Summary: Researchers have shown that AI can detect personality traits from written text and, crucially, now understand how these models make decisions. By applying explainable AI techniques like integrated gradients, the team uncovered how specific words and linguistic patterns contribute to predictions based on major psychological frameworks.The study found that...
Neighborhood Negative Impact on Alzheimer’s Biomarkers and Infection
Summary: Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by elevating biomarkers associated with inflammation and neurodegeneration. A long-term study of 334 older adults found higher levels of tau and YKL-40, biomarkers linked to Alzheimer’s and brain inflammation, in people from less advantaged areas.These associations remained even...
Mental Decline Is Slowed by Being Effective.
Summary: Regular physical activity isn’t just good for the body—it protects the brain as we age. A 16-year study of over 13,000 adults found that sustained physical activity significantly slowed cognitive decline.Even modest increases in weekly activity, from light chores to vigorous exercise, were associated with measurable brain benefits. The...
Why Baby Chat Might Be Specially People
Summary: Child-directed speech, or “baby talk,” plays a crucial role in language development and is a near-universal human behavior. Researchers investigated whether this vocal strategy is shared with our closest relatives, the great apes, and found that humans use infant-directed speech far more frequently.Although all great ape infants were exposed...
How Brain Cells Coordinate to Create Nuanced Judgments
Summary: Every decision begins subtly, as the brain weighs options long before action. Researchers have now shown that, despite individual differences in neuron activity, a shared underlying structure guides the brain toward unified decisions.By training macaques in a color-choice task and recording neural activity, scientists discovered that neuron responses are...
Early psychosis is uncovered by hold strength research.
Summary: Psychosis may start not with hallucinations, but with subtle motor changes like reduced grip strength. A new study reveals that lower grip strength in people with early psychosis is linked to altered brain connectivity, particularly in networks that govern both movement and cognition.These changes affect regions like the anterior...
How They Learn and Adapt to Changes Surprisingly Flexibly
Summary: New research reveals that babies as young as eight months can flexibly adapt their learning strategies to changing environments. Using eye-tracking and shifting patterns of visual stimuli, researchers observed that infants adjusted their behavior based on whether the monster on screen appeared in a predictable or unpredictable location.This suggests...
How Longing Turns into Procrastination in Joy Delay
Summary: Despite longing to return to enjoyable activities, people often delay doing so—hoping the moment will feel more special. A new study finds that the longer individuals perceive their time away, the more likely they are to postpone reengagement, even with things they enjoy like visiting friends or dining out.Experiments...
The risk of depression and anxiety is increased by immune disorder.
Summary: People living with autoimmune diseases face nearly twice the risk of developing persistent mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, according to a massive UK-based study. Researchers suggest chronic inflammation may play a key role in this connection, especially in women who showed significantly higher risk levels...
Cerebellum Shapes Children’s Empathy and Theory of Mind
Summary: Understanding others’ beliefs—especially false ones—is key to human communication and begins to develop between ages three and five. In a new study, researchers observed children’s brain activity while they watched movies in an MRI scanner to investigate the neurological roots of Theory of Mind (ToM).They found that the cerebellum,...
