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Photo of a newborn baby wearing a pink wristband and clothes wrapped in a green blanket, sleeping peacefully.

Consciousness

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When does the first spark of human consciousness ignite?

We can’t ask babies what they’re feeling, but ingenious new methods are shedding light on the origins of subjective awareness

by Joel Frohlich

Black-and-white photo of a person sleeping against a window on a train, head resting on a pillow, outside view blurred.

Sleep and dreams

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The brain’s twilight zone: when you’re neither awake nor asleep

Neuroscientists are demystifying this in-between state, uncovering its role in memory processing and its creative potential

by Célia Lacaux

Digital rendering of a modern architectural space with wooden beams, suspended rooms and large windows, overlooking a green atrium.

Architecture

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How the buildings you occupy might be affecting your brain

Cutting-edge research in the field of neuroarchitecture is revealing the public health implications of building design

by Cleo Valentine & Heather Mitcheltree

Two women painting together at a table. The one in the foreground is older, wears glasses and is focused on her brushstroke.

Brain injury and dementia

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Dementia is not a death. For some, it marks a new beginning

Advocates are reframing the syndrome as a different way of being – one in which potential for growth and connection endures

by Isabel Sutton

Bronze bust of a bearded man with curly hair, likely an ancient artefact, on a black background.

Emotion regulation

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The Stoics were right – emotional control is good for the soul

Both neuroscience and psychotherapy agree that you can change your mental framework as the Stoic Marcus Aurelius described

by István Darabán

A grey car is parked next to a purple brick wall with some plants growing at the base. The sky is overcast and buildings are in the background.

Mind and brain

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This is how your brain distinguishes reality from imagination

In terms of brain activity, imagining something is very similar to seeing it, so why don’t you confuse the two more often?

by Shayla Love

A couple embracing by a waterfront at sunset, with city lights and a colourful sky in the background.

The body and physical health

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How ‘stirrings of the heart’ shape your experience of time

New research is showing the embodied nature of time perception and how it can fluctuate in tune with the heart’s beats

by Shayla Love

Elderly couple in hats watching colourful kites flying in a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Brain injury and dementia

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Earlier memories are relatively spared in dementia. Why?

People with Alzheimer’s have richer memories of late childhood and early adulthood and this could help therapeutic care

by Dorthe Berntsen

Medical imaging scan showing the internal organs of a human torso, including intestines highlighted in blue and other organs in shades of red and orange.

Mind and brain

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To grasp how serotonin works on the brain, look to the gut

A new perspective uses an analogy between digestion and cognition to help explain the function of a key neurochemical

by James M Shine

A close-up of a delicate blue flower next to a cluster of small yellow flowers, with a blurred green and yellow background.

Mind and brain

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Slow down, it’s what your brain has been begging for

It’s no small task to live a life of sustained attention. So slow down, and give your brain a break to do its work

by Teodora Stoica

Silhouetted person walking a dog on a misty wooded path with sunlight filtering through trees.

Grief

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Seeing grieving as learning explains why the process takes time

Standard features of human memory and learning can help explain the disorientation that follows the death of a loved one

by Saren H Seeley & Mary-Frances O’Connor

People standing near a large crack on the concrete floor, resembling an art installation or structural damage.

Mind and brain

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Allow error into your life and experience the joy of surprise

Neuroscience theories see the human brain as an error-minimising machine. But that overlooks the joy of the unexpected

by Leyla Loued-Khenissi