The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers across multiple institutions, has published a new study that challenges the long-held belief that high cholesterol correlates and even directly causes coronary artery disease, or plaque buildup in the arteries in metabolically healthy individuals.
The growing prevalence of human interactions with artificial intelligence has increased the need for a better understanding of how the brain processes virtual reality. Because how others behave and move can influence how people understand social scenes and even themselves, exploring whether avatar appearance influences virtual interactions is important.
When people let their minds wander during tasks that require attention and active thinking, it can hurt how well they learn and perform the tasks. But there are more passive kinds of learning that require less attention. Péter Simor, from Eötvös Loránd University, and colleagues explored how mind wandering influences learning in tasks requiring little attention in their paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
The COVID-19 pandemic led many countries around the world to implement strict public health measures like lockdowns, social distancing, mask wearing, and travel restrictions. While these steps were crucial and effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19, they also had an additional effect—a dramatic drop in cases of other illnesses like influenza (flu) and respiratory viruses.
Feeling hungry doesn’t just make you reach for a snack—it may also change your immune system.
Nearly one million people worldwide are plagued annually by cutaneous leishmaniasis, a devastating skin infection caused by the Leishmania parasite. Predominantly affecting vulnerable populations in tropical and subtropical regions like North Africa and South America, this disease thrives in areas marked by malnutrition, poor housing and population displacement. Left untreated, it can lead to lifelong scars, debilitating disability and deep social stigma. Despite its global impact, there is no vaccine—and existing treatments are ineffective, toxic and difficult to administer.
When deciding if something is worth the effort, whether you’ve already exerted yourself or face the prospect of work changes your calculus. That’s what we found in our new research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until now, little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals.
A study published in Brain Communications highlights a new approach to treating drug-resistant epilepsy. Researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed an innovative deep brain stimulation (DBS) platform that was used to not only reduce seizures, but also improve memory and sleep—two common challenges for patients with epilepsy.
“Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber.”