Human Quirks: Mind & Brain

June 25, 2025

Top Headlines

The Brain’s Sweet Spot: How Criticality Could Unlock Learning, Memory—and Prevent Alzheimer’s

June 25, 2025 — Our brains may work best when teetering on the edge of chaos. A new theory suggests that criticality a sweet spot between order and randomness is the secret to learning, memory, and adaptability. ...

1. 7 Million Patients Reveal Stunning Link Between Semaglutide and Lower Dementia Risk

June 25, 2025 — A blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug might be doing more than controlling blood sugar—it could also be protecting the brain. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that people ...

USC's New AI Implant Promises Drug-Free Relief for Chronic Pain

June 23, 2025 — A groundbreaking wireless implant promises real-time, personalized pain relief using AI and ultrasound power no batteries, no wires, and no opioids. Designed by USC and UCLA engineers, it reads brain signals, adapts on the fly, and bends naturally ...

Diabetes Drug Cuts Migraines in Half by Targeting Brain Pressure

June 20, 2025 — A common diabetes drug may be the next big thing for migraine relief. In a clinical study, obese patients with chronic migraines who took liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, experienced over 50% fewer headache days and significantly improved ...

Self-Esteem Skyrockets 131% After Weight-Loss Surgery, Study Reveals

June 20, 2025 — Self-esteem scores jumped a remarkable 131% within just one year of bariatric surgery, according to a large study presented at ASMBS 2025. Tracking nearly 5,800 patients, researchers found a direct link between weight loss and rising confidence, ...

AI Sniffs Earwax and Detects Parkinson’s With 94% Accuracy

June 18, 2025 — Imagine diagnosing Parkinson s disease not with pricey scans or subjective checklists, but with a simple ear swab. Scientists in China have developed a promising early screening method that detects Parkinson s from subtle changes in the scent of ear ...

Single Psilocybin Trip Delivers Two Years of Depression Relief for Cancer Patients

June 16, 2025 — Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, might just revolutionize how depression and anxiety are treated in cancer patients. In a groundbreaking trial, a single dose combined with ...

Brain Food Fight: Rutgers Maps the Hidden Switch That Turns Cravings on and Off

June 14, 2025 — Rutgers scientists have uncovered a tug-of-war inside the brain between hunger and satiety, revealing two newly mapped neural circuits that battle over when to eat and when to stop. These findings ...

CRISPR-Edited Stem Cells Reveal Hidden Causes of Autism

June 14, 2025 — A team at Kobe University has created a game-changing resource for autism research: 63 mouse embryonic stem cell lines, each carrying a genetic mutation strongly associated with the disorder. By pairing classic stem cell manipulation with precise ...

The Hunger Switch in Your Nose: How Smells Tell Your Brain to Stop Eating

June 12, 2025 — A team of scientists has discovered a direct link between the smell of food and feelings of fullness at least in lean mice. This brain circuit, located in the medial septum and triggered by food odors, helps animals eat less by making them feel ...

Brain-Computer Interface Restores Real-Time Speech in ALS Patient

June 12, 2025 — A team at UC Davis has made a major leap in neurotechnology, enabling a man with ALS to speak again through a brain-computer interface that converts thoughts into speech in real time. Unlike prior systems that translated neural signals into text, ...

Cannabis Use Among Seniors Surges 46% in Two Years--Study Reveals

June 7, 2025 — Cannabis use among older Americans has climbed dramatically, with 7% of adults 65 and older now reporting recent use. This rise isn't just in numbers but also in diversity older users today are more likely to be women, college-educated, and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:41pm EDT

Affordances in the Brain: The Human Superpower AI Hasn’t Mastered

June 23, 2025 — Scientists at the University of Amsterdam discovered that our brains automatically understand how we can move through different environments—whether it's swimming in a lake or walking a ...

How Can We Make Fewer Mistakes? US Navy Invests $860k in Placekeeping

June 19, 2025 — With $860K in Navy funding, MSU psychologists are developing tools to spot people who can handle complex tasks under pressure. The key? Mastering "placekeeping" staying focused and accurate even when ...

MIT Uncovers the Hidden Playbook Your Brain Uses to Outsmart Complicated Problems

June 18, 2025 — When faced with a tricky maze task involving hidden information, humans instinctively toggle between two clever mental strategies: simplifying in ...

Your Brain Has a Hidden Beat — and Smarter Minds Sync to It

June 16, 2025 — When we focus, switch tasks, or face tough mental challenges, the brain starts to sync its internal rhythms, especially in the midfrontal region. A new study has found that smarter individuals show ...

Whales Blow Bubble Rings--And They Might Be Talking to Us

June 7, 2025 — Humpback whales have been observed blowing bubble rings during friendly interactions with humans a behavior never before documented. This surprising display may be more than play; it could represent ...

Dancing Brainwaves: How Sound Reshapes Your Brain Networks in Real Time

June 2, 2025 — Listening to sound doesn t just trigger brain activity it reshapes your brain s internal networks in real time. Scientists have unveiled a powerful new imaging method, FREQ-NESS, that traces how ...

Five Things to Do in Virtual Reality -- And Five to Avoid

May 30, 2025 — A review of experimental research reveals how VR is best used and why it's struggled to become a megahit with ...

