News by Subject Social & Behavior

Brain imaging of veterans with Gulf War illness show varying abnormalities after moderate exercise that can be categorized into two distinct groups -- an outcome that suggests a more complex illness that previously thought.

In a new review paper, MIT neuroscientists lay out the the few knowns and many unknowns that must be understood to determine why sensory stimuluation of 40Hz brain rhythms have broad effects, particularly in Alzheimer's models.

Along with partisan news outlets and political blogs, there's another surprising source of misinformation on controversial topics -- it's you. A new study found that people given accurate statistics on a controversial issue tended to misremember those numbers to fit commonly held beliefs.

Barbecued, stir-fried or roasted, there's no doubt that Aussies love their meat. Consuming on average nearly 100 kilograms of meat per person per year, Australians are among the top meat consumers worldwide. But with statistics showing that most Australians suffer from a poor diet, and red meat production adding to greenhouse-gas emissions, finding a balance between taste preferences, environmental protection, and health benefits is becoming critical.

For as many as one in three people, life events or situations that pose no real danger can spark a disabling fear, a hallmark of anxiety and stress-related disorders. Researchers at Yale University and Weill Cornell Medicine report on a novel way that could help combat such anxiety. In humans and in mice, a 'safety signal' -- a symbol or a sound that is never associated with adverse events -- can relieve anxiety through an entirely different brain network than that activated by existing behavioral therapy.

A study done by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience shows that rats can use other rats as danger antennas, by being exquisitely sensitive to the emotions of the rats around them. With this finding, new targets for treatment of empathy disorders in humans, such as psychopathy and fronto-temporal dementia, will open in the future.

Having trouble paying attention? MIT neuroscientists may have a solution for you: Turn down your alpha brain waves. In a new study, the researchers found that people can enhance their attention by controlling their own alpha brain waves based on neurofeedback they receive as they perform a particular task.