The human brain is highly skilled at detecting patterns in the world and using this information to predict future events. This ability to anticipate events is also reflected in how we experience music, precisely in our ability to intuitively anticipate what will come...
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Meta-analysis of past research unveils distinct patterns in infant looking behavior
Human infants have limited motor capabilities, which prevents them from accessing and exploring all parts of their surrounding environment, and also makes them difficult research participants to study. However, infants do learn about and explore the world by looking;...
Novel visualization method helps make sense of large neuronal activity datasets
Recent technological advances opened exciting possibilities for neuroscience, enabling the collection of increasingly detailed neural data. Making sense of the large number of neural recordings gathered by neuroscientists worldwide, however, has so far proved more...
Highly detailed reconstruction of human brain connectivity includes dozens of brainstem nuclei
Recent technological advances are allowing neuroscientists to map the human brain with increasing precision, highlighting connections between different regions and their function in greater depth. While the role of many brain regions has been broadly identified, the...
Human study provides evidence that theta phase precession supports memory formation and retrieval
Past neuroscience research has pinpointed many of the neural processes through which the human brain forms, stores and retrieves important information, such as domain-specific knowledge and memories. One dimension of human memory is the ability to link various aspects...
Study explores how acoustic elements influence perceptions of music being out of tune
When we listen to a song or musical performance, out-of-tune singers or instruments are generally perceived as unpleasant for listeners. While it is well-established that mistuning can reduce the enjoyment of music, the processes influencing how humans perceive...
New behavioral signature could help quantify the value that people attribute to specific interpersonal relationships
During their lives, humans and other mammals tend to bond in different ways with others. Psychological theories suggest that individual humans attribute varying values to their social experiences, yet the values they assign to specific interpersonal relationships have...
Vagus nerve stimulation enhances perceptual learning in mice, study suggests
Recent neuroscience studies have been investigating how the stimulation of some nerves, particularly the vagus nerve, using electrical pulses affects neural activity in the mammalian brain. The vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the human body, is known to play...
A histone post-translational modification linked to lifelong susceptibility to stress in mice
Chemical changes to histones, the proteins that help to pack and organize DNA inside cells, play a key role in determining what genes will be consistently activated over the course of an animal or human's life. Past studies have shed light on some chemical alterations...
Neural signatures commonly observed when humans make choices can also reflect choice-independent processes
Past neuroscience research has identified patterns in neural activity typically observed when humans are engaged in value-based decision-making. This is the process through which humans choose between options that could be linked to different costs and rewards,...