Brain Blast | Trust, Trauma, and Technology
The latest news on the brain and beyond.
2019 is here! Join us in celebrating all things new this year by checking out the freshest developments in neuroscience, psychology, and more below.
Manufacturing trust: Improving man-machine interactions
Advanced wireless EEG headsets have enabled a team of scientists to measure human trust in real time. Using what they learned, these scientists intend to build intelligent machines that can gauge and respond to human trust levels to improve co-working among the two groups.
Story via Purdue University
The gift of giving: Maintaining happiness through generosity
Giving really may be better than receiving! Researchers found that study participants who repeatedly received gifts reported less happiness with each present. Those who repeatedly gave gifts, on the other hand, did not experience such a reduction in reported happiness over time.
Story via Association for Psychological Science
The best defense: Targeting stress in the military
Neurofeedback programs focused on teaching amygdala control may reduce the susceptibility of military personnel to PTSD. Soldiers who participated in this amygdala-focused neurofeedback training demonstrated an improved ability to express and regulate their emotions.
Story via Reuters
Great expectations: Work-life balance in the email age
In a world where smartphones are ever-present, work does not stop outside the office walls. A study from Virginia Tech suggests that employees suffer from increased stress and anxiety when their employer expects them to check emails during non-work hours, even if they do not actually do so.
Story via Virginia Tech
Above and beyond: Advancements in brain electrodes
A team at UCSF has created a device which is able to record the electrical activity of more individual neurons in animal subjects’ brains than any previous tool. The team hopes that the technology from this device may one day be applied to learning about memory in the human brain.
Story via UCSF News Center
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