Cognitive Science : From Neuroscience to Education

female rats have about 30 to 50 percent more glial cells in the amygdala region of the temporal lobe of the brain than their male litter mates

females had lower amounts of endocannabinoids, which have been dubbed the brain's own marijuana because they activate cannabinoid receptors that are also stimulated by THC

female rats also played 30 to 40 percent less than male rats

They rely on it to build their confidence, their belief in their training and their own capabilities

That includes breathing exercises – like yoga, but not, he says – and sessions both with the psychologist and alone. “Also some visualizing,” he adds. “I try to visualize every possible situation – with wind, with fog, with people around me. Sometimes it stresses me when people are around me, when they pass me very fast.”

Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable changes in gene activity that are not due to changes in DNA sequence. Instead, they may be caused by “silencing” a gene, for example, rather than mutating it.

These changes remodel the architecture of the chromosomes, opening up a particular gene to the machinery that synthesizes protein, or closing it down, so that the gene is switched off.

the life experiences of grandparents and even great-grandparents alter their eggs and sperm so indelibly that the change is passed on to their children, grandchildren, and beyond. It’s called transgenerational epigenetic inheritance

the phenomenon in which something in the environment alters the health not only of the individual exposed to it, but also of that individual’s descendants.

Other labs, too, are finding that experiences—everything from a lab animal being exposed to a toxic chemical to a person smoking, being malnourished in childhood, or overeating—leaves an imprint on eggs or sperm, an imprint so tenacious that it affects not only those individuals’ children but their grandchildren as well.

The brain scans of the most deceptive players showed "differential activation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left Brodmann area 10" at the time of their deception, and strategic types showed a "significant correlation between activation in the right temporoparietal junction and expected payoff" that the other types did not show.

he brain scans of the most deceptive players showed "differential activation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left Brodmann area 10" at the time of their deception, and strategic types showed a "significant correlation between activation in the right temporoparietal junction and expected payoff" that the other types did not show.

Few other clear-cut differences between boys' and girls' neural structures, brain activity, or neurochemistry have thus far emerged, even for something as obviously different as self-regulation.

Our actual ability differences are quite small. Although psychologists can measure statistically significant distinctions between large groups of men and women or boys and girls, there is much more overlap in the academic and even social-emotional abilities of the genders than there are differences (Hyde, 2005). To put it another way, the range of performance within each gender is wider than the difference between the average boy and girl.

Neuromarketing’s raison d’être derives from the fact that the brain expends only 2 percent of its energy on conscious activity, with the rest devoted largely to unconscious processing.

Add all those electrical patterns together, he says, and “you find it represents the whispers of the brain.”

People can reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain, according to a new study published in a special issue of the American Psychological Association journal

central brain regions that regulate emotion and pain were significantly thicker in meditators compared to non-meditators

Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception

Lacking control is highly aversive, so we instinctive­ly seek out patterns to regain control—even if those patterns are illusory.

The sense of control had the apparent effect on physical health and well-being.

Study confirms robust daydreaming and superior intelligence are connected.

while daydreaming, your thoughts are gliding and ricocheting all over the place--past, present, future--accessing all your stored knowledge, memories, experiences

Many brilliant individuals--from Einstein to Mozart--credit their imagination as the source of their creativity and genius.

It is a common belief that having more options is better, and that people tend to go to stores that provide them with more choices. However, a new study in the journal Psychology & Marketing reveals that when people cannot easily determine which option is preferable, they are more likely to leave the store empty-handed.

tend to be more persuaded by abstract messages when the choice is far in the future, and by concrete messages when the choice is in the near future