Speed-reading apps for phones and tablets work by eliminating the time we supposedly waste moving our eyes as we read. But new research published in Psychological Sciencesuggests that the eye movements we make during reading actually play a vital role in our ability to understand what we’re reading. “Our findings show that eye movements are […]
Neuroscientists say that the brains of autistic children generate significantly more information in a resting state, a discovery that helps explain the most typical characteristic of autism – withdrawal into one’s own inner world. The researchers, from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Toronto, have published their intriguing findings in the journal Frontiers […]
Previous studies have shown that meditation can trigger changes in the brain and body but the biological mechanism for these effects has remained a mystery. Now, in the journalPsychoneuroendocrinology, researchers are reporting the first evidence of specific molecular changes in the body following a period of meditation. The new work, by researchers in the U.S., […]
Scientists studying brain connectivity have found striking differences in the neural wiring of men and women that lends credence to some commonly-held beliefs about gender traits and behaviors. The new research is detailed in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. The study, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, found greater neural connectivity […]
In work that could change the way we think about how neural circuitry functions in the brain, scientists have shown that dendrites, long thought to be passive wiring in the brain, actually process information. “Suddenly, it’s as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought,” said study author […]
The Toxoplasma gondii parasite’s ability to hijack the mammalian brain is well documented, but in an intriguing twist, scientists say that the effects from infection may be permanent. The parasite is best known for making infected mice lose their fear of cats, which is good for both cats and the parasite, because the cat gets […]
Behavioral abnormalities are traditionally thought to originate in the brain, but researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that inner-ear dysfunction can directly cause neurological disorders such as hyperactivity. Their intriguing study, published inScience, implicates two brain proteins that could be targets for novel interventions. “Our study provides the first evidence that […]
Appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience, a new University of California – Santa Barbara study reveals why under certain circumstances paying full attention and trying hard can actually impede performance. The study’s lead author, Taraz Lee, explained that there are two kinds of memory: implicit, long-term memory not requiring conscious thought and expressed by means […]
The idea that researchers can unravel different brain functions by performing MRI scans while subjects perform tasks is deeply flawed, say Case Western Reserve University scientists in a scathing critique of recent high profile studies that rely on neuroimaging. The new work calls into question the findings from recent diverse experiments that have linked different […]
Brain-training companies claim scientific studies back the effectiveness of their programs, but according to a new report, most studies like these have a critical flaw – they do not account for the placebo effect. The new report appears in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. The researchers behind the critique, from the University of Illinois […]
