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Neuroscience

When stimulated, OLM cells in the brain encourage risk-taking behavior.

The Brain’s “Bravery Cells” Encourage Risky Behavior

Cells in the hippocampus help determine whether to be apprehensive in stressful situations, and they could be stimulated to treat anxiety

Ketamine syringe, 10mg held by a healthcare professional.

Ketamine Works as a Fast-Acting Antidepressant, But the Full Effects Are Still Unknown

A new study suggests that ketamine activates the brain’s opioid receptors, complicating its use to treat clinical depression

A concussion occurs when the brain impacts the inside of the skull with enough force to temporarily affect brain function.

How Virtual Reality and Sideline Brain Scans Could Help Diagnose Concussions

Determining if an athlete or soldier has a concussion often depends on what they tell you, but new technologies could provide a more objective approach

Could This Brain Implant Stop Epilepsy Seizures?

A new approach, which involves an implantable device delivering neurotransmitters to the brain, proves effective in mice

Cool Finds

Meet the Rosehip Neuron: A Newly Discovered Cell in the Human Brain

The neuron is not found within lab mice, possibly explaining why mouse studies often do not translate to human brains

Bonobos are known to make at least 38 distinct calls

New Research

Why Humans Are the Only Primates Capable of Talking

New study suggests ape vocalizations vary according to neural abilities, not vocal anatomy

Aggressive or sexual behavior in crows interacting with dead bodies might happen more often when sex hormones run rampant.

It’s Not Without Caws That Crows Desecrate Their Dead

What dead crows can teach us about the connections between sex and aggression

Male bat-eared foxes spend much of their time with their offspring, grooming, engaging them in play and teaching them to forage.

This Is Your Brain on Fatherhood

What clownfish stepfathers and Dad-of-the-Year foxes teach us about paternal neurochemistry in the animal kingdom

An African grey parrot, probably thinking intelligent thoughts.

Unique Brain Circuitry Might Explain Why Parrots Are So Smart

Their bird brains are not bird-brained

Dr. Tedi Asher

Future of Art

The Neuroscientist in the Art Museum

At Massachusetts’s Peabody Essex Museum, Tedi Asher is using neuroscience research to create impactful art experiences

Australian researchers have shown that bees can distinguish nothing from various positive numbers.

New Research

Bees May Understand Zero, a Concept That Took Humans Millennia to Grasp

If the finding is true, they’d be the first invertebrates to join an elite club that includes primates, dolphins and parrots

For most humans, meditating in the snow would be highly uncomfortable. For Wim Hof, it's euphoric. Note: Wim Hof not pictured.

New Research

Science Explains How the Iceman Resists Extreme Cold

MRI scans reveal that Wim Hof artificially induces a stress response in his brain

Aplysia californica crawls about in a tide pool in Abalone Cove Shoreline Park, California.

Scientists Say They Have Transferred ‘Memories’ Between Snails

A controversial new study suggests that RNA may play an important role in memory storage

The Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer, or VEST, has 32 vibrating motors distributed around the torso.

Could This Futuristic Vest Give Us a Sixth Sense?

For starters, the new technology—appearing on ‘Westworld’ before hitting the market—could help the deaf parse speech and ambient noise

This advertisement from San Francisco-based electronic cigarette company JUUL calls back the tobacco advertisements from the mid-20th century.

Ads for E-Cigarettes Today Hearken Back to the Banned Tricks of Big Tobacco

A new ‘Joe Camel’-esque phenomenon may be igniting as the new fad takes a 21st-century page out of an old playbook

New Research

Why Some People “Hear” Silent GIFs

This week, researchers published their findings on the largest study to date on the phenomenon, which is called visually evoked auditory response or vEAR

Glial cells of the mouse spinal cord, 1899 Ink and pencil on paper, 5 7/8 x 7 1/8 in.

See the Founder of Modern Neuroscience’s Unique Way of Looking at the Inner Workings of the Brain Through Art

Art meets science in the first U.S. traveling exhibition of Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s sketches

New Research

Unraveling the Genetics Behind Why Some People “See” Sound and “Hear” Color

Researchers find several genes that regulate the wiring for synesthesia in the brain

Perhaps all this little bug needs is a few good swats.

New Research

Swatting May Teach Mosquitoes to Avoid Your Scent

Though it won’t work for all species, Aedes aegypti mosquitos seem to have a memory for near-death experiences

Image from the cover of Emma Byrne's new book, Swearing is Good For You.

The Science of Swearing

A new book explains the neuroscience of why we swear—and how it can sway our listeners

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