A team of neuroscientists at Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) have made an unexpected discovery about the way mice perceive warming sensations. It’s counterintuitive: cooling receptors in the skin are critical for the perception of warmth. The finding, recently published in the journal Neuron, challenges the predominant model of […]
Home »
Discovering biological mechanisms enabling pianists to achieve skillful fingering: Identifying factors linking to individual differences in skills
In Japan Science and Technology Agency’s Strategic Basic Research Programs, Dr. Masato Hirano of Sony Computer Science Laboratories and his colleagues discovered a sensorimotor function integration mechanism that enables the skillful fingering of pianists. The tactile sensation signaled by the skin and the proprioceptive sensation (deep sensation) signaled by muscles and joints are collectively called […]
Potential for ‘unpacking’ complex simultaneous emotions in adolescence
When faced with emotional challenges or traumatic experiences, we may well have different, mixed feelings both at the same time and sequentially. In adolescence, when complex emotions are experienced as part of everyday life, the effect of challenge or trauma combined with difficulty expressing emotional complexity can exacerbate a given situation and limit the communication […]
Scientists use phone movement to predict personality types: New research reveals how patterns of mobile phone movement say a lot about your personality type
RMIT University researchers have used data from mobile phone accelerometers — the tiny sensors tracking phone movement for step-counting and other apps — to predict people’s personalities. RMIT University computer scientist Associate Professor Flora Salim said previous studies had predicted personality types using phone call and messaging activity logs, but this study showed adding accelerometer […]
Area of brain linked to spatial awareness and planning also plays role in decision making
New research by neuroscientists at the University of Chicago shows that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), an area of the brain often associated with planning movements and spatial awareness, also plays a crucial role in making decisions about images in the field of view. “Traditionally this part of the brain has been thought to be […]
Many choices seems promising until you actually have to choose: UB research explains motivation factors contributing to choice overload
People faced with more options than they can effectively consider want to make a good decision, but feel they’re unable to do so, according to the results of a novel study from the University at Buffalo that used cardiovascular measures and fictional dating profiles to reach its conclusions. Despite the apparent opportunities presented by a […]
What’s causing your vertigo? Goggles may help with diagnosis
Vertigo is a form of severe dizziness that can result in a loss of balance, a feeling of falling, trouble walking or standing, or nausea. There is more than one type of vertigo, each with a different cause, and sometimes requiring different treatment. Now a proof-of-concept study has found that special goggles that measure eye […]
We are more envious of things that haven’t happened yet
We are more envious of someone else’s covetable experience before it happens than after it has passed, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Enviable events lose some power over us once those events are in our past,” says psychological scientist Ed O’Brien of the University of […]
Infants’ advances in speech processing play role in language-cognition link
A new Northwestern University study provides the first evidence that infants’ increasingly precise perceptual tuning to the sounds of their native language sets constraints on the range of human languages they will link to cognition. According to the researchers, this reveals that as early as 3 to 4 months, infants’ advances in speech processing play […]
GM seed use has exploded in India: Socially motivated decisions: Genetically modified seeds have exploded in India since the government liberalized the economy in the 1990s
Suicide rates among Indian farmers remain high, accounting for more than 12,500 deaths in the country in 2015, according to a government report. While many have blamed climate change for farmers’ distress, the issue is likely much more complex. After the Indian government liberalized the economy in the 1990s, the agricultural sector went through a […]