How do scientists study animal behavior? Discover how our methods have developed through the ages, and what we can learn about ourselves from studying other animals.
Studying Animal Behavior Through the Ages
Familiar Faces
How does the brain determine if someone is a friend or a stranger?
Why getting better at baseball might require just a little sleep
A new study found that activating memories through learning-associated sound cues during sleep improved the performance of a motor task
What are our brains doing when we see something scary?
Recent research found brain regions that may recognize a fearful place and lead to defensive behaviors.
Your brain on a bender
Oxytocin, the “love hormone”, may help to reduce excessive drinking
The Neuroscience of Skill
The delicate dance of building and breaking down that goes into learning a new skill
Octopi feel pain like you and I
New research shows that octopuses can have the negative emotional experience of pain
A circuit for social distance
New research finds a circuit in the brain that prevents social engagement with a sick partner
In Sync: The Neuroscience of Successful Communication
What is happening differently in our brains when conversations click versus when they don’t?
Why Does Sex Feel So Good?
What makes sex feel so good? What about it keeps our brains and bodies wanting more?
Parenting across species
Similarities and differences in dog-owner and child-parent relationships
Get a Grip
Humans rely on visual representation of hands to grasp and use tools
Brain Fog and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Brain fog is a common symptom of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but what causes altered brain function, and could this be happening in patients infected with COVID-19?
A Calming Presence
How do social interactions help us through stress?
Am I Hearing Things?
For the first time, researchers can study auditory hallucinations in mice
Brain Maps
Special cells in the brain help you navigate your world
Can a high sugar diet change how you taste?
A recent study found that consumption of a high sugar diet had lasting effects on sweet taste perception.
Out with the old and in with the new? Navigating the explore-exploit trade-off
How do we decide when to try something new and when to stick with what we know?
Forgetting, remembering, and stress
How is memory affected by stress? It all comes down to timing.
The Neuroscience of Narcolepsy
Loss of one type of neuron can throw sleep transitions into chaos
The Benefits of Gift Giving
Does giving a gift actually make you happier?
A Bug’s Life
How do ants know their roles in a colony?
Scary movies and haunted houses: understanding the fear and fun paradox
Researchers found that there is a “just-right” amount of enjoyable fear
Echo, Echo
Humans and bats use similar strategies to localize sounds
No pain… a lot to gain
Can anesthesia lead us to better pain killers?
I Got It From My Mama: Maternal Microbes Support Brain Development of Her Offspring
New research in mice shows how gut microbes affect the brain, even before birth.
Masters of Disguise
How swinging a bat and camouflage are more similar than you think
Timing Is Everything
Even the best athletes can’t escape the effects of the brain’s central clock
French Fries or Side Salad?
New research sheds light on why dieting is so challenging
Go-karts, for science?
Sometimes, creativity is king when studying animal behavior
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