Babies’ TV Exposure May Affect Their Sensory Processing Ability

According to data from Drexel’s College of Medicine, babies and toddlers exposed to television or video viewing may be more likely to exhibit atypical sensory behaviors such as being disengaged and disinterested in activities, seeking more intense stimulation in an environment, or being overwhelmed by sensations such as loud sounds or bright lights. Children exposed…

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Selection Bias: Understanding Its Impact on Research

Selection bias occurs when researchers select participants for a study in a way that is not random, potentially leading to results that are not representative of the larger population. This bias in sampling can significantly affect the outcome of the research, as it can introduce systematic differences between the selected group and those not chosen. Researchers need to be…

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Resistance to Divulging Dark Secrets is Mostly Misplaced

People frequently conceal negative facts about themselves from others, both inside and outside of the workplace, out of fear that they would be negatively judged. But new research from the McCombs School of Business suggests that those worries are exaggerated. In fact, when study participants overcame their fear to reveal a secret, those to whom…

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Semantic Memory

Semantic memory refers to long-term memory that processes ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal experience; our autobiographical memory. This type of memory includes common knowledge, such as the fact that Paris is the capital of France or that a dog is an animal, rather than recalling a specific event or occurrence. It is a part…

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What is the Visual Word Form Area

The visual word form area (VWFA) is a functional region of the left fusiform gyrus and surrounding cortex (the right-hand side is part of the fusiform face area) that is thought to be involved in identifying words and letters from lower-level shape images prior to association with phonology or semantics. Because the alphabet is a…

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Hydrogel-based Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosis Technique

Researchers have developed a new brain imaging tool that can detect mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) even when conventional imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show no structural abnormalities. The method includes injecting gadolinium, a common MRI contrast agent, into hydrogel-based micropatches connected to immune cells known as macrophages. mTBIs generate inflammation in…

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How Your Brain Compensates for Multi-tasking

We’re all time-poor, so multi-tasking is seen as a necessity of modern living. We answer work emails while watching TV, make shopping lists in meetings and listen to podcasts when doing the dishes. We attempt to split our attention countless times a day when juggling both mundane and important tasks. But doing two things at…

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Functional Fixedness: Breaking Mental Models to Enhance Problem Solving

Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person’s ability to use objects only in the way they are traditionally used. Discovered by psychologist Karl Duncker, it represents the mental shortcuts that often prevent individuals from seeing potential innovative uses for common items. Functional fixedness hinders problem-solving because it restricts awareness to an item’s most familiar…

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Key Brain Pathway Affecting Panic Disorder Symptoms Identified

Shortness of breath, sweaty palms, overwhelming fear, rapid heart rate — these are the symptoms of a panic attack, which people with panic disorder have frequently and unexpectedly. Making a map of the brain areas, neurons, and connections that mediate these panic attacks could help in the development of more effective panic disorder treatments. Researchers…

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