Neuroscientists and psychologists have been trying for decades to better understand how humans make decisions, in the hope to devise more effective interventions to promote healthy and beneficial lifestyle choices. Two brain regions that have been linked to...
Fluctuations in the hormones secreted by women's ovaries, namely estrogen and progesterone, are known to cause mood swings. For instance, at different points of the menstrual cycle, during or after pregnancy and while reaching menopause, women can experience lethargy,...
For decades, neuroscientists have been trying to better understand how humans learn behaviors and flexibly adapt to new situations or real-world challenges. While humans and other mammals are acquiring new behaviors, neural circuits in their brain are known to...
High levels of stress are known to contribute to the development of many psychiatric and medical conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, hypertension, and heart disease. Past case studies suggest that psychiatric disorders linked to stress exposure can...
Changes in a person's "normal" mental state after taking drugs, while meditating, during hypnosis or due to specific medical conditions have been a topic of study for several years now. Some of these mental changes, which are known as altered states of consciousness,...
Astrocytes are a type of glial cell in the central nervous system that clear excess neurotransmitters, promote the formation of synapses (i.e., connections between neurons), and perform other functions. The development of astrocytes, like that of other glial cells, is...
Obesity has been linked to numerous health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes. Identifying neural processes underpinning excessive eating and obesity could thus have notable implications for global...
The CA1 is a region of the hippocampus known to support the formation, consolidation and retrieval of memories. In recent years, neuroscientists have been trying to better understand how populations of neurons in the CA1 hippocampus encode places and objects.
Meditation practices can often positively influence the lives of practitioners, for instance, improving their emotional well-being, reducing stress levels and increasing their focus on daily activities. While some meditators practice in silence without any external...
The cerebellum, a region at the back of the brain under the cerebral cortex, has been found to support movement and muscle control, as well as memory, learning and other mental functions. Some neuroscience studies have hypothesized that the cerebellum refines the...