It is thanks to the alpha waves of the brain, long ignored until, recently, they captured the attention of neuroscientists for their role in discerning what information should be ignored. These are waves that are responsible for "silencing" irrelevant brain activity, with inhibition pulses every 100 milliseconds.
We do not visually perceive the people around us objectively. Researchers at the University of Southern California have shown that social factors have a direct effect on how we process reality. Whether one person likes or dislikes another influences how the brain processes their movements, even if they are as simple as reaching for a cup of coffee.
Do you want your brain to grow? Several neuroscientific studies have recently shown that brain size is related to certain habits and skills such as meditating, exercising, and cultivating friendship. We explain how.
Hypnosis is a method widely used as therapy to treat psychological conditions such as phobias and anxiety states. However, not all people are equally receptive to this technique and some patients cannot reach the trance state of hypnosis. Now, a group of researchers from Stanford University (USA) has discovered that, in these people, the activity of the areas of the brain related to attention and decision-making is lower than in those who are easily hypnotized.
People who practice meditation are better able to read the facial expressions of others, and show more activity in the regions of the brain related to empathy, according to a study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
During pregnancy, some of the genetic material from the fetus passes into the mother's blood and can remain there for many years. A study published in the journal PLoS ONE indicates that women with DNA fragments from their male children in their brains are less likely to have Alzheimer's disease.
A team of scientists from Harvard University (USA) has managed to control the behavior of a small transparent earthworm by manipulating the neurons of its tiny brain. The results, which are published in the journal Nature, represent an advance in the understanding of how the brain works.
Scientists have known for years that when in doubt, the human brain tends to be optimistic. We ignore warnings about the danger of texting while driving, we drive without a seatbelt without assessing the danger in case of accidents, we close our eyes to statistics that suggest that our eating habits kill us, and we tend to believe that everything will have a happy ending for us even if circumstances seem to indicate otherwise, and that misfortunes only happen to others.
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
