Humans place a high premium on foods that contain both fats and sugars.

Stress in early childhood leads to faster maturation of certain brain regions during adolescence. In contrast, stress experienced later in life leads to slower maturation of the adolescent brain. This is the outcome of a long-term study conducted in which 37 subjects have been monitored for almost 20 years.

Even when drinking the same amount as others, only some people experience blackouts. But blacking out can predict other problems down the line.

The mood swings and stress you experience as you go through puberty can shape your brain to determine the person you will become.

Psychedelics could be 'next generation' of safer treatments for mental health

Your genes can determine whether you're a morning person or night owl.

People with higher empathy differ from others in the way their brains process music, according to a study by researchers at Southern Methodist University, Dallas and UCLA. The researchers found that compared to low empathy people, those with higher empathy process familiar music with greater involvement of the reward system of the brain, as well as in areas responsible for processing social information. “High-empathy and low-empathy people share a lot in common when listening to music...

If you have a large brain, certain regions are much bigger than expected and others are smaller – but we don’t know how this affects brain function yet

A protein in the brain that binds to alcohol could be the key to curing alcoholism, reports UH College of Pharmacy medicinal chemist Joydip Das in eNeuro, a journal of the Society for Neuroscience. The protein, called MUNC 13-1, plays a pivotal role in the development of tolerance to alcoholism according to Das.

Can probiotics fend off mood disorders? It's too early to say with scientific certainty, but a new study by University of Colorado Boulder researchers suggests that one particular beneficial bacteria can have long-lasting anti-inflammatory effects on the brain, making it more resilient to the physical and behavioral effects of stress. The findings, if replicated in clinical trials could ultimately lead to new probiotic-based immunizations to protect against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety or new treatments for depression, the authors say.

Richard Ramchurn’s The Moment lets you play film director, using just your brainwaves.

Whether we think of ourselves as religious or not, lots of people experience moments in life that can be considered spiritual – where we feel a greater sense of meaningfulness, serenity, or connection with the world around us.

Some of us react more intensely to music than others. For some, listening to a certain track can send shivers down their spine, and goosebumps appear on their skin. According to a new study, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, there's a deeper reason for this than some people simply appreciating music more than others. The researchers studied 20 students, half of which reported experiencing chills when listening to music. They used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) - MRI scans which map out the brain - to examine the differences between the two groups.

Signals long thought to be “noise” appear to represent a distinct form of brain activity

Helping other people in need is a foundation of our society. It is intuitive to believe that we help others because we empathically share their pain. The Social Brain Lab investigated whether altering activity in these tactile brain regions while witnessing the pain of others would alter people’s willingness to help.

For the first time, scientists have observed the distinct pattern of neuronal firing that occurs during a bowel movement – and it's not all in your head.

It is a good question, but I was a little surprised to see it as the title of a research paper in a medical journal: “How Happy Is Too Happy?”

Knowing that you have hidden biases is the first step to getting around them.

A team of Indiana University researchers has reported the first evidence that non-human animals (rats) can replay a stream of multiple episodic memories. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

When it comes to studying the genetics of the brain, Soo-Kyung Lee is a star, yet she was stunned to discover the cause of her daughter’s devastating disabilities.

Alzheimer's drug development tends to focus on protein aggregates in the brain. Perhaps that's why they've all failed.

A team of scientists recently revealed they’d successfully conducted experiments on hundreds of pigs that involved keeping their brains alive for up to 36 hours after the animals had been decapitated.

The brains, which are not conscious, are kept alive through the circulation of an oxygen-rich fluid through the organs

A new study published in Annals of Neurology found kids who start playing tackle football before age 12 will, on average, develop cognitive and emotional symptoms associated with the degenerative brain disease CTE much earlier than those who start later. One California family whose son began playing football at 9 years old is blaming the sport for his early death.

The US embassy in China issued a health alert Wednesday after a US government employee experienced an "abnormal" sound and suffered a mild brain ...

Scientists are beginning to unravel a mystery that has long vexed philosophers. By Christof Koch.

An active compound in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to promote the removal of toxic clumps of amyloid beta protein in the brain, which are thought to kickstart the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Left-handed people haven't always been treated well throughout history. They have been persecuted for their disposition, been labelled as evil - or even as witches - despite making up about 10 percent of the population.

​A fascinating study has uncovered key insights into the mechanisms behind how our brain generates the sense of our self. The researchers administered LSD to several participants in order to home in on where in the brain our sense of self is activated.

When I descended into the same sort of madness that I researched, I had no idea what was happening. This is the story of my journey into insanity—and back.

This finding is an important breakthrough in Alzheimer's research.

A study treating depressed patients with the drug via a nasal spray saw "significant improvements".

A neuronal population has now been found that regulates two competing needs — hunger and pain. Urgent pain overrides hunger, but appetite-inducing neuronal activity dampens long-term pain responses to enable feeding.

Differences in the structure of the brain’s cerebellum may help explain our superior cognitive abilities

Framing genetic arguments in racial terms isn’t scientific.