Caltech researchers have quantified the speed of human thought: a rate of 10 bits per second. However, our bodies’ sensory systems gather data about our environments at a rate of a trillion bits per second, which is 100 million times faster than our thought processes. This new study raises major new avenues of exploration for […]

The autonomic nervous system orchestrates the functions of internal organs such as the heart and gut, serving as a connection between the brain and the rest of the body. It is classified in two divisions—the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, often described as the body’s accelerator and brake, respectively. For example, the sympathetic nervous system activates […]

Credit: AI-generated image courtesy of Aditya Nair A series of three papers from neuroscientist David J. Anderson’s laboratory, two in the journal Nature and one in the journal Cell, reveal new insights into the neural signals underlying internal emotional states including aggression and sexual arousal. The studies show that the state of aggression in male […]

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide with one-third of cases being treatment resistant. Symptom heterogeneity suggests variability across affected brain networks, prompting efforts to personalize circuit-based neuromodulatory interventions. For example, personalized deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been achieved by selecting different treatment targets based on phenotypes or mapping stimulation responses. […]

In 2022, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Dean Mobbs began to investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health and well-being. As his research program ramps up to test brain activity and physiological markers of stress during social media use, Mobbs and his colleagues, postdocs Swati Pandita, Ketika Garg, and Jiajin Zhang, have constructed […]

One of the most effective means of investigating and understanding autism is eye tracking. Participants are shown photos or videos, and computer software records where their gaze rests. Autistic individuals are more likely to focus on nonsocial aspects of an image, such as objects or background patterns, while neurotypical subjects have an increased propensity to […]

Throughout the animal kingdom, several species have the ability to regenerate body parts after cuts or damage. Lizards can regrow their tails, salamanders can regrow arms and legs, certain flatworms can even regrow their entire heads. But humans do not have the ability to regenerate damaged body parts. Why? To answer this question, researchers first […]

In a new study researchers report that psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, temporarily scrambles a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking such as daydreaming and remembering. People who consume psilocybin-containing mushrooms—otherwise known as magic mushrooms—typically undergo a surreal experience in which their sense of space, time and self is distorted. […]

Imagine you are in the middle of an unknown town. Even if your surroundings are initially unfamiliar, you can explore around and eventually create a mental map of your environment—where the buildings, streets, signs, and so on are in relation to one another. This ability to construct spatial maps in the brain is the basis […]

Diet affects our health by influencing body fat and the risk of developing heart and metabolic diseases. The gut microbiome, which includes various microorganisms living in our intestines, plays a crucial role in this diet-health connection. While much research has focused on gut bacteria, the role of other microorganisms, like Blastocystis, hasn’t been studied as […]