Brain

In a recent study, researchers examined 40 videos of great apes spinning on ropes and calculated their average rotational velocity.

Great Apes Love to Spin Around—Here's Why

A recent study suggests that apes, like humans, seek out altered mental states

Sleeping northern elephant seals on the beach at Año Nuevo State Park, California.

Elephant Seals Take Extreme Power Naps in the Open Ocean

While foraging on deep dives, the marine mammals sleep for about two hours per day in short, ten-minute bursts

A medical illustration of the right half of a human brain from 1876.

Scientists Update Map of How Our Brains Control Movement

The traditional diagram showed brain regions linked to specific body parts, but we might also have areas connected to whole-body control

Gut bacteria, more than genetics, impact mice's motivation to exercise, a recent study suggests.

Could Gut Bacteria Impact Your Motivation to Exercise?

In a study of mice, researchers show their microbiomes play a role in how much they run and how quickly they grow fatigued

This functional connectivity map, a kind of “fingerprint” of the brain, displays how different regions interact with each other in 12-year-olds. The map was constructed from resting-state MRIs, where participants were lying down and not completing a task. Larger red circles denote brain “nodes” with more connections.

The Future of Mental Health

Can a ‘Fingerprint’ of Your Brain Help Predict Disorders?

Using new medical imaging techniques, researchers are working to identify early signs of developmental disorders and mental illness

A fruit fly sits on a grape. Adult fruit flies are typically only a few millimeters long.

See the First Complete Map of an Insect's Brain

Over 12 years, scientists charted more than 3,000 neurons and the nearly 550,000 connections between them in a larval fruit fly

The strategy an animal uses to track a scent depends upon a number of factors, including the animal’s body shape and the amount of turbulence in the odor plume.

Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out How Animals Follow a Scent to Its Source

Uncovering the varied strategies that animals employ could help engineers develop robots that accomplish similar tasks

The top row shows the actual images participants looked at, while the bottom row shows an A.I. recreation of each image based on the participant's brain scans.

This A.I. Used Brain Scans to Recreate Images People Saw

The technology, which was tested with four people, is still in its infancy but could one day help people communicate or decode dreams, researchers say

A just-hatched chick stands next to its egg.

Why Newborn Chicks Love Objects That Defy Gravity

A clever new study shows the cute critters will often scuttle toward a video of a rising ball

Two brothers’ remains were found buried together under the floorboards of their home. One had a hole in his skull consistent with surgery.

This Man Underwent Brain Surgery 3,500 Years Ago

Researchers discovered a punctured skull below the floor of a home in what is now Israel

An impala runs away from a cheetah.

How the Brain Calculates a Quick Escape

Scientists are beginning to unravel the complex circuitry behind the split-second decision to beat a hasty retreat

A growing movement is underway to halt chronic disease by protecting brains and bodies from the biological fallout of aging.

Could Getting Rid of Old Cells Help People Live Disease-Free for Longer?

Researchers are investigating medicines that selectively kill decrepit cells to promote healthy aging

Elon Musk at a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

Elon Musk Wants to Test Brain Implants in People

The device, which would sit in the skull, has not received regulatory approval for use in humans

A brain scan of a person with Alzheimer's disease

Second Death Tied to Experimental Alzheimer’s Treatment

While the new drug is seen as a breakthrough, these deaths highlight a possible risk to patients on blood thinners, experts say

A group of zebrafish

Gut Bacteria Might Shape Social Behavior

A study of zebrafish reveals the mix of microbes in the intestinal tract could influence brain development

A cross-section of a spinal cord at five times magnification.

Researchers Identify Neurons That Might Help Paralyzed People Walk Again

With electrical stimulation and physical therapy, nine people with spinal cord injuries regained the ability to stand and take steps

The study found that the human particpants and rats jerked their heads in a similar rhythm as the songs played. 

Watch These Rats 'Dance' to the Rhythms of Mozart, Lady Gaga and Queen

Moving accurately to a song’s beat was long thought to be a skill unique to humans, but new research suggests rats can do it, too

African savanna elephants have about 63,000 neurons in the part of their brain that controls facial movement. Humans only have about 8,000 to 9,000.

What an Elephant’s Brain Reveals About Its Trunk

Elephants have tens of thousands of facial neurons, more than any other land mammal

Roughly 4 percent of adults in the United States have chronic nightmares.

Can a Musical Reminder Banish Bad Dreams?

Scientists hope that playing certain chords while sleeping can trigger positive memories and prevent nightmares

A yoga instructor practices a breathing exercise.

How Does Breathing Affect Your Brain?

Neuroscientist are piecing together how the rhythm of respiration influences everything from cognition to emotion

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