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Scientist hunched over a lab workbench in exhaustion
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.
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 neuroscience

Illustration of brain activity
Same Parts of the Brain Control Processing of Dozens of Languages
Andy Carstens | Jul 21, 2022 | 4 min read
While much is known about how the brains of English speakers process language, research has neglected people who speak other languages. The Scientist spoke with one of the authors of a study that seeks to change that.
Contributors
The Scientist Staff | May 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the May 2020 issue of The Scientist.
A section of a mouse piriform cortex, a layered structure important for smell processing
Image of the Day: Smell Circuits
Nicoletta Lanese | Jul 24, 2019 | 1 min read
The brain wiring behind scent processing seems to scale across mammalian species.
neurological brain speech
Computers Extract Disease Clues from Speech
Jef Akst | May 1, 2019 | 4 min read
AI models can pick up subtle alterations in linguistic and vocal attributes of spoken language that may be indicative of failing health.
Fetal Marijuana Exposure Stunts Rat Cognitive Performance
Jef Akst | Nov 5, 2018 | 2 min read
Offspring of rats exposed to vaporized cannabis had difficulty switching strategies to get a sugar reward, according to a study presented at the Society for Neuroscience conference.

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.
Meet An Artist With No Hands
Kerry Grens | Jun 1, 2016 | 4 min read
The brain can compensate for missing body parts, allowing some people, such as Matthias Buchinger, to function at a very high level despite their disabilities.
Cognitive Neuroscience Lurking in Art
Kerry Grens | Oct 19, 2015 | 2 min read
What can neuroscientists learn from the masters and other artists?
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