The social behaviors of humans and animals often unfold over two distinct phases, namely a motivational and an action phase. The first of these phases entails instinctual and reward-seeking mental states, characterized by sexual or aggressive drives to perform...
Previous neuroscience studies suggest that transient increases in brain dopamine are critical signals for learning about reward, and the motivation to obtain more rewards. Researchers at University of California San Francisco carried out a study exploring transient...
In their everyday lives, humans often weigh the value of different options and decide how to act based on this mental evaluation. This process, known as value-based decision-making, has been the topic of numerous studies rooted in psychology, neuroscience and economics.
Recent technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly advanced systems and devices for measuring brain activity in both research and medical settings. A concept that has been widely explored and yet not effectively realized is that of collecting...
The somatosensory cortex is a brain region known to play a role in the detection of tactile information, changes in temperature, and pain sensations. Some recent studies found that this crucial brain region is also involved in the human ability to learn and retain new...
Surveys and statistics suggest that mental illnesses are becoming increasingly widespread, as the number of people worldwide accessing mental health services has increased in recent years. Understanding the factors that can predict well-being and contribute to the...
Past psychology studies have found that on average, older adults tend to view the world in a more positive light than younger adults. People in their 30s to 50s, in fact, often display a negativity bias, which essentially means that they are more prone to remember...
Sleep is known to play a key role in facilitating various physiological processes, while also contributing to the healthy functioning of the brain. Lack of sleep and poor sleep quality have been linked to various chronic health and mental health issues, including high...
Fasting, the voluntary abstention from eating and sometimes drinking for a set time, has become increasingly widespread, as some studies have found that it could boost the immune system and help prevent the development of some diseases. There are now several...
In their daily lives, humans can encounter many situations that can put them at a varying degree of risk, or in other words, situations in which their choices can increase or decrease the possibility that an adverse event will occur. In these situations, different...