produce future dividends, helping generative adults persevere in promoting the well-being of future generations.
Researchers found that neurons in our brains react to time-sensitive information by favoring alternating patterns over repeating ones. This biases can impact medical decision-making and machine learning, highlighting the need for smarter programming and interfaces.
Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered how a fruit fly's brain represents temperature, mapping it neuron by neuron. The study reveals three types of neurons that respond to hot, cold, or both temperatures, converging in the brain to create a cohesive response.
Joslin researchers find insulin resistance in brain cells may lead to behavioral disorders like anxiety and depression, with potential therapeutic implications for treating these conditions. The study suggests that correcting the metabolic changes could help alleviate symptoms.
Scientists developed a mathematical law for pedestrian interactions based on time until collision, revealing consistent patterns in crowd behavior. The model can be used to predict potential dangers in sporting events and festivals, as well as improve public space design.
A new study by University of Vermont researcher David Jones found that job ads focusing on what employers can provide to applicants, such as work autonomy and career advancement, attract more highly rated applicants. These ads received almost three times as many high-quality applications as those emphasizing demands-abilities fit.
A new study by UC Santa Cruz researchers found that female pumas kill more prey but eat less when their territories overlap with human development. The presence of humans leads pumas to abandon kills before consuming them, resulting in high energy costs and food loss.
Researchers at Berkeley and UMass developed a new algorithm that enables autonomous systems to deal with uncertainty, allowing robots like PR2 to perform tasks without specific knowledge of what needs to be done. The framework combines several planning paradigms and optimizes them for efficient execution on modern hardware.
Despite growing interest, there is a lack of studies showing cannabis benefits in children with autism and ADHD. Regular marijuana use can have harmful effects on developing brains, increasing the risk of addiction and mental health problems.
Researchers at UNC School of Medicine used new deep-brain imaging techniques to link individual neuron activity patterns to specific behaviors in mice. The study found that nearly identical neurons had separate functions, with some activated during searching for food and others during consumption.
Research found that both adult children and aging parents identify stubbornness in the other, with individual and relationship-based factors linked to perceptions. The study suggests a need for intervention to increase understanding and provides insights for practitioners on how to address stubborn behaviors.
Forensic entomologists have discovered that scorpionflies and noctuid caterpillars interact with human cadavers, offering new insights into decomposition ecology. These findings may assist in determining postmortem intervals and interpreting postmortem artefacts.
A study by University of Missouri and Lehigh University researchers discovered that job seekers with learning goal orientation are more successful in achieving career goals. Individuals with this disposition tend to react to failures by intensifying their search process, while those with low LGO decrease intensity. The study suggests t...
A study published in PNAS found that individuals with prosopagnosia can still recognize human movements, engaging different brain mechanisms. The research team used point-light displays to test patients with brain damage preventing facial recognition, revealing a neural process for comprehending actions independent of the actor.
Disney Research creates a method for automatically reviewing nighttime giraffe behavior videos and creating a summary of unusual behaviors. The system can detect rare events in real-time, allowing wildlife experts to better understand giraffe health and safety.
Recent studies using brain imaging show promise in predicting future behaviors such as reading performance, math skills, criminality, and response to treatment. The technology may help identify individuals at high risk of failure, allowing for early interventions and prevention strategies.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a driver model that can predict steering movements up to 95% accurately. This breakthrough may lead to safer car systems, including anti-skid and fatigue detection systems.
Research suggests that generosity in children requires a deliberate thought process, unlike automatic moral evaluation. Brain activity studies found that only later reappraisal of moral scenes predicts actual generosity in young children. This insight may help parents foster generosity in kids this holiday season.
Research suggests that talking to babies and naming things in their world can help them make connections between what they see and hear. Training with individual-level labels in infancy leads to long lasting learning effects that generalize from the trained images to human faces.
Researchers found that givers tend to choose specific gift cards that recipients may not prefer. To avoid this, consider focusing on what recipients want rather than who they are. This approach can lead to more versatile gift cards being chosen, resulting in better redemption rates.
A new study by the University of Georgia found that public servants are motivated to contribute to environmental causes through discretionary eco-friendly initiatives. The researchers identified three key drivers of these behaviors: public service motivation, organizational commitment, and environmental connectedness.
A University of British Columbia study found that limiting email checks to three times a day can significantly reduce psychological stress. Participants who checked their email less often reported feeling less stressed compared to those who checked it more frequently.
A Vanderbilt University study suggests replenishing 2-AG levels in the brain could alleviate mood and anxiety disorders. By restoring normal levels of 2-AG, researchers may have found a potential therapeutic strategy for treating depression and anxiety.
A neural pathway in the habenula enables animals to predict dangers and update their expectations based on actions and new outcomes. The study's findings have implications for understanding anxiety and panic disorders, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for improving behavioral learning.
Researchers developed an algorithm that enables tracking of people across moving and still cameras by learning the differences between camera views. The technology has applications in security, surveillance, and marketing, but raises concerns about privacy.
A systematic review found that theory-based interventions were beneficial for vegetable intake only, with limited overall effects. The authors recommend future research examining the causality and strength of relationships between theoretical variables and dietary change behaviors.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that a single neuron in C. elegans can regulate both speed and direction of movement, routing information through multiple downstream neural circuits. This fundamental biological mechanism has implications for understanding human brain function.
Researchers used 3D laser scanning to study the only known complete dodo skeleton, revealing new details on its behavior, size, and evolution. The study provides insights into how the flightless dodo may have evolved its giant size and locomotor mode.