We are almost constantly surrounded by a variety of visual objects, all of which could, theoretically, be important for us. But only a very small area on our retinas, the fovea in the macula lutea, has high visual acuity; a large portion of our field of vision has only a low resolution. Therefore, our gaze must be directed toward a specific target in order to precisely identify the object. Continue reading “What catches our eye”
Unexpected link between immune cells and male-female differences
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have made a surprising discovery: during fetal development, a particular immune cell seems to play a key role in determining the male or female characteristics of the brain. Continue reading “Unexpected link between immune cells and male-female differences”
Neuroscience: How music meets mind
Whether tapping a foot to samba or weeping at a ballad, the human response to music seems almost instinctual. Yet few can articulate how music works. How do strings of sounds trigger emotion, inspire ideas, even define identities? Continue reading “Neuroscience: How music meets mind”
Music ‘releases mood-enhancing chemical in the brain’
Music releases a chemical in the brain that has a key role in setting good moods, a study has suggested. Continue reading “Music ‘releases mood-enhancing chemical in the brain’”
Broadband internet causes sleep deprivation, a new study finds
About 200,000 working days are lost in Germany every year due to insufficient sleep, with an economic loss of $60bln, or about 1.6% of its GDP, according to a 2016 Report of the RAND Corporation. Francesco Billari and Luca Stella (Bocconi University), with Osea Giuntella (University of Pittsburgh), in a study just published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, find that access to broadband Internet is one of the causes of such sleep deprivation. Continue reading “Broadband internet causes sleep deprivation, a new study finds”
Origins of the brain networks for advanced mathematics in expert mathematicians
Here we present the ‘Abstract‘ of the corresponding paper by Marie Amalric and Stanislas Dehaene. Continue reading “Origins of the brain networks for advanced mathematics in expert mathematicians”
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