Why the Brain Struggles to Switch Between Learned Motor Skills
Summary: A new study shows that people often struggle to switch between familiar motor skills and newly learned movement patterns, leading to predictable errors. Volunteers tended to stick with the previous movement strategy even when instructed to switch, revealing how deeply motor habits persist. Switching between two newly learned motor skills was initially even harder, […]
Babies’ Brains Tune In to Mom’s Voice and Shift How They See New Faces
Summary: New findings show that seven-month-old infants are finely tuned to their mothers’ voices, displaying stronger neural tracking than when hearing strangers. When a stranger’s voice accompanied an unfamiliar face, babies’ brains showed enhanced processing of that face, suggesting maternal speech shifts how infants allocate attention. Facial emotion did not change these outcomes, indicating the […]
Psychedelics Calm Stress Circuits to Reduce Alcohol Drinking
Summary: New research shows that psilocin, the active metabolite of the psychedelic psilocybin, may reduce alcohol consumption by calming stress-sensitive neurons in the central amygdala. In female mice exposed to long-term alcohol use, psilocin dampened the hyperactivity of these neurons, temporarily reducing drinking. Similar effects occurred in mice with milder alcohol exposure, aligning with clinical […]
Why Alzheimer’s Patients Forget Loved Ones
Summary: Researchers have discovered that the heartbreaking moment when a person with Alzheimer’s no longer recognizes family may stem from the breakdown of perineuronal nets, protective structures that support social memory. In mice, the loss of these nets erased memory of familiar individuals while sparing object memory, mirroring early human symptoms. Using MMP inhibitors successfully […]
Shyness May Originate in the Cerebellum
Summary: New research reveals that trait shyness is linked to reduced spontaneous neural activity in the cerebellum, a brain region traditionally associated with motor control but increasingly recognized for its role in emotion and social cognition. Using resting-state fMRI and ReHo analysis, researchers found that shy individuals exhibited lower synchrony in the cerebellar Crus I […]
Brain Decoder Translates Visual Thoughts Into Text
Summary: A new brain decoding method called mind captioning can generate accurate text descriptions of what a person is seeing or recalling—without relying on the brain’s language system. Instead, it uses semantic features from vision-related brain activity and deep learning models to translate nonverbal thoughts into structured sentences. The method worked even when participants recalled […]
Touching Without Contact: We Physically Sense Objects Before Feeling Them
Summary: A new study shows that humans possess a form of “remote touch,” allowing them to detect hidden objects in sand before making direct contact. Participants sensed buried cubes by perceiving tiny mechanical reflections generated as they moved their fingertips through the sand. Humans performed comparably to physical models of maximum detectability and outperformed an […]
Nano Tech Helps CBD Quiet Pain at the Source
Summary: A new study shows that CBD delivered through a nano-micelle system can cross the blood–brain barrier and produce rapid neuropathic pain relief. The formulation, called CBD-IN, helped mice within 30 minutes and avoided the motor and cognitive side effects often seen with conventional pain drugs. Brain-mapping revealed that CBD-IN quiets hyperactive pain circuits only […]
Adaptive Music Tech Makes Workouts More Fun, Helps People Stay Active
Summary: Researchers have shown that adaptive music systems that adjust tempo and rhythm to match a user’s movement can make exercise significantly more enjoyable and motivating. These personalized interactive music systems use real-time data from wearables to keep music aligned with walking, cycling, or weightlifting intensity, helping users stay in rhythm and maintain effort. A […]
New Therapy Reshapes Images That Fuel Psychosis
Summary: A new imagery-focused therapy called iMAPS may help people with psychosis gain control over disturbing mental images that fuel paranoia, fear, and hallucinations. In a feasibility trial of 45 participants, the approach showed strong patient engagement and meaningful reductions in distress by teaching individuals to understand, transform, and re-script intrusive images. Unlike standard treatments—which […]