Birds categorize colors just like humans do. Duke Today, August 1, 2018. For a reddish-beaked bird called the zebra finch, sexiness is color-coded. Males have beaks that range from light orange to dark red. But to females, a male’s colored bill may simply be hot, or not, findings suggest. Due to a phenomenon called categorical perception, zebra finches partition the range of hues from red to orange into two discrete categories, much like humans do, researchers report in the journal Nature. Picked up by Forbes, Discover Magazine, BBC News and ZME Science.
Category Archives: psych/neuroscience
Creative people have better-connected brains
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Creative people have better-connected brains. Duke Today, Feb. 20, 2017. Seemingly countless self-help books and seminars tell you to tap into the right side of your brain to stimulate creativity. But forget the “right-brain” myth — a new study suggests it’s how well the two brain hemispheres communicate that sets highly creative people apart. People who score high on common tests of creativity have significantly more white matter connections between their right and left hemispheres, finds a new analysis. Picked up by the Daily Mail and Psychology Today.
People far from urban lights, bright screens still skimp on sleep
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People far from urban lights, bright screens still skimp on sleep. Duke Today, Feb. 16, 2017. Screen time before bed can mess with your sleep. But people without TV and laptops skimp on sleep too, researchers say. A Duke University study of people living without electricity or artificial light in a remote farming village in Madagascar finds they get shorter, poorer sleep than people in the U.S. or Europe. But they seem to make up for lost shuteye with a more regular sleep routine, the researchers report. Picked up by Huffington Post.
Apes understand that some things are all in your head
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Apes understand that some things are all in your head. Duke Today, Oct. 6, 2016. We all know that the way someone sees the world, and the way it really is, aren’t always the same. This ability to recognize that someone’s beliefs may differ from reality has long been seen as unique to humans. But new research on chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans suggests our primate relatives may also be able to tell when something is just in your head. Picked up by The New York Times, The Guardian, Science Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, The Independent, CBC, Cosmos, the Raleigh News & Observer and the Daily Mail.
Same switches program taste and smell in fruit flies
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Same switches program taste and smell in fruit flies. Duke Today, Feb. 3, 2016. A Duke study helps explain how fruit flies get their keen sense of smell. Researchers have identified a set of genetic control switches that interact early in a fly’s development to generate dozens of types of specialized nerve cells for smell. The findings could reveal how the nervous systems of other animals — including humans, whose brains have billions of neurons — produce a dazzling array of cell types from just a few genes.
Togetherness relieves stress in prairie voles
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Togetherness relieves stress in prairie voles. Duke Today, Jan. 19, 2016. Many people feel anxious in crowds. But not so for prairie voles. When these mouse-like creatures live in close quarters, they are less stressed out, researchers report. The study is part of a larger field of research on how social stresses such as crowding and isolation affect brain chemistry and behavior.
Stress ‘sweet spot’ differs for mellow vs. hyper dogs
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Stress ‘sweet spot’ differs for mellow vs. hyper dogs. Duke Today, July 21, 2015. People aren’t the only ones who perform better on tests or athletic events when they are just a little bit nervous — dogs do too. But in dogs as in people, the right amount of stress depends on disposition. A new study by researchers at Duke University finds that a little extra stress and stimulation makes hyper dogs crack under pressure but gives mellow dogs an edge. Picked up by the Daily Mail, the News & Observer and CBS News.