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Neurotransmitter Buildup May Be Why Your Brain Feels Tired
Neurotransmitter Buildup May Be Why Your Brain Feels Tired
Performing complex cognitive tasks leads to glutamate accumulating in a key region of the brain, a study finds, which could explain why mental labor is so exhausting.
Performing complex cognitive tasks leads to glutamate accumulating in a key region of the brain, a study finds, which could explain why mental labor is so exhausting.
cognitive science, neuroscience
Are You Smarter Than Your Dog?
The Scientist | Jan 11, 2021 | 1 min read
Check out the optical illusion that researchers put before canines, finding that fido and master have opposite reactions.
A Dog’s View of Optical Illusions
Catherine Offord | Jan 1, 2021 | 10 min read
Researchers are using visual tricks to try to better understand canine perception.
Contributors
Aggie Mika | Oct 1, 2017 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the October 2017 issue of The Scientist.
Pigeons Can Switch Tasks More Quickly than Humans
Jef Akst | Sep 27, 2017 | 2 min read
The birds’ ability to multitask may be attributable to a more densely packed cerebral cortex, scientists propose.
How Microbes May Influence Our Behavior
Amy Lewis | Sep 1, 2017 | 4 min read
Researchers are piecing together the links between the gut microbiome and mental health.
Rats that Run Have Better Memory
Jef Akst | Aug 14, 2017 | 3 min read
Male rodents given access to a running wheel early in life show increased neural activity and improved memory as adults.
Mysterious Brain Waves May Connect REM Sleep with Visual Experiences
Phil Jaekl | Jul 16, 2017 | 3 min read
New methods could propel investigation of neural “PGO” wave patterns that may underlie critical aspects of visual experience, dreaming, and even psychosis.
The Evolutionary Roots of Instinct
Becca Cudmore | Jul 16, 2017 | 4 min read
Did behaviors that seem ingrained become fixed through epigenetic mechanisms and ancestral learning?
John Iversen Explores our Perception of Musical Rhythm
Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan | Mar 1, 2017 | 3 min read
At the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, the researcher studies the neurobiology of music perception.
Meeting BRAMS
The Scientist | Feb 28, 2017 | 1 min read
Visit the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, located in Montreal, to see the research seeking to decipher humans’ relationship to music.
Birds Have Skills Previously Described as “Uniquely Human”
Jef Akst | Dec 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Scientists are enlisting the help of pigeons, parrots, crows, jays, and other species to disprove the notion that human cognitive abilities are beyond those of other animals.
How Type 2 Diabetes Affects the Brain
Mallory Locklear | Jul 20, 2016 | 3 min read
The results of studies on humans and zebrafish suggest how hyperglycemia can cause cognitive deficits.
Book Excerpt from Wondrous Truths
J.D. Trout | May 31, 2016 | 4 min read
In Chapter 2 author J.D. Trout highlights the dividing line between truth and scientific “fact.”
Thoughts Derailed
Tanya Lewis | Apr 18, 2016 | 2 min read
The same brain mechanism by which surprising events interrupt movements may also be involved in disrupting cognition, according to a study.
Visualizing Interpersonal Connection
Tanya Lewis | Apr 4, 2016 | 4 min read
People are attracted to others whose emotions they feel they can easily understand, according to a neuroimaging study.
Go To Bed!
Kerry Grens | Mar 1, 2016 | 10+ min read
The immediate consequences of losing out on sleep may be harbingers of long-term repercussions.
Rat Race
Molly Sharlach | Dec 31, 2014 | 1 min read
Neuroscientist Anthony Zador explains why he uses rats to understand auditory attention in the brain.
One Fish, Two Fish
Kerry Grens | Oct 1, 2014 | 4 min read
Despite a lack of vision, a blind cavefish can count. Sort of.
Joeanna Arthur: Charting a Path
Kate Yandell | Oct 1, 2014 | 3 min read
Project Scientist, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Age: 32