Sep 19, 2024

Building friendships is a fundamental part of human life, starting from a young age, and these positive relationships are crucial for mental well-being. Functional MRI studies reveal that engaging in friendships—through activities like giving gifts, laughing, and sharing feelings—activates several brain...

Sep 17, 2024

This week's "Doctors Take the Mic" delves into the impact of hate speech on the brain, highlighting its detrimental effects on empathy and cognitive functions. Repeated exposure to hate speech can decrease brain activity in areas responsible for perspective-taking, like the right temporal parietal junction, and increase...

Sep 15, 2024

In 2020, the University of Cambridge published a study on the psychological profile of individuals predisposed to extremist views and behaviors. The research, led by Dr. Leor Zmigrod, examines how certain cognitive and personality traits predict susceptibility to extreme social, political, and religious ideologies. The...

Sep 13, 2024

Dr. Gloria Wu reflects on her experience at the Democratic National Convention and explores how politics affects the brain. She references a study by Christine Knutson from Social Neuroscience that used functional MRI (fMRI) to examine how people’s brains respond to images of politicians and related words. Unlike...

Sep 11, 2024

As the Democratic National Convention wraps up on August 25, 2024, Dr. Gloria Wu explores the role of emotions in politics and their impact on public opinion. Central to this discussion is the amygdala, a brain region crucial for processing emotions like anger and fear. These emotions can lead to physiological...