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Psychology

In 2025, researchers watched an interstellar comet, learned about human origins and traced the spread of measles.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitor

All year long, these moments captivated the public, demonstrated dangerous trends, and pushed research and innovation forward

Researchers studied thousands of brain scans to see how the organ's architecture changes over a lifetime.

Your Brain Goes Through Five Distinct Epochs of Neural Wiring During Your Lifetime, New Research Suggests

These eras of brain architecture are marked by four major turning points, which occur around the ages of 9, 32, 66 and 83, according to a new study

Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in Nuremberg, a new film written and directed by James Vanderbilt

Based on a True Story

The True Story Behind ‘Nuremberg,’ a WWII Drama About Hermann Göring’s Cat-and-Mouse Game With an American Psychiatrist

Starring Russell Crowe as the high-ranking Nazi and Rami Malek as Army officer Douglas M. Kelley, the film dramatizes the intense dynamic between its central characters during the Nuremberg trials

Vincent van Gogh paintings on display at the Courtauld Gallery earlier this year

New Research

Can Visiting an Art Gallery Lower Your Stress Levels and Improve Your Health?

New research found that cortisol levels dropped among volunteers who spent 20 minutes looking at masterpieces at London’s Courtauld Gallery

Some computer vision programs have been thrown off by tricks such as manipulating the pixels in an image.

Computers Are Getting Much Better at Image Recognition

The machine-learning programs that underpin their ability to “see” still have blind spots—but not for much longer

A new study investigates addiction-like behaviors in dogs.

Does Your Dog Love Chasing a Ball? Study Suggests Dog Toy ‘Addiction’ Is Real

The research documents addiction-like tendencies in canines, offering scientific evidence that appears to support owners’ own observations

“Brain rot” was the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.

Can You Really ‘Rot’ Your Brain by Scrolling Too Much on Your Smartphone?

While that message has been spread on social media, researchers are just beginning to understand how the devices affect the mind

Apps like the newly launched Runmates provide links to running clubs worldwide.

Third Places Are Being Reimagined—and Welcoming Travelers in the Process

Outside of home and work, spaces like parks, food halls and libraries are stepping up with social offerings

The study found that regular exercise, along with other lifestyle changes, can slow cognitive decline in older adults.

Cognitive Decline Can Be Slowed Down With Lifestyle Changes, From Diet to Exercise and Social Time, New Study Suggests

A 2,100-participant clinical trial found that structured and self-guided lifestyle changes can improve cognitive capabilities in older, at-risk adults

Seeing a potentially infectious person might kickstart the body's immune system, according to a new study.

The Mere Sight of Someone Sick Triggers an Immune Response, Study Suggests

Researchers equipped study participants with virtual reality headsets and observed how their brains and immune systems reacted to avatars with signs of illness

A new study reveals that optimists show similar brain activity when they think about the future, while pessimists' neural patterns are more individual.

Optimists Really Are on the ‘Same Wavelength’ When They Think About the Future, New Study of Brain Activity Suggests

As the research participants thought about future scenarios, optimists displayed similar neural patterns, but pessimists showed more individualized brain activity

Girls' ADHD symptoms are often mistakenly attributed to other issues, like anxiety or depression, and it may take until adulthood for women to be accurately diagnosed.

The Future of Mental Health

Why Are So Many More Women Being Diagnosed With ADHD?

Experts once thought ADHD was something only boys experienced. The research is finally starting to catch up with reality

Ibogaine extract is pictured next to the iboga root it is derived from. The psychedelic drug has shown potential to treat traumatic brain injury and opioid addiction.

Texas Will Invest $50 Million in Ibogaine Research, Testing the Psychedelic Drug’s Medical Potential

The state’s new law marks one of the largest government investments into psychedelics to date, with advocates citing the drug’s potential to help veterans with traumatic brain injury and PTSD

A dormitory at the San Servolo psychiatric hospital in Venice in the early 1900s

Tens of Thousands Were Treated for a Deadly Disease While Confined to Psychiatric Hospitals on These Two Venetian Islands

In the 19th and 20th centuries, San Servolo and San Clemente housed patients suffering from pellagrous insanity, a condition caused by a vitamin deficiency

Scientists analyzed more than 20 years of data on 164 wild mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

For Mountain Gorillas, Being Social Comes With Both Benefits and Drawbacks, Study Suggests

A new analysis of wild gorillas in Rwanda indicates the effects of different social styles are dependent on context

Psychiatric neurosurgery, originally known as psychosurgery, involves operating on the brain to alter its function.

What Does the Future Hold for Psychiatric Brain Surgery?

For some patients, removing brain tissue can help treat OCD and other disorders. But ethical concerns remain

A subset of more than 1,000 neurons, representing just a snapshot of the complexity mapped within a cubic millimeter of mouse brain tissue

In a World First, Researchers Mapped Part of a Mouse’s Brain in Incredible Detail. It’s a Leap Forward for Neuroscience

The 3D brain map includes more than 200,000 cells, 523 million synapses and over two miles of axons, representing the most detailed wiring diagram of a piece of mammal brain ever constructed

A busy street in Helsinki, Finland

These Are the 20 Happiest Countries in the World

Finland took the top spot in this year’s World Happiness Report, while the United States dropped to its lowest ranking yet

During conversations, interjections act as vital traffic signals.

Huh? Interjections Are Critically Important to Communication

Utterances like “um,” “wow” and “mm-hmm” aren’t garbage—they keep conversations flowing

The curious qualities of laughter can surprise, delight or even silence.

Why Does Laughter Have Such a Strange Power Over Us?

An anthropologist explores why the phenomenon has the ability to delight, disturb and disrupt

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