Loneliness is not something trivial to ignore; it is an important health issue at the heart of emotional distress syndromes. A growing body of research is illuminating the evolutionary roots of loneliness and how those feelings interact with our social environment. In a new study, researchers found that lonely people’s brains perceive social threats automatically […]
Archives for 2015
Devil is in the Details: Specific Planning Leads to Unique Brain Activity
In our daily lives, we are all constantly setting goals, whether to go to the gym more or to save up for a vacation. In creating goals, some people more specifically outline the steps to get there than others. Those different approaches to planning engage different structures in the brain, according to a new study, […]
Genetic Effects on Cognition are Stronger as We Age
No two people age the same way. Some become stereotypically absent-minded while others remain just as cognitively sharp as their younger counterparts. Shaping these differences in behavior is a complicated interplay between genes and lifestyle. A growing body of research is teasing out the relative roles of genetics and lifestyle factors in cognition in old […]
How We Map Our Bodies from Infancy
I recently found myself in a touch tunnel at a science museum. Basically in pitch darkness in a box, I had to feel my way through a maze of turns. As I did so, I found myself often thinking about my arms’ position relative to not just the tunnel but to each other and the rest of […]
How We Sharpen Attention on the Fly in Response to Incentives
A simple trip to the grocery store can be an exercise in trying to keep your attention focused on a task. You may have a list of items you need to buy but have a constant barrage of sale signs and displays enticing you to reward yourself. How do these incentives affect our attention? A […]
Judgments of Competence Affect Anticipation of Pain
Picking a new dentist or doctor can be harrowing experience. Internet reviews and word of mouth may help, but oftentimes it comes down to first impressions, maybe even just a photo online. A new study shows that these impressions of people’s competence actually affect our anticipation of pain. “The goal of this study was to […]
Distinguishing Consonant Sounds in Noise Predicts Reading Ability in Preschoolers
When babies are born, they undergo a hearing test with a simple little machine. What if one day that test could also predict how well a child will be able to read and identify those children early may need extra help? A new study has taken a crucial first step toward that possibility. In PLOS […]
Patterns of Brain Activity Match Vividness of Memories
Pixar’s Inside Out portrays memories as glowing individual spheres that we replay in our minds like a movie on a projector screen. But in real life, neuroscientists have found that memories are not compartmentalized into perfect little bubbles; they are represented over a largely distributed set of brain regions. And the same brain regions at […]
Evidence from Tone Deafness: Limiting Musical Exposure Can Deteriorate the Auditory System
Often thought of in pop culture as a funny quirk (think: Cameron Diaz singing karaoke in My Best Friend’s Wedding), tone deafness is actually a brain disorder. Whereas most of us derive great pleasure from music, someone who is tone deaf may hear music as a noisy din and may even avoid situations where music […]
Creating a Bigger Bubble: What Happens When People Invade Our Personal Space
It’s a hot summer day and you are crammed onto a commuter train. So you may take measures to cope with the uncomfortable closeness of strangers: Perhaps you put in earbuds or read a book, or perhaps you just avoid eye contact and turn away. All of these actions change how we focus our attention […]
