The brain regulates changes in its own blood flow depending on how active its cells (neurons) are, by a mechanism called neurovascular coupling. When neurons become active, they send messages to nearby blood vessels causing them to dilate and bring in more blood. This increased... click to read more

If you get a glimpse into all the thoughts you’ve had today, it will likely reveal pockets of time when they were focused on your ongoing task (for example when you rush through an assignment to meet a deadline); when they aimlessly wandered from one... click to read more

As humans, we fall in love and "couple-up", something scientists refer to as a pair bond. This is unusual among mammals, most of whom are promiscuous - typically mating and moving on. Fewer than 10% of mammalian species share our ability to form pair bonds,... click to read more

We spend almost one-third of our lives asleep, being disconnected from the world and seemingly 'inactive'. But sleeping is not a waste of time – it is essential for maintaining both our body and mind in good shape. Indeed, sleep is an exceptionally complex biological... click to read more

We continuously learn about the consequences of our actions and change our behaviour accordingly so we can in future repeat a response that produced the desired outcome and hold back learned behaviours that are no longer appropriate. Imagine you are hungry and go to the... click to read more