neuroscience, animal behavior

In Chapter 1, “The Science of Animal Dreams,” author David M. Peña-Guzmán relays the history of researchers digging into the mental realities of nonhuman brains.

Research shows that humans aren’t the only animals whose imaginations run wild while they sleep.

In a citizen science project, thousands of pet dogs are helping scientists to understand what happens to memory and cognition in old age.

Bottlenose dolphins can recall trivial details of a prior event to later solve a novel task, a study finds, suggesting these mammals are capable of episodic memory.

And how do scientists go about answering that question?

Researchers report molecular evidence of traumatic brain injury in headbutting animals, but other experts aren’t convinced.

Selected images from the-scientist.com

Signals from sweeteners and sugars are relayed from the gut to the brain by different neural pathways, a new study concludes.

A study finds that the odorless compound hexadecanal, or HEX, increases aggressive behavior in women but has a calming effect on men.

In Chapter 1, “On Being,” author Antonio Damasio outlines the dawn of consciousness.

The idea that minds and consciousness might be generated by the nervous system alone is false.

The Columbia University neuroscientist researches the biology behind some of our most human experiences, including building family relationships. 

The cephalopods resisted temptation for up to 130 seconds to earn their favorite food, hinting at sophisticated cognitive abilities such as planning for the future.

Pets asked by their owners to pick up an object attached to a mat they were sitting on understood they needed to move in order to complete the task, researchers report.

Directing an object on a screen to a target provided a tasty reward.

The animals adopt the emotional state of their cagemates, and the parts of the brain engaged during the process are different for pain and fear, according to a new study.

Check out the optical illusion that researchers put before canines, finding that fido and master have opposite reactions.

Researchers are using visual tricks to try to better understand canine perception.

Researchers use optical illusions to investigate canine perception.

Their ability to distinguish between individuals is strong evidence for fast mapping, a learning tool generally thought to belong only to humans.