Behavioral Science News

April 7, 2025

Top Headlines

Animal Behavioral Diversity at Risk in the Face of Declining Biodiversity

Apr. 3, 2025 — Drastic declines in biodiversity due to human activities present risks to understanding animal behaviors such as tool use, according to new research. Shrinking animal populations make the study of these behaviors increasingly difficult, underscoring ...

How the Brain Evaluates Rewards

Apr. 2, 2025 — Researchers have gained a new understanding of how the brain processes reward and risk information. Neuroscientists show how nerve cells in the so-called amygdala not only encode the probability and magnitude of rewards, but also dynamically process ...

Scientists Solve 'Cocktail Party' Mystery of Bat Echolocation

Mar. 31, 2025 — Every night, bats emerge out of roosts in massive numbers, creating what scientists have called a 'cocktail party nightmare' of clashing echolocations. Nobody knew how bats managed this severe sensorial challenge. Now, scientists have tracked bats ...

How Did the Large Brain Evolve?

Mar. 26, 2025 — Two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. Researchers have provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary enlargement of the ...

Latest Headlines

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A Hit of Dopamine Tells Baby Birds When Their Song Practice Is Paying Off

Mar. 25, 2025 — By watching the ebb and flow of the brain's chemical signals, researchers are beginning to disentangle the molecular mechanisms underlying the intrinsic motivation to learn. In a new study of zebra ...

Slowing Down to Eat Less: Towards Simple Strategies for Obesity Prevention

Mar. 25, 2025 — Obesity prevention strategies often focus on diet, but eating behaviors also play a key role. In a recent study, researchers from Japan investigated factors influencing meal duration, including sex ...

New Research Reveals Secrets About Locust Swarm Movement

Mar. 24, 2025 — New research is reshaping our understanding of one of nature's most stunning yet destructive phenomena -- massive locust swarms moving ...

Galapagos Birds Exhibit 'Road Rage' Due to Noise

Mar. 20, 2025 — A new study has discovered that birds in the Galapagos Islands are changing their behavior due to traffic noise, with those frequently exposed to vehicles showing heightened levels of aggression. ...

Insomniac Fruit Fly Mutants Show Enhanced Memory Despite Severe Sleep Loss

Mar. 20, 2025 — Fruit fly mutants that have severe sleep deficits perform better at olfactory learning and memory tasks, according to a new study. The paradox of enhanced memory despite sleep loss could be explained ...

Brain Imaging Reveals Surprises About Learning

Mar. 19, 2025 — By revealing for the first time what happens in the brain when an animal makes a mistake, researchers are shedding light on the holy grail of neuroscience: the mechanics of how we learn. The team ...

Scientists Map Neural Wiring of Vocal Circuits in Songbirds

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers have mapped the long-range synaptic connections involved in vocal learning in zebra finches, uncovering new details about how the brain organises learned vocalisations such as ...

Science Behind 'Polly Want a Cracker' Could Guide Future Treatment Design for Speech Disorders

Mar. 19, 2025 — A new study explains how a parakeet's brain helps it to mimic human ...

Dopamine Signals in Primate Brains

Mar. 12, 2025 — We're all familiar with Pavlovian conditioning, in which a reward-anticipatory behavior follows a reward-predicting stimulus. Perhaps you experience it yourself when passing a cafe or restaurant and ...

Vocal Changes in Birds May Predict Age-Related Disorders in People, Study Finds

Mar. 12, 2025 — Neuroscientists have found a link between vocal changes and the aging brain in zebra finch songbirds, which could help lead to earlier diagnoses for ...

Temperature During Development Influences Connectivity Between Neurons and Behavior in Fruit Flies

Mar. 12, 2025 — The rate of development of poikilothermic animals, such as insects, fish, and reptiles, is determined by environmental temperature. A research team has recently demonstrated how temperature can ...

Butterflies Choose Mates Because They Are More Attractive, Not Just Easier to See

Mar. 11, 2025 — A simple neural change alters mating preferences in male butterflies, aiding rapid behavioral evolution, researchers ...

