Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute – Change perception, change your world | Chen Institute

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 […]