Electronic Tattoo Gauges Mental Strain

May 29, 2025 — Researchers gave participants face tattoos that can track when their brain is working too hard. The study introduces a non-permanent wireless forehead e-tattoo that decodes brainwaves to measure ...

Overlooked Cells Might Explain the Human Brain's Huge Storage Capacity

May 28, 2025 — Researchers have a new hypothesis for how brain cells called astrocytes might contribute to memory storage in the brain. Their model, known as dense associative memory, would help explain the brain's ...

Emotional Responses Crucial to Attitudes About Self-Driving Cars

May 27, 2025 — When it comes to public attitudes toward using self-driving cars, understanding how the vehicles work is important -- but so are less obvious characteristics like feelings of excitement or pleasure ...

Why After 2000 Years We Still Don't Know How Tickling Works

May 27, 2025 — How come you can't tickle yourself? And why can some people handle tickling perfectly fine while others scream their heads off? Neuroscientists argue that we should take tickle research more ...

Could AI Understand Emotions Better Than We Do?

May 22, 2025 — Is artificial intelligence (AI) capable of suggesting appropriate behavior in emotionally charged situations? A team put six generative AIs -- including ChatGPT -- to the test using emotional ...

Are Groovy Brains More Efficient?

May 21, 2025 — The smallest grooves on the brain's surface, unique to humans, have largely been ignored by anatomists, but recent studies show that they're related to cognitive performance, including face ...

Wild Orangutans Show Communication Complexity Thought to Be Uniquely Human

May 16, 2025 — Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary ...

AI Overconfidence Mirrors Human Brain Condition

May 15, 2025 — Agents, chatbots and other tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly used in everyday life by many. So-called large language model (LLM)-based agents, such as ChatGPT and Llama, ...

Is AI Truly Creative? Turns out Creativity Is in the Eye of the Beholder

May 8, 2025 — What makes people think an AI system is creative? New research shows that it depends on how much they see of the creative act. The findings have implications for how we research and design creative ...

Non-Inherited Genes Affect Children's Development

May 7, 2025 — Parents' genes -- even when not directly inherited by a child -- may play a role in their educational and mental health outcomes, finds a new ...

Study Suggests We Don't Just Hear Music, but 'Become It'

May 6, 2025 — Psychologists suggest our brains and bodies don't just understand music, they physically resonate with it. These discoveries, based on findings in neuroscience, music, and psychology, support ...

Ancient Andes Society Used Hallucinogens to Strengthen Social Order

May 5, 2025 — Snuff tubes uncovered at Chavin de Huantar in Peru reveal how leaders used mystical experiences to cement their ...

Children as Young as Five Can Navigate a 'Tiny Town'

May 5, 2025 — Neuroscientists are developing methods to map the brain systems that allow us to recognize and get around our ...

The Future of Brain Activity Monitoring May Look Like a Strand of Hair

May 2, 2025 — Researchers have created a hairlike device for long-term, non-invasive monitoring of the brain's electrical activity. The lightweight and flexible electrode attaches directly to the scalp and ...

Artificial Sense of Touch, Improved

May 1, 2025 — While exploring a digitally represented object through artificially created sense of touch, brain-computer interface users described the warm fur of a purring cat, the smooth rigid surface of a door ...

New Research Reveals How Physiology-Inspired Networks Could Improve Political Decision-Making

May 1, 2025 — A new study has unveiled a groundbreaking framework for rethinking political decision-making -- drawing inspiration from how the human body maintains stability and ...

Good Karma for Me, Bad Karma for You

May 1, 2025 — Many people around the world believe in karma -- that idea that divine justice will punish people who do bad deeds and reward those who good. But that belief plays out differently for oneself versus ...

Seasonal Changes Affect Alcohol Tolerance and Your Waistline

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have found that drug effectiveness, alcohol tolerance, and carbohydrate metabolism change with the seasons. Their findings are based on a comprehensive seasonal gene expression map, which ...

Advancing AI for Diverse Applications in Manufacturing, Business and Education

Apr. 28, 2025 — Large language models (LLMs) are at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) and have been widely used for conversational interactions. However, assessing the personality of a given LLM remains ...

A Neuro-Quantum Leap in Finding Optimal Solutions

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists have developed a problem-solving architecture modeled on neurobiology that leverages quantum mechanical behavior to guarantee optimal solutions to complex ...

What Happens in the Brain When Your Mind Blanks

Apr. 24, 2025 — Mind blanking is a common experience with a wide variety of definitions ranging from feeling 'drowsy' to 'a complete absence of conscious awareness.' Neuroscientists and ...

Scientists Trick the Eye Into Seeing New Color 'Olo'

Apr. 23, 2025 — Scientists have created a new platform called 'Oz' that uses laser light to control up to 1,000 photoreceptors in the eye at once. Using Oz, the researchers showed people images, videos and ...

Using ChatGPT, Students Might Pass a Course, but With a Cost

Apr. 22, 2025 — With the assumption that students are going to use artificial intelligence and large language models such as ChatGPT to do their homework, researchers set out to learn how well the free version of ...