Humans Have a Long Way to Go in Understanding a Dog's Emotions

Mar. 10, 2025 — New research has revealed that people often do not perceive the true meaning of their pet's emotions and can misread their dog. The reasons for this are many and include a human misunderstanding ...

The Changing Chorus: How Movements and Memories Influence Birdsong Evolution

Mar. 7, 2025 — New research has provided fresh insights into how bird songs evolve over time, revealing a significant role for population dynamics in shaping song diversity and change. The findings are based on an ...

Insect Populations Are Declining -- And That Is Not a Good Thing

Mar. 5, 2025 — Using two species of flies from different climates -- one from the cool, high-altitude forests of Northern California, the other hailing from the hot, dry deserts of the Southwest -- scientists ...

Researcher Compares AI, Human Evaluators in Swine Medicine

Mar. 4, 2025 — A research team is studying whether artificial intelligence (AI) could play a supportive role in the evaluation of respiratory disease in ...

Drone Captures Narwhals Using Their Tusks to Explore, Forage and Play

Feb. 28, 2025 — Using drones, 17 distinct behaviors of narwhals were captured in the wild. Findings reveal complex behaviors of the Arctic's iconic whale never seen before. This highly gregarious whale uses its ...

When the Wild Things Are: Surprising Details of Mammalian Daily Activity

Feb. 26, 2025 — A team has gathered photographic data on daily mammalian activity, studying 445 total species around the world with surprising results. The project generated a massive dataset of animal images ...

Feeding Anemone: Symbiote Fish Actively Feed Hosts in Wild

Feb. 26, 2025 — A research team observing anemonefish in the field found they engage in interesting feeding behavior with their host sea ...

Some Animals Cooperate With Members of Other Species

Feb. 25, 2025 — Some animals are capable of cooperating with members of other species. An interdisciplinary team explores the cognitive underpinnings of such cross-species collaborations, opening up a new ...

How Young Salmon Navigate a Gauntlet of Danger En Route to the Sea

Feb. 24, 2025 — New research uncovers the survival strategy juvenile Chinook salmon adopt to migrate to the ocean, providing insight on how to conserve the threatened ...

AI Unlocks the Emotional Language of Animals

Feb. 21, 2025 — Groundbreaking study shows machine learning can decode emotions in seven ungulate species. A game-changer for animal welfare? Can artificial intelligence help us understand what animals feel? A ...

Predator Robots Help Researchers Uncover How Larval Zebrafish Rapidly Learn

Feb. 20, 2025 — A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real ...

Researchers Outline New Approach for Better Understanding Animal Consciousness

Feb. 20, 2025 — A team of researchers has outlined a new approach for better understanding the depths of animal consciousness, a method that may yield new insights into the similarities and differences among living ...

How the Brain Balances Risk and Reward in Making Decisions

Feb. 19, 2025 — Research in mice identifies brain circuitry that supports certain reward-based ...

Wild Fish Can Recognize Individual Divers

Feb. 18, 2025 — For years, scientific divers at a research station in the Mediterranean Sea had a problem: at some point in every field season, local fish would follow them and steal food intended as experimental ...

Sweet Molasses Feed Key to Understanding Grazing Behavior in Cattle

Feb. 18, 2025 — Researchers tempted grazing cattle with sweet molasses feed to discover whether cows would roam far to graze or stick close to the herd, water supplies and feed ...

Even After Learning the Right Idea, Humans and Animals Still Seem to Test Other Approaches, Study Suggests

Feb. 18, 2025 — New research adds evidence that learning a successful strategy for approaching a task doesn't prevent further exploration, even if it reduces ...

Researchers Discover How Opsin 3, a Light-Sensitive Brain Protein, Regulates Food Consumption in Mice

Feb. 14, 2025 — Scientists discovered years ago that the hypothalamus -- which helps to manage body temperature, hunger, sex drive, sleep and more -- includes neurons that express the protein opsin 3 (OPN3). Far ...

Worm Study Shows Hyperactivated Neurons Cause Aging-Related Behavioral Decline

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers found that excessively activated neurons over time, rather than decreased neuronal activity, cause aging-related decline in brain function in ...