Scientists have a better understanding of how we enjoy jokes after monitoring people’s brain activity while they watched the sitcom Seinfeld. What starts as a simple knock-knock joke can light up different regions of your brain, depending on whether you find the gag funny or just understand it. Scientists gained a better appreciation of this […]
neuroscience
Your Brain Pays Attention to Unfamiliar Voices, Even While You Sleep
The findings could suggest it’s possible to learn simple information while snoozing. Even when sleeping deeply you are more aware of what is going on around you than you might realize. New research suggests that the human brain is constantly monitoring its surroundings, including processing sounds, to decide if you need to wake up — […]
How Your Brain Tracks Moving Sounds
Researchers identify two neural circuits used to track the location and motion of a sound. When an object moves across your field of view, your eyes and brain are able to smoothly track its motion. But what about moving sounds? Until now, we didn’t really know how, or even if, the brain and ears worked […]
How CBD Keeps THC in Check
The two main compounds in cannabis are in a constant balancing act. Many people who use cannabis do it for the euphoric effects caused by the main psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, often called THC. But THC can also cause unpleasant side effects like paranoia, dissociative thoughts, impaired memory or even psychotic episodes. As cannabis has become […]
Isolated crayfish are more resistant to the effects of alcohol
For crayfish at least, a more sociable life makes booze work quicker. When crayfish were put in water containing a little alcohol, the ones who had been kept on their own over the preceding week took longer to show signs of alcohol exposure – such as tail flips – than those who had been living […]
Dietary fibre acts on brain to suppress appetite
Mouse study suggests that brain activity, not gut hormones, accounts for fibre’s weight-control action. People have long been told that a diet high in fibre can help to fight obesity, but how it does so has been unclear. A study of mouse metabolism now suggests that a product of fibre fermentation may be directly affecting […]