Evolution
Cricket Avoids Being Bat Food by Doing Nothing
The sword-tailed cricket can discern bats’ echolocation signals by only responding to calls of a certain volume—at which point it plummets out of their approach.
Neuroscience2842 articles archived since 1845
Biology
Sparrow Song Undergoes Key Change
White-throated sparrows made a change to their familiar call that quickly spread across Canada.
Neuroscience
How Human Brains Are Different: It Has a Lot to Do with the Connections
Different mammals demonstrate common patterns in brain connections. But our own species has a few twists of its own
Cognition
Why Do Smells Trigger Memories?
Your sense of smell may be a better memory trigger than your sense of sight. Here's why a whiff of apple pie may instantly transport you home in your mind
Fitness
Is Brain Stimulation the Key to Athletic Performance?
I wore a fancy set of headphones during every workout for two weeks to see if it could help me improve my cycling. And it worked (I think) through a concept called neuropriming
Fitness
How Nature Helps Body and Soul
Journalist and author Florence Williams talks about her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative.
Neuroscience
Can Mindfulness Ease Childbirth Pain? A Neuroscientist Says Yes
Is mindfulness helpful for women and their partners during childbirth? We talked with neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center about the transformative practice of mindful body scan meditation...
Neuroscience
Switch in Mouse Brain Induces a Deep Slumber Similar to Hibernation
If such a snooze button exists in humans, it could protect against strokes, heart attacks and trauma
Neuroscience
Not the End of the Chase
The illusion game is still afoot
Neuroscience
Music Synchronizes the Brains of Performers and Their Audience
The more people enjoy music, the more similar their brain activity is to that of the musician
Behavior
Your Brain, Free Will and the Law
Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky talks about human behavior, the penal system and the question of free will.
Cognition
What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about the Brain
A close brush can leave a lasting mental legacy—and may tell us about how the mind functions under extreme conditions
Biotech
Blind People Could ‘See’ Letters That Scientists Drew on Their Brains with Electricity
Scientists stimulated the brain using electrodes implanted on its surface
Cognition
Marijuana May Not Lower Your IQ
Rigorous new studies should be able to settle the matter
Chemistry
Virus-Infected Bees Practice Social Distancing
Bees infected with a virus cut back on interactions within their hive but find it easier to get past sentries at neighboring hives.
Neuroscience
Five Types of Research, Underexplored until Recently, Could Produce Alzheimer’s Treatments
Research into the brain’s protein-disposal systems, electrical activity and three other areas looks promising
Neuroscience
Red-Winged Blackbirds Understand Yellow Warbler Alarms
Researchers studying yellow warbler responses to the parasitic cowbird realized that red-winged blackbirds were eavesdropping on the calls and reacting to them, too.
Cognition
“Event” Cells in the Brain Help Organize Memory into Meaningful Segments
Neurons in the hippocampus categorize what we experience into abstract, discrete events, such as taking a walk versus having lunch
Behavior
The Loneliness of the “Social Distancer” Triggers Brain Cravings Akin to Hunger
A study on isolation’s neural underpinnings implies many may feel literally “starved” for contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Evolution
City Birds: Big-Brained with Few Offspring or Small-Brained with a Lot
To make it in urban areas, birds tend to be either large-brained and able to produce few offspring or small-brained and extremely fertile. In natural habitats, most birds brains are of average size...
