Trick Me OnceAn Optical Illusion Can Help Researchers Better Understand Our Brains The "expanding hole" illusion holds many lessons for researchers, showing that optical illusions aren't always gimmicks. By Saumya Kalia
Picture ThisWhy Some People Are Unable to Form ‘Mental Images’ Called "aphantasia," the condition is common among at least one-third of the population who lack the ability to visualize. By Saumya Kalia
Nothing New Under The SunIt Feels Like April 2020 All Over Again. This ‘Been There, Done That’ Vibe Is Called Déjà Vécu Amid rising Covid19 cases and lockdowns, the French term for "already lived" seems eerily apt. By Liesl Goecker
Speak NowHow Can We Understand a Language, but Not Speak It? Separate parts of the brain are responsible for understanding and reproducing a language, making the two activities mutually exclusive. By Aditi Murti
Riddle Me ThisThe Right Amount of Stress Can Actually Strengthen Our Brains: Study Some stressors “force you to solve a problem, and this might actually be good for cognitive functioning…." By Liesl Goecker
The Living Dead (Cells)Some ‘Zombie’ Brain Cells Actually Increase Activity, Grow After We Die: Study "Most studies assume that everything in the brain stops when the heart stops beating, but this is not so." By Liesl Goecker
Eerily FamiliarWhy We Experience Déjà Vu We absolutely haven't been here or done this before...right? By Liesl Goecker
Not So Poles ApartEmerging Brain Research Suggests Human Physiology Doesn’t Reflect a Gender Binary Brains reflect a gender spectrum in function and structure -- so why is being non-binary considered uncommon? By Liesl Goecker
Living on the EdgeRisk‑Taking Might Be Determined by Our DNA, Finds Study “It appears that grey matter of these three [brain] regions is translating a genetic tendency into actual behavior.” By Aditi Murti
Shades of GrayWhat Does It Mean to Be Color Blind? Color blindness is the inability to distinguish between certain colors or, in rarer cases, the inability to see colors at all. By Devrupa Rakshit
Crossed WiresStress, Anxiety, Depression During Pregnancy Can Affect Fetal Brain Development: Study Researchers are calling for more mental health support for pregnant women amid the anxiety of the global pandemic. By Devrupa Rakshit
BreakthroughWe May Soon Have A Blood Test That Can Detect Alzheimer’s Years Before Symptoms Appear This blood test would make it possible to test people with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s years before they ever show any symptoms. By Rajvi Desai
My Brain Is JellyWhy Did March 2020 Feel Like It Would Never End? When we're bored, or constantly anticipating what will happen next, time passes more slowly. By Aditi Murti
I Don't AgreeWhy Is It Difficult to Change People’s Minds? "When people disagree, it's their brains failing to encode the quality of the other person's opinion, giving them less reason to change their mind." By Anubhuti Matta
A Touch Of FrostHow the Sharp and Sudden Sensation of Brain Freeze Happens Brain freezes are short-term headaches that signal to the person to stop what they're doing. By Rajvi Desai
Oops I Did It AgainWhy Do You Forget Names or the Reason You Walked Into a Room? Scientists believe slip-ups are ways the brain tries to save energy by entering a relaxed state. By Anubhuti Matta
Not One Of UsHere’s How Our Brains Figure Out Whom to ‘Cancel’ The neuron systems responsible for focus, processing context, and troubleshooting help us decide who we want to punish socially. By Aditi Murti
Night SpectreThe Purpose of Dreams Might Be to Prepare Us to Face Our Fears After scary dreams, the emotional control regions of the brain respond to threats much more effectively, a study has found. By Liesl Goecker
