Brain
- Brain
Soccer headers may hurt women’s brains more than men’s
Women sustain more brain damage from heading soccer balls than men, a new imaging study indicates.
- Health & Medicine
Taste good? Senses inform the brain — but don’t tell everyone the same thing
Whether something tastes appetizing depends on what a host of different sensory nerves collectively tell the brain. Warning: Sometimes they aren’t dependable — or even truthful.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: Taste and flavor are not the same
What’s behind a food’s flavor? More than what we taste, it turns out.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Ventral striatum
The ventral striatum is an area of the brain that plays an important role in mood, learning and addiction. It has a lot of dopamine, a chemical messenger.
- Brain
Belly bacteria can shape mood and behavior
Our guts and our brains are in constant communication with the goal of managing a whole lot more than food digestion. Their conversations can affect stress, behaviors — even memory.
- Brain
Not all social media sites are equally likely to provoke anxiety
Most teens are on social media. Could these sites cause anxiety? A teen checks it out — and finds big differences.
- Psychology
Bullying alters ‘bugs’ in the gut, hamster data show
A new study found that the microbes in a hamster’s gut changed in response to social stress.
- Brain
Teeny tiny hairs on brain cells could have big jobs
Brain cells have tiny antennae called cilia. But no one really seemed to know what they did. Now, scientists have shown they could play a role in obesity.
- Brain
Explainer: What are opioids?
Opioid drugs can kill pain, but they can also kill people. Here’s how.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Receptor
This molecule is a chemical messenger’s docking station. A receptor serves as a lock for cell activity.
- Brain
Cool Jobs: Decoding how your brain ‘reads’
For some stroke victims and people with dyslexia, reading is nearly impossible. These researchers are working to understand why.
- Space
En route to Mars, astronauts may face big health risks
Going into space brings the thrill of a new frontier — and risks that scientists are racing to understand, from radiation to isolation.
