Mindfulness practices are meditative exercises that encourage people to bring their awareness to what they are experiencing in the present moment, while trying not to interpret or judge these experiences. Studies have found that these practices can have numerous...
Psychology & Psychiatry
Exploring what happens in the brain under the influence of psychedelics, while meditating and during hypnosis
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,...
Exploring the use of robots to guide loving-kindness and walking meditation practices
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...
Mindfulness meditation could mitigate the adverse effects of fatigue on emotional processing
Fatigue, which can be defined as lacking energy and the motivation to do things during the day, is a very common symptom that most humans will experience at least once in their life. While it is sometimes linked to medical conditions, in most cases it is caused by...
Fearful memories of pain stored in the prefrontal cortex could shape the experience of pain later in life
While pain and fear are very different experiences, past studies showed that they can sometimes be closely related to one another. For instance, when many animals and humans are in dangerous or life-threatening situations, acute fear can suppress their perception of...
Study shows that thinking hard about complex problems results in distinct facial muscle movement patterns
Psychology theories suggest that humans tend to primarily invest significant mental resources on problems that will reward them for their efforts. More specifically, they propose that before they start thinking in great depth about a problem, humans ponder on whether...
A neural pathway involved in separating and selectively sorting through social information
Humans are innately able to separate information regarding others in their social circle depending on their needs and what they are looking for. For instance, they might contact a friend who is a lawyer if they need advice with a legal matter or contact an empathetic...
A neural circuit that suppresses male aggression when an opponent is physically advantaged
For decades, neuroscientists have been trying to understand the neural mechanisms underpinning different social behaviors, including aggression. Aggressive, violent, or confrontational behaviors are common among humans and many animal species, yet the neural processes...
A framework characterizing the cardio-behavioral responses associated with fear and anxiety
Anxiety disorders are becoming increasingly common, with estimates suggesting that almost one in three people in the U.S. will experience high levels of anxiety at some point in their life. Anxiety is essentially a feeling of unease, worry or psychological discomfort,...
Using deep learning to detect depression from speech
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have achieved promising results on numerous tasks and could soon assist professionals in various settings. In recent years, computer scientists have been exploring the potential of these tools for detecting signs of different...