Culture Archives - Knowing Neurons

Feature image depicting a brain in the center of a circle with a visual illusion background. On the left is a hand, palm up, holding a heart. On the right, another hand is tentatively reaching out to grab it. Designed by Alexa Erdogan.

Understanding Visual Illusions Can Make Us More Empathetic

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 McKenna Becker 1 Comment Bias, Blind spot, Cognition, Empathy, Illusion, Neuroplasticity, Optic nerve, Perception, philosophy, Photoreceptor, Politics, R.L. Gregory, Reality, Retina, Stroop Test, Top-Down Processing, V.S. Ramachandran, Visual Illusions

Philosophers and neuroscientists agree that if there is an objective reality, human beings can’t perceive it: philosophers refer to objective reality as a perception independent of any conscious awareness. Neuroscientists… Read more

An artistic take on the "monkey-to-man" cartoon, depicting the final result as a larger human near fast food with a red warning sign around it. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Brain Basics Brain Development Culture

Brain, Healthy Fats, and the Importance of Fitting Into Your Genes

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Attention, Brain Fat, Cortex, dementia, depression, DHA, Diet, Dopamine, Dorsal Attention Network, EPA, Evolution, Fat, Fish Oil, Frontoparietal Network, Genetics, Monounsaturated Fat, Neurological Disorder, Neurotransmitters, Omega-3, Omega-6, Polyunsaturated Fat, serotonin, supplements

Our brains are extremely rich in fat. Indeed, about two thirds of the human brain is composed of fat, 35% of which consists of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. What are… Read more

A sleeping brain on the left versus a brain lifting weights on the right. Illustrated by Rajamani Selvam.

Big Ideas Culture

The Neuroscience of Motivation and How to Improve It

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Dopamine, Insula, Limbic, Mesolimbic Pathway, Motivation, MRI, neurotransmitter, Nucleus accumbens, Prefrontal Cortex, Reward-Seeking Behavior, Ventral Tegmental Area

Motivation can be a hard thing to come by. Whether at home, at school or at work, most of us have been in a situation where we know exactly what… Read more

A cartoon image of a sun in the sky with golden rays extending outwards, with cannabis leaves on either side of the sun. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Does Cannabidiol (CBD) Actually Help Anxiety?

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 Grace Browne 0 Comments Amygdala, Anxiety, Anxiolytic, Autism, Cannabidiol, Cannabis, CBD, Cingulate Cortex, DEA, dementia, Dextromethorphan, Drug, EFSA, Epilepsy, FDA, fMRI, Marijuana, Neurotransmitters, Paranoia, Phytocannabinoids, Psychology, serotonin, Society, THC

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound of the Cannabis plant, has exploded in popularity in recent times, touted as a medical “cure-all”. Retailers promise their products will heal cancer, stop dementia… Read more

Image of synaptic cleft in the background with a large cupcake on the right, topped with sprinkles in the shape of pills. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception

Are Foods Addictive or Just Delicious?

April 4, 2019April 7, 2019 Shaun Khoo 0 Comments Addiction, Basolateral Amygdala, Classical Conditioning, Cocaine, Dopamine, glutamate, Neurotransmitters, Nucleus Accumbens Core, obesity, Operant Conditioning, Pavlov, Psychology, Relapse, Sugar, Tolerance, Withdrawal

We are surrounded by an abundance of delicious food. Throughout the developed world, cooking shows saturate our televisions and streaming video feeds advertise greasy burgers and decadent chocolates. Our addiction… Read more

A neuron halfway between winter and summer season backgrounds. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Culture Learning and Memory Sensation and Perception

Is Winter Good for Your Neurons?

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Attention, Climate, Cognitive, Decision-making, glucose, Memory, Metabolism, seasonal affective disorder, Temperature, Winter

It is that time of the year again. Whilst the Southern Hemisphere is coping with the sweltering heat of the summer, cold is sweeping across the rest of the globe,… Read more

Aging Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Food for Your Brain: Mediterranean Diet May Help Your Neurons Live Longer

November 28, 2018November 27, 2018 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Aging, Alzeihmer's disease, Brain, dementia, dietary fat, Fat, Food, income, Learning, MeDi, Mediterranean Diet, Memory, Oxidative stress, socioeconomic status

Historians consider it one of the ‘cradles of civilization,’ but for many scientists today the real value of the Mediterranean basin does not lie in its contribution to history. Home… Read more

Big Ideas Culture Learning and Memory Videos

Video: Can Neuroscience Explain the Mandela Effect?

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 knowingneurons 0 Comments bernstain bears, Confabulation, false memory, Fiona Broome, Hippocampus, Mandela, mandela effect, Memory consolidation, memory retrieval, Quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat

Last year, our post “Can Neuroscience Explain the Mandela Effect?” by Caitlin Aamodt soaked up attention like a sponge and was resyndicated widely across the web, landing on pages such… Read more

Brain Development Culture

What Were You Thinking!?: Teenagers show different processing of positive and negative consequences across adolescence

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 Jack-Morgan Mizell 0 Comments Adolescence, Adolescent, Adults, Aging, Anterior insula, Brain, Brain activity, Brain vulnerability, Cognitive neuroscience, Consequences, Decision-making, Development, Experience, Harvard, Insula, neurobiology, Neurodevelopment, Neuroscience, Sensory systems, Spindle neuron, Striatum, Teenagers, Teens, Von Economo neuron, WHO, World Health Organization

Anyone who has spent time around teenagers knows they don’t always consider the full consequences of their actions. Just consider the dozens of YouTube videos involving falling dressers or fireworks… Read more

Brain Development Culture Language

The Bilingual Brain: Why One Size Doesn’t Fit All

July 25, 2018July 26, 2018 Angela Grant 0 Comments bilingual, diffusion tensor imaging, DTI, early nutrition, English, fractional anisotropy, immigrant, immigration, language, Maria Konnikova, native language, Patricia Kuhl, polyglot, radial diffusivity, Spanish, stress

Over the past few years, you might have noticed a surfeit of articles covering current research on bilingualism. Some of them suggest that it sharpens the mind, while others are… Read more

Brain Basics Culture Sleep

The Wisdom of the Sloth: Is Sleep a Lost Virtue?

June 14, 2018October 8, 2019 Joel Frohlich 10 Comments Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid plaques, beta-amyloid, circadian rhythm, dreams, Health, PET, Positron emission tomography, Sleep, sloth

In the sixth century, Pope Gregory I compiled an infamous list of seven deadly sins. Of these seven, sloth is the only sin named for an animal in English. But… Read more

Big Ideas Culture Neuro News

Want to Feel Unique? Believe in the Reptile People

May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 Roland Imhoff 0 Comments Behavior, conspiracy theories, Culture, Experiment, new world order, Psychology, reptilian, Research

he internet is full of wild-eyed insinuation. Seemingly accidental events are not actually accidental. A few powerful people have hatched plots to bring about certain outcomes, usually with the goal… Read more