Summary: Researchers have identified “nerd cells” that simultaneously encode speed, direction, and position. Source: University of Oslo Your brain can do trajectory calculations that rival those used by engineers. New research from the University of Oslo reveals a group of neurons capable of integrating speed, direction and position at the same time. Think about rushing … Read more

Summary: Researchers report that familiar voices are easier to understand than those of strangers, and this intelligibility advantage persists even when the familiar voice has been acoustically altered so that listeners no longer explicitly recognize who is speaking. Source: APS. Familiar voices are easier to understand, and this advantage remains even when listeners cannot consciously … Read more

Summary: In a surprising finding for auditory science, researchers report that AI-generated voice clones are noticeably easier to understand than the original human voices, particularly in noisy environments. The study showed that synthetic voice replicas created from as little as ten seconds of speech can be substantially more intelligible than the human talkers they were … Read more

Summary: A new Penn State study provides biological evidence that aggressive parenting changes a child’s capacity to manage stress. Testing the theory of “co-regulation,” researchers monitored mother–child pairs over a year with heart and breathing sensors to track how a parent’s physiological state influences a child’s stress response during challenging interactions. The study found that … Read more

Summary: New analyses of human and nonhuman primate populations provide fresh evidence supporting the invariant rate of ageing hypothesis and reinforce the conclusion that death remains inevitable. Source: University of Southern Denmark A multinational research team led by Fernando Colchero (University of Southern Denmark) and Susan Alberts (Duke University) analyzed extensive birth and death records … Read more

Children with Tourette Syndrome may unconsciously train their brains to better control tics, a University of Nottingham-led study has found. Researchers discovered that teenagers with Tourette Syndrome (TS) were slower than typically developing peers when performing a simple eye movement task that required them to look directly at targets. In contrast, when the task became … Read more

Summary: New research in adolescent female rodents suggests that use of anabolic steroids during adolescence can increase sensitivity to cocaine and may harm reproductive health, raising concerns about the risks of steroid use among teens. Source: APS Performance-enhancing steroid use could raise the risk of later cocaine use and addiction in adolescents and may impair … Read more

Area’s neurons then can re-map to make different decisions when circumstances change. Everyday choices — from picking a shirt or deciding what to order for lunch to selecting a robust red wine over a light white — require the brain to assign value to competing options. A small region of the brain, the orbitofrontal cortex … Read more

Summary: Using concepts from neuroscience and contemporary philosophy, a doctoral study explores the bodily and emotional sensations that arise when people read poetry and how those sensations influence interpretation. Source: Tallinn University Poems are not only objects of semantic interpretation; they frequently provoke immediate sensations and emotions that shape a reader’s experience and understanding. Kristiine … Read more

Summary: People with hyperphantasia—an unusually vivid capacity for mental imagery—show stronger functional connections between the brain’s visual processing network and decision-making regions. By contrast, people with aphantasia—who cannot form visual images—show weaker connectivity between these areas. Source: University of Exeter New research identifies distinct brain connectivity, memory, and personality features that differentiate people at opposite … Read more