“Humans are social animals” is an understatement. In this blog, we dive into why humans are super-social animals and why we need to study the human brain beyond the individual and in the context of the culture that has evolved it.
In 2025, science fiction is looking more like science fact. Brain implants, once the stuff of Hollywood thrillers, are now becoming real tools used to decode thoughts and restore function in people with neurological disorders. But can they really read, or even control, our minds?
Nothing is what it seems, including our visual perception. We see through our eyes: well-cleaned panoramic windows overlooking the world outside. At least, that’s what our experience suggests. In reality, the window cleaner is only scheduled for tomorrow, the glass is terribly fogged up, and your eyes are more like raindrops that allow for occasional peeks into the outside world. Why do we not experience it as such? How come we can see so well regardless? And do we ever see the real world?
Remember that dress that nearly ended friendships? The one where half of the world was convinced it was blue and black, while the other saw it as white and gold? Then you’ve perhaps already asked yourself: Do we really see the same colors? Colour blindness shows that the answer likely is: not quite. Our experience of colour is not in the world, but constructed by the brain.
What if machines could help us understand how babies learn to speak? A recent study from Meta AI and neuroscientists at Rothschild Foundation Hospital taps directly into children’s brains to answer that, and the findings are both stunning and heartwarming.
Chatbots may not have bodies, but they act through ours. As we prompt, respond, and adapt, they become part of our cognitive loop; just slower, but no less real. Maybe the real question isn’t if they’re intelligent, but if we’ve started thinking with them.
In recent years, many cool techniques have been developed for brain research and for the treatment of all kinds of psychological and neurological disorders — such as focused ultrasound, deep brain stimulation, or laminar fMRI. Another brand-new method is neurofeedback, where you receive direct feedback about your brain activity and can thus create immediate connections between the inside and outside of your skull. This offers a new way to gain direction and control in your brain.
Many young people between 16 and 25 years suffer from psychological symptoms such as anxiety or sadness. Research shows that mindfulness training can have positive effects in adults with mental disorders such as depression, but the effect in youth remains understudied. In this article, we discuss whether mindfulness could possibly help young people become more resilient to mental illness.
It is time to rethink our approach to mental health treatment. As depression rates rise
In previous blogs, we explored several types of MRI: structural imaging, diffusion imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and functional MRI (fMRI). This post focuses on a unique and powerful type of fMRI: resting-state fMRI.