13+ hour, 43+ min ago   (1012+ words) Rats given LSD, psilocybin or 2C-B showed three different brain patterns, and the psychedelic drugs still differed a week later. Psychedelic drugs get filed together: one receptor, one sort of trip, one promise for depression, anxiety and addiction. In rats,…...

23+ hour, 9+ min ago   (1017+ words) A review of 57 studies reveals why music can ease pain, with personal choice, enjoyment, and active participation emerging as important factors. People put on music when something hurts, usually on the theory that it pulls attention away from the pain....

5+ day, 22+ hour ago   (1126+ words) Two groups of brainstem cells build sleep drive in mice, and damping them cut sleep by nearly 70% without the usual damage. Push through a long enough day and the urge to sleep stops being a choice. That pressure builds the…...

6+ day, 20+ hour ago   (1019+ words) Psilocybin changes how brain activity is organized, revealing patterns linked to a person’s surroundings and subjective experience. People describe a psychedelic trip as everything coming apart. For a decade, neuroscientists have described it the same way. A new study reports…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago   (1000+ words) Gut microbes may be linked to brain chemistry, anxiety, depression, and sleep through several communication pathways in humans. The human gut is home to a huge community of microbes. They help break down food and can make chemicals that affect…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago   (1052+ words) Higher progesterone was linked to less distinct brain signals during emotion control and to lower mood in women. Progesterone and estradiol change across the menstrual cycle and are linked with mood. How they relate to emotional control in the brain…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago   (958+ words) Education, lifelong mental activity, and emotional skills may support cognitive abilities and influence how the brain changes with aging. Mental abilities can change with age, but not everyone experiences the same changes. Some older adults remain strong across many mental…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (985+ words) A new computer model suggests that people update their opinions about both the person giving help and the person receiving it. People build reputations through their own actions, but the actions of others also shape how they are perceived. A…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago   (966+ words) Social isolation activates a brain circuit that increases alcohol drinking in male mice, revealing a biological link between loneliness and alcohol use. Being alone for a long time can affect how the brain reacts to stress and rewards. It may…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (954+ words) Humans scream for a variety of reasons, and new research shows that only half of those reasons are due to some type of fear. Most animals scream for one reason. The sound tells others that something has gone wrong. Humans…...