[En español] Amidst an ever-growing national and global crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve probably already heard about (and are hopefully practicing) social distancing. The Center for Disease Control defines social distancing as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible”. […]
Search Results for: exercise
A Switch in the Brain for Compulsive Drinking
posted by Joydeep De
Most of us have drunk some form of alcohol in our lives. Many of us drink alcohol often. But we might know of only a few people who are pathologically addicted to alcohol. Are we, individually, differently prone to compulsive alcohol use? A recent paper, published in Science, attempts to answer this question using rodents. […]
Your Mind on Trial
posted by Timothy Sheehan
The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]
The Neuroscience of the Breath
posted by BrittanydFair
The Neuroscience of the Breath Scientists search to uncover the mind-body connection Mind-body practices, which stem from traditions originating in countries such as India, China, and Tibet, have become increasingly popular in Western society. These practices, which include yoga, meditation and tai chi, revolve around breathing techniques or pranayama- learning to control the breath […]
Why are you yawning right now?
posted by Susan Lubejko
As a graduate student, spending an early morning or late night in the lab is not uncommon. During those hours, it’s also not uncommon to catch me in the midst of a yawn (or many). This makes sense, though; I’m tired from little sleep or a long day. However, you may be surprised to learn […]
Did you see that? The Mysteries of Sensory Deprivation
posted by Susan Lubejko
When I was a kid swimming in the neighbor’s pool, I loved to float on my back, eyes closed, with ears submerged so that I could only hear the muted sounds of the water around me. Though I found the experience relaxing, I also felt profoundly strange. We are constantly bombarded with sensory information from […]
The Neuroscience of Laughter
posted by Susan Lubejko
Think back to the last time you had a real, hearty laugh: mouth in a wide smile, eyes crinkled and tearing, breath leaving your body in short bursts if you could get any breath out at all. For humans, there are few more pleasurable experiences or greater expressions of joy as laughter. We use laughter […]
The Neurogenesis Saga: Are new neurons born in the adult human brain?
posted by Seraphina Solders
One of neuroscience’s most heated debates during the past 50 years has been whether or not new neurons are born (a process called neurogenesis) in the adult mammalian brain. Before the late 1990s, we believed that we were born with all the neurons we would have throughout our lives. However, evidence of adult neurogenesis from […]
Lymph, glymph, sleep, & sickness
posted by Catie Profaci
Consider the word “lymph.” What comes to mind? To me, “lymph” sounds like a viscous liquid that might ooze out of the orifices of some terrifying wounded creature. Or perhaps your mind jumps to the term “lymph nodes”, conjuring images of little knobs in your neck bulging with infection, sometimes growing so large that […]
CRISPR and the Real World
posted by Caroline Sferrazza
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” So begins our country’s Declaration of Independence. While we have learned that this preamble is all too simple in the context of wider society, consider the most basic interpretation of this sentiment; at the precise moment of a child’s birth, broader circumstances […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.