Psychology and neuroscience
Mind & Matter covers psychology and neuroscience: what the evidence says about how brains work and why people do what they do, with limited patience for overclaimed studies.
Two experienced adult musicians reached a full 12-note absolute-pitch benchmark after intensive training, while the wider group showed smaller and uneven gains.
Aug 28, 2026
Chronic inhibition of two median raphe neuron populations cut mouse NREM sleep by nearly 70%, but one in six treated animals died and the memory result came from one fear-conditioning task.
Aug 26, 2026
Human cortical organoids followed gene-expression and DNA-methylation timetables for five years, while older progenitors retained a memory of developmental steps already completed.
Aug 26, 2026
A 2013 mouse study found that silence alone was associated with more seven-day-old BrdU/NeuN-positive hippocampal cells, but it measured neither memory nor any human response.
Aug 26, 2026
A 2012 optogenetics experiment in ten rats found that seconds-long disruption of the infralimbic cortex could suppress one maze habit and later reveal the older behavior beneath its replacement.
Aug 26, 2026
Preliminary FENS research linked multilingual experience with younger MEG connectivity patterns, but the group differences come from a brain-age model and do not yet establish that languages slow brain ageing.
Aug 26, 2026
Opioid blockade leaves exercise-induced euphoria intact, while human, animal and review evidence places endocannabinoids at the centre of a broader neurochemical response.
Aug 26, 2026
Attachment research suggests that compulsory self-reliance can function as protection against rejection, but working models can change through repeated, dependable support.
Aug 26, 2026
A broad brain-health index rose on average across repeated online assessments in adults aged 19 to 94. The cohort is encouraging, but attrition and the absence of a control group limit causal claims.
Aug 26, 2026
The famous 1978 null result came from 22 winners interviewed once, without any pre-win happiness measure capable of demonstrating a return to baseline.
Aug 25, 2026
A longitudinal fMRI study found that pre-existing similarities in responses to movie clips anticipated later friendship-network proximity, although the strongest results were narrower than a universal friend detector.
Aug 25, 2026
Four studies linked active happiness maximization with weaker subsequent self-control, but the experiments were short and the proposed resource-depletion mechanism was not measured directly.
Aug 24, 2026
A labour-demand design linked a ten-point employment decline to cognitive scores 0.11 standard deviations lower among men aged 51 to 64, but it cannot identify which part of work or job loss caused the change.
Aug 23, 2026
A 2026 Mendelian-randomization study connected genetic proxies for certain gut bacteria with cognitive performance. The finding is a research clue, not evidence that a probiotic or diet can improve cognition.
Aug 22, 2026
