High school IQ predicts midlife drinking habits: smarter teens are more likely to drink moderately or heavily as adults but binge less often, with income partially explaining the link between intelligence and alcohol use.
A recent study found that a large portion of people’s sung earworms matched the pitch of the original songs exactly, adding new evidence that our brains may retain detailed musical information in ways we never realized.
Sadness and fear, unlike happiness, enhance inhibitory behavior by helping individuals focus on relevant tasks and suppress irrelevant distractions, as shown in multiple experiments using tasks like anti-saccade, negative priming, and go/no-go.
Recent research found that stress increases sperm energy production and motility in both mice and men months after the event, suggesting a link between environmental stressors and enhanced male reproductive function, possibly as an adaptive response.
Individuals with higher fluid intelligence are more likely to change their attitudes after misinformation corrections, while need for cognition—enjoying deep thinking—has little effect on openness to these factual corrections.
Recent research found individuals with COVID-19 reported lasting cognitive difficulties, particularly with memory and planning, up to a year post-infection. These challenges were significantly higher compared to those without a history of infection.
A recent study found that men with higher general intelligence tend to invest more in their relationships, displaying greater satisfaction and commitment, while showing lower levels of harmful behaviors like insults, coercion, and psychopathy toward their partners.
Neurons in the hippocampus, known as "concept cells," respond to both specific nouns and pronouns that refer to those nouns, suggesting these cells help link and update concepts during language comprehension.
A recent study has found that individuals with aphantasia experience reduced emotional engagement and immersion in stories but still enjoy and appreciate them similarly to those with typical visual imagery, suggesting different cognitive pathways for story enjoyment.
Scientists found that the molecule KIBRA helps stabilize memory by binding to PKMζ, an enzyme that strengthens brain connections, allowing memories to last for years despite the constant turnover of proteins in the brain.
Recent research suggests frequent GPS use slightly impairs environmental knowledge and sense of direction, while not affecting wayfinding performance. These findings suggest over-reliance on GPS may weaken natural navigational skills
A recent study found that memories of unpleasant emotions tied to the 2020 presidential election faded slower than unpleasant non-political memories. Conservatives in particular held onto these negative feelings longer.
Research published in Memory shows that many legal professionals, mental health professionals, and the public strongly believe in the scientifically contested concepts of traumatic memory repression and dissociative amnesia.
Daily behaviors like sleep, exercise, and mood appear to affect brain connectivity for up to 15 days, suggesting that short-term habits have prolonged effects on brain function, with potential implications for personalized mental health treatments.
Recent research found that depleting gut microbiota in mice increased aggression, elevated tryptophan levels, reduced brain serotonin, and altered the expression of aggression-related genes, suggesting a link between microbiome disruptions and aggressive behavior through serotonin pathways.