Brain | Science News for Students

Brain

a photo of a woman in a white lab coat drawing blood from a young woman's arm

Keep your cool. If you expect someone sticking a needle into your arm will not hurt much, you may actually experience less pain, a new study shows.

AlexRaths/iStockphoto

Brain
 
Jan 14, 2019
Expecting pain? That could really make it hurt worse
an illustration of the brain as a blue wireframe

Using a marijuana-like drug during adolescence may damage decision-making structures in the brain, a new study finds.

Jolygon/iStockphoto

Brain
 
Jan 7, 2019
Marijuana use may affect decision-making areas in teen brains
sleepless woman

People woke up feeling more anxious after a sleepless night. Brain scans showed why.

Wavebreakmedia/iStockPhoto

Brain
 
Dec 17, 2018
Sleepless nights can leave brains feeling anxious
a composite photo showing the progress Dadiv Mzee has made towards walking

David Mzee, 28, was paralyzed in 2010. He had five months of therapy that included electrical pulses to his spinal cord. With some help supporting his weight, Mzee (seen above in this composite image) now can walk for an hour at a time.

 © JAMANI CAILLET/EPFL

Brain
 
Nov 30, 2018
Zaps to spinal cord help paralyzed people walk
an illustration of marijuana leaves

Paying teens and young adults to stop using marijuana led to memory improvements after just one week, a new study finds.

Yarygin/iStockphoto

Brain
 
Nov 28, 2018
Young people’s memory improves after stopping marijuana use
An artists interpretation of a person smelling and directions (arrows) in their brain

The brain tangles up senses of smell and direction, a new study suggests.

E. Otwell

Brain
 
Nov 21, 2018
People may be literally led by their noses
A black and white illustration of a cross section of the brain. The hippocampus is highlighted in blue.

In a new study, the hippocampus (blue) was active during parts of films when one event ended and another began. Marking such boundaries may help the brain package ongoing experiences as separate memories.

Henry Vandyke Carter - Henry Gray/Wikimedia Commons (PubDom)

Brain
 
Nov 7, 2018
How your brain is like a film editor
a gray rat and a white rat sitting right next to each other and looking toward the right of the screen

When rats are the human equivalent of teenagers, they love to wrestle with their BFFs. As they grow up, they chill out. A new study now offers clues to why. 

GlobalP/iStockPhoto

Brain
 
Nov 6, 2018
The immune system has a say in how hard ‘teen’ rats play
a girl using a smartphone while sitting outside

How much screen time is too much? Kids who spend less than two hours a day on screens perform better on cognitive tests.

filipefrazao/iStockPhoto

Behavior
 
Nov 2, 2018
Less screentime linked to better memory, learning in kids
A young woman is smiling and talking on her cell-phone

A new study finds that teens who get more exposure to cell-phone radiation — and hold their phones on the right — do worse on one type of memory test.

DMEPhotography/iStockphoto

Health
 
Oct 16, 2018
Teens’ cell phone use linked to memory problems